Massive Earthquake Strikes Ecuador Killing Hundreds

The government says it is the country's worst quake in decades.
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PORTOVIEJO/PEDERNALES, Ecuador, April 18 (Reuters) - The death toll rose to 350 on Monday from a devastating earthquake that hit Ecuador at the weekend, as rescuers hunted for survivors, victims clamored for aid and looting broke out in the Andean nation's shattered coastal region.

More than 2,000 people were injured in Saturday night's 7.8 magnitude quake, which ripped apart buildings and roads and knocked out power along the Pacific coastline.

President Rafael Correa, giving the new tally of fatalities from the town of Portoviejo inside the disaster zone, told Reuters the number of dead had risen to 350 but feared that would rise further.

"Reconstruction will cost billions of dollars," said Correa, as survivors begged him for water, adding later on Monday the impact on economic growth "could be huge."

The normally upbeat socialist president looked deeply moved as he chatted with victims during a tour of the destroyed town in the South American OPEC nation, which was already suffering from the global slump in crude oil prices.

One U.S. citizen is confirmed to have died in the quake, the State Department said on Monday, and Britain's Guardian newspaper said Sister Clare Theresa Crockett, 33, a missionary nun from Derry in Northern Ireland, also died.

A collapsed home after an earthquake in the city of Guayaquil on April 17, 2016.
A collapsed home after an earthquake in the city of Guayaquil on April 17, 2016.
MARCOS PIN MENDEZ/Getty Images

It has been decades since such a strong quake struck Ecuador. In 1979, a magnitude 7.7 quake killed at least 600 people and injured 20,000, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In other parts of Portoviejo, people stole clothes and shoes from wrecked buildings as police tried to control crowds. Armed men robbed two trucks carrying water, clothes and other basics to quake-hit beach locality Pedernales from the city of Guayaquil, authorities said, as fears of looting spread.

To the north in Pedernales, survivors curled up on mattresses or plastic chairs next to flattened homes. Overnight, soldiers and police had patrolled the hot, dark streets while rescuers searched for survivors.

Earlier, firefighters entered a partially destroyed house to look for three children and a man apparently trapped inside, as a crowd gathered to watch.

"My little cousins are inside. Before, there were noises, screams. We must find them," pleaded Isaac, 18.

Tents sprang up in the intact stadium to store bodies, treat the injured, and distribute water, food and blankets. Bruised and bandaged survivors wandered around while the more seriously injured were evacuated to hospitals.

GLOOM FOR ECONOMY

The quake is doubly disastrous for Ecuador as economic growth was already forecast near zero this year due to plunging oil income.

The energy industry appeared largely intact although the main refinery of Esmeraldas was closed as a precaution. However, exports of bananas, flowers, cocoa beans and fish could be slowed by ruined roads and port delays.

Michael Henderson, at risk consultancy Maplecroft, said Ecuador was less well equipped to recover than Chile, where a 2010 earthquake caused an estimated $30 billion in damage.

"Whereas Chile's economy was rebounding strongly from the global financial crisis ..., Ecuador has been slowing sharply recently as lower oil prices depress activity," he said.

"But total damage to assets in dollar terms may be quite a bit lower than in Chile due to the smaller magnitude of the earthquake and the fact that Ecuador is a much poorer country."

The quake could also play into political dynamics ahead of next year's presidential election.

The government's response seemed relatively speedy, with Vice President Jorge Glas - a potential candidate in the February 2017 vote - flying into the disaster zone within hours and Correa coming straight back from a trip in Italy.

But some survivors complained about lack of electricity and supplies, and aid had still not reached some areas.

USGS

PRISONERS ON THE RUN

Over 300 aftershocks rattled survivors huddling in the streets, worried their already cracked homes could topple.

"We're scared of being in the house," said Yamil Faran, 47, in Portoviejo. "When ... the aftershocks stop, we're going to see if we can repair it."

Some 130 inmates climbed over the collapsed walls of the town's low-security El Rodeo prison, although more than 35 were recaptured.

On Monday, people swarmed into the middle of Portoviejo in search of materials of value among destroyed buildings.

"I have to take some advantage from this horrible tragedy. I need money to buy food. There's no water, no light, and my house was destroyed," said Jorge Espinel, 40, who works in the recycling business.

About 13,500 security personnel were mobilized.

People stand amongst the rubble of fallen homes in Manta on April 17, 2016, after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador on April 16.
People stand amongst the rubble of fallen homes in Manta on April 17, 2016, after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador on April 16.
JUAN CEVALLOS/Getty Images

Some $600 million in credit from multilateral lenders was immediately activated for the emergency, the government said. Nearly 400 rescue workers flew in from various Latin American neighbors, along with 83 specialists from Switzerland and Spain.

Two Canadians were among the dead. Jennifer Mawn, 38, and her 12-year-old son, Arthur, died when the roof of their coastal residence collapsed.

Residents on Ecuador's Galapagos islands, far off the country's coast and home to numerous rare species, said they had not been affected by the quake.

The tremor followed two deadly quakes that struck Japan late last week. Both countries are on the seismically active "Ring of Fire" that circles the Pacific, but the U.S. Geological Survey says large quakes separated by such distances would probably not be related.

(Additional reporting by Alexandra Valencia and Diego Ore in Quito, and Alexandra Ulmer in Caracas; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Bernadette Baum and James Dalgleish)

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