According to the United States Geological Survey, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake occurred on the southwestern coast of Ecuador at 01:12 Beijing time on March 19, 2023, with a focal depth of 65.8 kilometers.
At the time of the earthquake, the earthquake was felt significantly in most of Ecuador, as well as in northern Peru. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the Gulf of Guayaquil, north of the city of Machala in southwestern Ecuador, and the intensity of the earthquake on land was 8 degrees at the time of the earthquake.
The earthquake is located under the Nazca plate subducting east below the South American plate, the epicenter depth of this earthquake is a medium-source earthquake, the earthquake occurred at the time of the earthquake in 13 of Ecuador's 24 provinces in the country of the country there was a clear tremor, this strong earthquake caused at least 16 deaths, more than 381 injuries, about hundreds of houses collapsed, the earthquake hardest hit areas are mainly concentrated in Ecuador's El Oro and Guayas and Azué provinces, in addition to Ecuador's neighboring Peru also reported casualties and house collapse and other losses.
Ecuador is located at the junction of the Nazca plate and the South American plate, because the Nazca plate subducts eastward about 7 cm every year, so Ecuador has historically had very frequent seismic activity, according to the official website of the United States Geological Survey, since 1900, a total of 11 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or above have been recorded in Ecuador and its offshore waters, the largest being the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in the northern Ecuador-southwest coast of Colombia on January 31, 1906.
In addition, Ecuador's history has caused a large number of destructive earthquakes that have caused serious casualties, and the following are the destructive earthquakes that have killed more than 1,000 people since Ecuador began to be recorded. 【Earthquake occurrence time is local time】
At 07:30 on February 4, 1797, a magnitude 7.6-8.3 earthquake struck near the city of Riobamba in central Ecuador, which had an epicenter of 11 degrees and devastated the city of Riobamba, killing between 6,000 and 40,000 people.
On the afternoon of August 15 and 01:30 on August 16, 1868, a succession of 6.3 magnitude and 6.7 magnitude earthquakes occurred in the border area between northern Ecuador and Colombia, of which the first strong earthquake had a strong epicenter intensity of 8 degrees, the second strong earthquake had a high intensity of 10 degrees, and the two earthquakes killed at least 70,000 people.
At 10:36 on January 31, 1906, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck the northern Ecuador-southwestern Colombian sea, the largest earthquake ever recorded in Ecuador, triggering a destructive tsunami along the coast of Colombia and Ecuador, reaching a maximum of 5 metres. The earthquake killed between 1,000 and 1,500 people in Ecuador and Colombia.
At 14:08 on August 5, 1949, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the province of Tunguraba, southeast of the city of Ambato in central Ecuador, with an epicenter intensity of 11 degrees and killed at least 5,050 people.
At 23:10 on March 5, 1987, a series of 6.7 magnitude earthquakes, 7.1 magnitude earthquakes and 6 magnitude earthquakes occurred in northern Ecuador, with a maximum intensity of 9 degrees, which killed 1,000 people and left 4,000 missing.