Quito and spurring warnings of strong waves on the Andean
nations coast.
"I was in my house watching a movie and everything started to shake. I ran out into the street and now I dont know whats going to happen," said Lorena Cazares, 36, a telecommunications
worker in Quito.
Pictures provided to Reuters by the government showed a bridge collapsed in the coastal city of Guayaquil and a collapsed tower at the airport in the city of Manta.
Some parts of the capital were without power or telephone service, with many communicating only via Whatsapp. Photos on social media showed cracks in the walls of shopping centers.
The Andean countrys emergency authority did not confirm any reports of damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a magnitude of 7.8, though Ecuadors Institute of Geophysics on its Twitter account published several different figures that were lower.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said tsunami waves reaching 0.3 to 1 meters above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Ecuador.
Neighboring Peru issued a tsunami alert for the north of the country following the quake.
The quake was centered just off the coast at a shallow dept of 19 km (12 miles), according to the USGS.
Across the Pacific in Japan, a 7.3 magnitude tremor struck Kumamoto province early Saturday, killing at least 32 people, injuring about a thousand and causing widespread damage, in the second major quake to hit the island of Kyushu in just over 24 hours. The first, late on Thursday, killed nine.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
