Three earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.4 and 3.8 on the open Richter scale were recorded this Sunday in the province of Carchi, bordering Colombia, where other tremors have occurred in recent days, reported the Geophysical Institute of the Polytechnic School. National.
Source: EFE
The first earthquake this Sunday (Magnitude 3.8 on the Richter open scale) occurred at 07:00 local time (14:00 GMT), the second (3.4) at 08:09 and the third (3.8) at 10:06. local time, all near the town of San Gabriel, in Carchi, a province located in northern Ecuador.
The alarms in the place were redoubled when last Monday an earthquake of magnitude 5.2 -which had 8 aftershocks-, shook a large part of the border province of Carchi, where it affected more than 300 buildings, especially in rural sectors of the jurisdiction.
Since that day, more than 450 events have been located in the area of the Chiles-Cerro Negro volcanic complex, located on the Andean border between Ecuador and Colombia, while in the neighboring region of Potrerillos-Chalpatán, some 15 kilometers away, They have recorded more than 600 with magnitudes between 0.5 and 4.2, less than 10 kilometers deep.
On Saturday, the Geophysical Institute reported that some 1,200 mild volcano-tectonic earthquakes were recorded in the area of the Chiles-Cerro Negro volcanic complex, and pointed out that the surface activity in the Chiles volcano was “very low” and with a trend ” ascending”, while the internal one was “moderate” but also on the rise.
Last Tuesday, the IG warned of an increase in the activity of the volcanic complex and suggested that the authorities of the two countries consider a joint evacuation drill as a “preparation measure”.
According to the Institute, a phenomenon of inflation in the massif plus a fault considered “seismogenic” in the area, in addition to other conditions, could act as a “trigger mechanism” for Monday’s strong earthquake.
FIRE BELT
Ecuador is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, which concentrates some of the most important subduction zones (sinking of tectonic plates) in the world and is the scene of strong seismic activity.
In addition to Ecuador, the Belt, which is shaped like a horseshoe, includes a large number of countries such as Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, the United States and Canada.
On April 16, Ecuador remembered the sixth anniversary of one of the most destructive earthquakes in its recent history, of magnitude 7.8.
That natural phenomenon, which occurred on April 16, 2016, left more than 670 dead, thousands affected, as well as millions of material losses.
This earthquake hit the provinces of Esmeraldas (border with Colombia) and its neighbor Manabí, both located on the coast of the Andean country, with intensity, but it also affected other areas and was felt strongly, even in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, located in the province of Pichincha, located in the Andean zone of the country.
