A magnitude 6.3 earthquake has struck near the coast of Ecuador, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).
The quake was at a depth of 23km (14.29 miles), EMSC said.
Images shared online show buildings visibly damaged after a fresh earthquake struck Ecuador. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Past earthquakes
Ecuador has a long and painful history of seismic disasters.
In 2013, a quake that rattled northern Peru and southern Ecuador left at least 14 people dead and destroyed homes, schools, and health clinics.
Three years later, in 2016, a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake – Ecuador’s strongest since 1979 – killed at least 77 people and injured more than 500 others.
The country lies along the Pacific’s “Ring of Fire”, a volatile zone of seismic and volcanic activity encircling the ocean.
Ecuador straddles the boundary where the Nazca and South American tectonic plates meet- two massive sections of the Earth’s crust that grind against each other at about 65 millimetres (2.5 inches) per year.
More to come…
