Ecuador rattled by powerful twin earthquake tremors in Esmeraldas and Quito

Quito, July 11Two strong earthquakes struck Ecuador’S northwestern coast on Sunday night, officials said.

The first quake measuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale hit Muisne, a beach town in the province of Esmeraldas around 9 p.m. on Sunday, with a  shallow depth of 10 km, the Geophysical Institute of Ecuador said.

It was centred about 40 km south from the coastal city of Esmeraldas, which was devastated by a powerful quake in mid-April. The 7.8-magnitude earthquake left over 650 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.

Minutes later at 9.11pm local time , a second stronger quake measuring 6.2 jolted the same area , Xinhua news agency reported citing the institute.

The tremors prompted many people to flee out into the streets but details about damage are not available.Residents report power outages in some parts of Esmeraldas province,while Quito Mayor Mauricio Rodas reports no damage in the capital city despite the tremors being felt in the capital Quito.

Ecuador is located in the ” Pacific Ring of Fire” and Sunday’s earth quake came  nearly three months after a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck northwest Ecuador killing more than 660 people and injuring  many more

(IANS)