Quakes spark tsunami fears
2005-01-21 08:02
Ecuador - Three earthquakes rocked Ecuador's Pacific coast on Thursday, causing no damage or injuries but leaving some residents panicking that a tsunami would follow, the nation's Geophysics Institute said.
The first quake struck at 16:46 GMT with a preliminary magnitude of 4.6. The second hit at 17:15 GMT, registering 4.3 on the Richter scale while the third, and most powerful, struck at 19:07 GMT with a magnitude of 4.9, the institute said in a statement.
The epicentres were all located in roughly the same area of the ocean floor, about 60 kilometres west of Manta, a coastal city roughly 260 kilometres southwest of the capital, Quito.
Alexandra Alvarado, the institute's chief seismologist, said that dozens of people rushed out of their homes and offices, and local radio reported similar instances of panic as far away as the coastal city of Esmeraldas, 200 kilometres north of Manta.
In the weeks following the December 26 Asian tsunami, Ecuadorean television and radio reports warned that a similar disaster could strike the country's Pacific coastline, sparking fear among coastal residents, Alvarado said.
She said the quakes on Thursday would have had to be at least 7.5 or stronger to generate a tidal wave.
- AP