Powerful M7.5 earthquake hits Ecuador near Peru border - Felt in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia


A major M7.5 earthquake hit 115km ESE of Palora, Ecuador at 10:17 (UTC) on February 22, 2019 and at a depth of 132 km. The quake was felt over very large distances – from Ecuador to Peru and Colombia. No reports of injuries, death or heavy damage, yet. Thankfully, the epicenter of the quake was very 
deep!






A powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck eastern Ecuador during the early morning hours of Friday.
The earthquake occurred at 5:17 a.m. ECT/EST with the epicenter in the rural area located near the central border of Peru and Ecuador, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Earthquake Feb 21



That was followed by a 5.5 magnitude earthquake that occurred less than 25 minutes later in western Ecuador, near the city of Guayaquil.
Light to strong shaking was felt throughout the country with very strong shaking reported in a few communities in southern Ecuador and northern Peru.

There has been no immediate word of fatalities, and Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno stated that preliminary reports do not indicate major damage occurred.
Showers and thunderstorms can occur daily across Ecuador through this weekend, potentially putting a damper on and disrupting any rescue or recovery efforts in the wake of the earthquakes.

This is a breaking news situation, and AccuWeather will provide more updates as they unfold.