March 19 (Portal) – Ecuadorian and Peruvian authorities worked on Sunday to repair damage caused by the powerful earthquake that shook the region the previous day, leaving at least 15 dead and hundreds injured.
The 6.8-magnitude tremor shook Ecuador’s coastal Guayas province on Saturday noon, with residents reporting shaking across much of the country as well as Peru’s northern border towns.
“Our goal is to take immediate action that will bring us back to normal,” President Guillermo Lasso said in a video on Sunday evening. “You have my full support to repair any damage as quickly as possible, for which the Treasury Department has already allocated the necessary resources.”
Lasso reported 14 deaths and more than 460 injured. He said 89 houses were destroyed and another 192 were damaged. Dozens of health centers and educational institutions also registered impacts, he said.
He said the government had created a housing rental voucher and would be purchasing houses where families who had lost their homes could stay.
[1/8] A boy stands next to rubble after an earthquake in Isla Puna, Ecuador, March 19, 2023. Portal/Maria Fernanda Landin
The Risk Management Secretariat said it dispatched a team to Puna Island near the earthquake’s epicenter early Sunday to assess needs and provide humanitarian assistance.
State oil company Petroecuador reported that six oil fields were hit by a power outage, resulting in a production drop of about 17,400 barrels of oil.
Petroecuador said an offshore platform near the epicenter also suffered damage, causing machinery to stop working and temporarily reducing production. The company calculated the lost production at over 20.5 million cubic feet per day.
Peruvian authorities reported one death, four houses collapsed and five others uninhabitable, while essential services and transport infrastructure remained undamaged.
In his Sunday address, Pope Francis expressed his condolences for the losses and “all those who are suffering as a result of the earthquake”. Other governments, including those of Chile and Cuba, sent messages of solidarity.
Ecuador and Peru are part of what is known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, a vast area surrounding the Pacific Ocean where continental plate collisions are common.
Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Ecuador, Fabián Cambero in Santiago and Jackie Botts in Mexico City; Edited by Matthew Lewis and Gerry Doyle
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