5.2 magnitude earthquake damages more than 200 homes and injures several in San Gabriel, Ecuador

An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 on the Richter scale registered Thursday a few kilometers from the border town of San Gabriel, in northern Ecuador, has damaged more than 200 houses and left eight people injured.

The tremor was recorded at a depth of 7.75 kilometers and 17.8 kilometers from San Gabriel, in the province of Carchi, and had aftershocks in Imbabura, Pichincha, Esmeraldas, Sucumbíos, Napo, Orellana and Pastaza, as reported by the Geophysical Institute of Ecuador.

The latest report from Ecuador’s National Risk and Emergency Management Service details that the quake has left 255 homes affected in the region, of which 15 have been completely destroyed, and eight people injured.

Of the total number of injured, four of them have been in the town of Montúfar, while three others have been registered in Espejo. The seven injured have been transferred to health centers for contusions, fractures and hip traumas. The last injured was registered in Tulcán, with a laceration in the hand, reported ‘El Telégrafo’.

The Emergency Operations Committee of Carchi has held meetings with the Governor’s Office and the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing to meet the needs of the population that lost their homes and establish temporary shelters.