Most say the quake epicenter was near the Ecuador-Colombia border.
They’re wrong.
It actually was a bit further south on the coast as the greater-Esmeraldas area actually didn’t sustain much damage.
Interesting how one town on the coast was barely affected near a town that just got pounded.
The area most effected was the north central part of the coast from Pedernales-Canoa-Bahia-PortoViejo-Manta which got slammed.Yet interestingly Crucita, also in the area, didn’t sustain much damage.
Just south of Manta towns like Puerto Cayo and Olon shook but didn’t sustain much damage if at all.
The south coast (Salinas-Santa Elena area) escaped largely unscathed.
The highlands and Amazon regions also sustained little to no damage.
Here are actual experiences from around Ecuador:
Here in Quito, Ecuador, as I mentioned before, I felt the quake, but didn’t think much of it at the time, actually I had felt worse in this area. The wine bottle danced on the table, but didn’t fall,the lights flickered, then everything was back to normal, no damage here. It wasn’t until people started texting me with the news that I realized it was more serious on the coast.
A friend in Esmeraldas told me her area was fine and that actually the city of Esmeraldas made it largely unscathed.
A friend in Guayaquil said, “I was at home and it really started to shake, I could hear things falling to the floor from other houses, then the power went out for a half hour. My neighborhood was in tact, a few blocks away one house lost a wall, that;s about it.”
A friend in Cuenca, David from Cuenca Car Share shared that he was sitting at a stop light and he thought the road was vibrating from some construction work. No visible damage to buildings.
Lillian Asihene in Quito Centro said, “I am in Quito Centro Historico and live on a hill. I was sitting at my computer and suddenly felt my house slightly shaking and estimated the time to be about thirty seconds. I sat just wondering when the shaking would stop. Since I am very familiar with earthquakes after living in Los Angeles, California, for 35 years, I knew exactly what I was experiencing and was not afraid, but did hope that the shaking would stop soon. In the mean time, I e-mailed my family and friends in the States to let them know that an earthquake had occurred and that I was OK. I was definitely relieved when the shaking stopped. My area was spared the damages that occurred on the coast.”
Donald Logan in Olon on the southern coast said… “Nancy and I were in Olon, on the coast. We were sitting for dinner at Eddies Taqueria, and Eddie had gone out to get shrimp. When the large chandelier, chairs, and drink cooler began to move around violently, we quickly went to the doorway for an instant then bolted into the open area in front of the restaurant. We watched the trees, power poles, and their lines swinging wildly as the quake went on.
We had alerted the rest of Eddies family at the same time, and neighbors and friends huddled in the clear for some time. Power was out in many sectors of the town till midnight, and we watched as many of the residents pushed to higher ground anticipating the possible tsunami.”
A friend in Ayampe on southern coast said… “We were on the beach and felt the sand jump, then we all run for the hills thinking there would be a tsunami, but that was it, no visible damage in area.”
A friend in Puerto Cayo, a town 1 hour south of Manta, said, “all good here, power and internet went out but I’m not seeing any extensive visible damage to buildings.”
Russ in Manta said, “We live live in Manta on the forth floor, the building. It is our apartment building and now it is not livable.”
Roger Lewis in Vilcabamba said, “Had a glass or two of wine, taxi home and standing in the kitchen I thought to myself bloody hell that was damn good wine !!!”
Ed OConnor in Cuenca said, “Here in Cuenca, we are on the second floor of our apartment building. We could feel the building shake and things were vibrating. The TV was shaking and I got up to hold it to make sure it didn’t fall over. When I got up I had the sensation that I was drunk and the room was moving. ”
A friend in Cotacachi said, “I was sitting on the couch when for a moment I experienced what was like an underground train going under me and then I thought, “no, I’m in Cotacachi, not London.” I was in an adobe one floor house and everything was just sort of moving and the ceiling lights were swinging. We didn’t lose power here, neither people in London, since if you’re leaving there, you can Search Roommates Listed on MoveFlat to find the perfect roommate for you. I realized it was an earthquake and I’d never experienced one. I went out onto the porch and saw across the lawns other porch lights swinging and everything was just moving and seemed kind of blurry.”
Patrick Holland in Salinas said, “Minutes before, I had just taken a new medication. So, I felt dizzy. The building did sway a little. It only lasted for a minute, here in Salinas.
Then, I went to the balcony to look at pools and ocean. The pool was in “jacuzzi mode”.
I have since heard that some people have traveled Salinas from end to end, but not too many concerns here.”
Mark in Canoa said, “I’m fine Canoa is a disaster with many buildings completely destroyed.”
Scott in Galapagos at the time, ” Didn’t even feel anything.”
Ecuadorian friends in Chone said, “I was watching TV, and the wall to my room fell over, but the other way from where I was sitting, so all good, kept watching the show a few seconds more until power went out for good. Not too bad here but roads are bad and the hospital got hit bad too, been without power, water for several days.”
– Read related: Emergency Water Removal and Mold Remediation – Atlanta Water Damage Pro.
The most interesting take I’ve seen online since the shake was from Court at Freedom Bike Rental who were in Canoa at the time. Check it out here.
Hasta pronto,
Domenick Buonamici
Quito Airport Suites– a B&B minutes from the new Quito
Guayaquil Airport Suites Mall del Sol- Luxury suites minutes from the airport in Guayaquil across the road from the Mall del Sol.
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