Two earthquakes shake southwestern Ecuador but no injuries are reported

Two earthquakes rattled nerves and sent workers and residents into the streets is several cities on Tuesday. Emergency services reported, however, that there were no injuries or serious damage in the quakes centered in Santa Elena and El Oro provinces.

Location map of Santa Elena quake.

The first and strongest of the quakes, registering 4.9 on the Richter scale, occurred at 10:59 a.m., its epicenter in a sparsely populated area of eastern Santa Elena. The quake sent thousands into the street in Guayaquil and was also felt strongly in Naranjal, Babahoyo, La Libertad, Pedro Carbo, Daule, and Salinas.

The second quake, of 3.7 magnitude, was recorded two hours later, at 12:45 p.m., centered near Huaquillas in El Oro Province.

Ecuador’s Geophysical Institute said that the earthquakes occurred in an area criss-crossed with active faults and that more seismic activity is possible.