The government of Peru assured this Saturday, it monitors the damage that the earthquake of magnitude 7 on the Richter scale that occurred at noon this Saturday in the northern region of Tumbes, bordering with Ecuador.
“The Government coordinates with the entities to assess the personal and material damages, and execute the corresponding immediate actions,” reported the Presidency in a message on Twitter.
#NOW Before the earthquake occurred in Tumbes, premier @AlbertoOtarolaP next to the minister @JChavezCrestholders of @viviendaperu, @Minsa_Peru and head of @indeciperu They arrived to meet with the regional governor and receive on-site information on the situation caused by the tremor pic.twitter.com/zsOE3gSL0O
– Mindef Peru (@MindefPeru) March 18, 2023
He added that in the face of the strong earthquake, which had its epicenter in Ecuador, the Peruvian Executive expresses its “solidarity” and invites the inhabitants “on both sides of the border” to calm down.
The telluric movement reached a magnitude 7 in Peruvian territory, according to the report of the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP), which added how ten minutes later another telluric movement of magnitude 4.1 occurred in the same area, points out a report from efe.
In Ecuadorthe first earthquake caused the death of at least one person and its magnitude was established at 6.5 by the Geophysical Institute of the National Polytechnic School of that country.
Local media showed images of the moment of the earthquake in avenues and shopping centers in the city of Tumbes, where they indicated that some material damage was reported, but no personal damage.
In Tumbes, citizens quickly took to the streets as a security measure, while other people reported on social networks that the quake was also felt in the regions of La Libertad and Áncash, more than 500 kilometers south of Tumbes.
The provincial mayor of Zarumilla, Christian Aguayo, told the RPP radio station that this has been “the strongest tremor I have been able to witness in my entire life,” according to a quote from efe.
In Guayaquil, the president @LassoGuillermo together with the governor of Guayas, @ftabacchir and several holders of State portfolios activated the National COE to assess the damage caused by the 6.5 earthquake with its epicenter in Balao, Guayas. pic.twitter.com/pZ4RymOqcP
– Ecuador Presidency ?? (@Presidencia_Ec) March 18, 2023
The National Emergency Operations Center (COEN) reported that first response units together with local authorities began the review of vulnerable areas, without reporting, so far, structural damage or damage to the population.
The Directorate of Hydrography and Navigation assured that a tsunami alert has not been generated in the Pacific Ocean. Peru and Ecuador are located in the area called the Pacific Ring of Fire, where approximately 85% of the world’s seismic activity is recorded, recalls the Spanish agency.
