2016 Ecuador earthquake

Date: April 16, 2016

Place: Ecuador, Colombia, Peru

Result: about675 people dead; $3 billion in damages

Overview

Ecuador is located over several fault lines that make the west coast of South America vulnerable to powerful earthquakes. On the evening of April 16, 2016, one such earthquake struck near the boundary of the Nazca and South American plates. The quake was centered near the small town of Muisne, Ecuador, on the country’s Pacific coast. The earthquake was later estimated to have a magnitude of 7.8 on the moment magnitude scale and as a category VII on the Mercalli intensity scale by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The moment magnitude scale, which is a more precise version of the better-known Richter scale, measures the intensity of the earthquake near its center, while the Mercalli scale measures the intensity of the shaking. By both measures, the 2016 Ecuador earthquake was severe. Ultimately, it was estimated to have caused more than $3 billion in damage in an area stretching from southern Colombia to northern Peru. More than 650 people were believed to have died in the quake and more than 230,000 were injured. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit Ecuador since an 8.2 event devastated a region along the border of Ecuador and Colombia in 1979. It was the most damaging earthquake in the region since a 7.2 quake in 1987 killed about 1,000 people. The 2016 earthquake occurred in a similar location to a 1942 earthquake.

The earthquake ruptured a fault line nearly 125 miles (200 kilometers) long in an area between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates. These plates are pieces of Earth’s outer crust that continue to rub together. The interactions between the oceanic Nazca plate and the South American plate, on which most of northern South America is located, were responsible for the creation of the Andes mountains millions of years ago. The Nazca plate is part of the infamous Ring of Fire, a tectonically active region forming a circle stretching along the coasts of Japan, Southeast Asia, North America, and South America. As a result of these Pacific plates rubbing against each other, this region is responsible for more than 80 percent of the world’s earthquakes and 90 percent of its volcanic eruptions.

In a thrust earthquake like the one that occurred in Ecuador, the Nazca plate moves underneath the neighboring South American plate, causing seismic movement. The Nazca plate is estimated to move east at a relatively quick rate of 2.4 inches (61 millimeters) a year. As a result, South America’s Pacific coast is subject to some of the strongest earthquakes in the world. An earthquake along these fault lines led to the most powerful quake ever recorded, a 9.5 earthquake near Lumaco, Chile, in 1960.

The primary 2016 Ecuador earthquake was preceded by a smaller 4.8 event that occurred only minutes before the second main quake. Hundreds of aftershocks were felt during the next few months. Two particularly severe aftershocks occurred on May 19 and July 10. An unrelated earthquake of 5.8 on December 19 struck the Esmeraldas province, killing three and further rattling the already frayed nerves of residents in the area.

Impact

The 2016 Ecuador earthquake was the second most powerful earthquake recorded in 2016 after a 7.9 earthquake struck in December in Papua New Guinea. However, unlike the Papua New Guinea quake, the Ecuador event occurred at a shallow depth. The Papua New Guinea earthquake happened at a depth of 58.7 miles (94.5 kilometers) below the surface, while the Ecuador quake occurred at only a depth of 8.7 miles (14 kilometers). As a result, the damage from the Ecuador quake was much more severe despite being less powerful. When earthquakes occur deep within Earth’s crust, they may have greater intensity, but the seismic waves lose some of their power as they head for the surface. Since the Ecuador quake was so shallow, it was felt more strongly. The earthquake with 2016’s second highest death total provides a good comparison. Centered in Norcia, Italy, this earthquake had a lower intensity than many other 2016 quakes at a magnitude of 6.2, but since it struck at a shallow depth of 2.7 miles (4.4 kilometers) deep, damage was severe and 299 people were killed.

The greatest effects of the 2016 Ecuador earthquake occurred in a relatively lightly populated region, though damage did occur in Ecuador’s capital of Quito, which was approximately 110 miles (170 kilometers) from the quake’s epicenter. The most severe damage occurred in the Ecuadorian provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas; the government also declared states of emergency in Santo Domingo, Los Ríos, Santa Elena, and Guayas. Severe damage was reported as far away as the city of Guayquil, which is located 190 miles (300 kilometers) south of the epicenter. In the immediate aftermath of the quake, the cities of Manta, Pedernales, Cojimes, and Portoviejo were reported to have been particularly damaged.

Ultimately, Ecuador reported a death toll of 675 people, while another person died in Colombia; about 230,000 people were injured, with more than one million directly or indirectly impacted by the earthquake. An estimated 35,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, which resulted in about 140,000 people having a lack of adequate housing. My mid-October 2016, 16,000 people were still living in government-sponsored shelters or in displacement centers. The states of emergency in Manabí and Esmeraldas lasted until June 2017.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was among the aid groups that responded to the emergency. The group was responsible for providing water to 77,000 people and hygiene kits to another 68,000 people. UNICEF also provided temporary shelters for education facilities to more than 13,000 children in Manabí and Esmeraldas provinces. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) worked on behalf of displaced people to request the right to adequate and decent housing regardless of whether the displaced had a formal title to the land upon which they were living. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa applied for credit from the World Bank and other sources to help rebuild. In addition, Ecuador raised some sales and income taxes to help fund restoration efforts in the most affected areas.

Bibliography

Alvarez, Orlando, Andres Folguera, and Mario Gimenez. “Rupture Area Analysis of the Ecuador (Musine) Mw = 7.8 Thrust Earthquake on April 16, 2016, Using GOCE Derived Gradients.” Geodesy and Geodynamics, January 2017, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674984717300149. Accessed 14 May 2019.

“Ecuador: Earthquake—Apr 2016.” ReliefWeb, reliefweb.int/disaster/eq-2016-000035-ecu. Accessed 14 May 2019.

“Ecuador Earthquake of 7.8 Magnitude Kills Dozens.” BBC, 17 Apr. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36065551. Accessed 14 May 2019.

“Ecuador: Earthquake—Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) Final Report, Operation no. MDREC012” ReliefWeb, 31 Aug. 2018, reliefweb.int/report/ecuador/ecuador-earthquake-emergency-plan-action-epoa-final-report-operation-no-mdrec012. Accessed 14 May 2019.

Ellis, Ralph, Faith Karimi, Azadeh Ansari, and Natalie Gallon. “Ecuador Earthquake: Death Toll Jumps to 272; More than 2,500 Injured.” CNN, 18 Apr. 2016, www.cnn.com/2016/04/17/americas/ecuador-deadly-earthquake/index.html. Accessed 14 May 2019.

Howard, Brian Clark. “Ecuador’s Deadly Earthquake.” National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2016, news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160417-ecuador-earthquake-photos/. Accessed 14 May 2019.

“Magnitude 7.8 Earthquake in Ecuador.” United States Geological Survey, 16 Apr. 2016, www.usgs.gov/news/magnitude-78-earthquake-ecuador. Accessed 14 May 2019.

Sreenivasan, Hari. “Ecuador Looks to Rebuild After Devastating Earthquake.” PBS Newshour, 26 May 2016, www.pbs.org/newshour/show/ecuador-looks-to-pick-up-pieces-and-rebuild-after-devastating-earthquake. Accessed 14 May 2019.