The collapse of the walls of the shrimp farms in three sectors of El Oro forces the emptying of the shrimp farm pools. This causes millions in damage.
The earthquake of March 18, 2023, which had an intensity of 6.5 on the Richter scale, became the strongest telluric movement that Ecuador has experienced since the earthquake that struck Manabí and Esmeraldas on April 16, 2016.
Official figures report 14 people dead and 489 injured, in addition to damage -which has not yet been quantified- to public and private infrastructure.
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03/20/2023
3:40
Millionaire loss in the shrimp sector
The National Chamber of Aquaculture reported that after the earthquake of March 18, 2023, the partial collapse of the walls of shrimp farms located in the Bravito, Estero Huaylá and Puerto Bolívar sectors, in El Oro, was recorded.
According to the calculations of this entity, the damage caused by these damages exceeds USD 10 million, since the walls must be completely rebuilt. This, in turn, involves emptying the pools in which shrimp are grown.
The Chamber also highlighted that so far there are no victims linked to the shrimp sector.
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03/20/2023
3:24
New voucher for rent to victims
The Ministry of Housing will declare an emergency to attend to those affected by the earthquake. It also offers to purchase homes already built from the private sector.
The Government announced the creation of an emergency lease bond, after the 6.5 magnitude earthquake that occurred on March 18, 2023, with its epicenter in Balao (Guayas).
This new bonus will be delivered to those affected by natural disasters whose homes have collapsed or are uninhabitable. The beneficiaries will receive the resources for three months, with the right to renew it once.
The bonus will be 1.5 unified basic salaries, that is, USD 675, informed Fabián Vuele, zone 6 coordinator of the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing. That amount will be to cover the three months of rent.
The objective of delivering this voucher is to provide immediate attention to the victims, while the Ministry of Housing provides a definitive solution, the official assured.
To create the emergency lease bonus, President Guillermo Lasso must reform Executive Decree 405, of April 21, 2022.
This decree establishes the regulations for social and public interest housing. According to this regulation, there are two bonuses that people affected by a natural disaster can access:
- For construction or reconstruction of irrecoverable homes: up to 64 basic salaries (USD 28,800)
- For intervention in recoverable homes: up to 32 SBU (USD 14,400)
President Guillermo Lasso also announced that he will acquire homes already built from the private sector to expedite the delivery of housing solutions to the victims.
Until the afternoon of Monday, March 20, 2023, the Government has not issued the executive decree to reform these regulations. After that, the Ministry of Housing will detail the requirements that the victims must meet to access the rental bonus.
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03/20/2023
2:06
The people affected are quantified
At 10:00 a.m. on March 20, 2023, the Risk Management Secretariat published the seventh situation report on the earthquake that occurred in Balao two days ago.
In this report, the entity added a variable that had not appeared in previous reports. So far, the Government has counted 1,107 people affected by the telluric movement.
The majority of people affected are in El Oro, there are 940. Then there are 132 people with difficulties in Guayas. The other 35 cases are distributed among Loja, Los Ríos, Bolívar, Cañar, Chimborazo, Santa Elena and Tungurahua.
In addition, the number of affected homes went from 205 to 235. The SNGR indicated that both the houses and the people affected are in the process of technical evaluation.
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03/20/2023
1:14
Problems with drinking water supply in Cuenca
Five rural parishes in Cuenca and 46 communities have problems with the supply of drinking water due to a landslide caused by the earthquake on Saturday, March 18, 2023.
The landslide affected the Chulco-Sorroche drinking water plant, in the north of Cuenca, reported the Cuenca Drinking Water and Telecommunications Company (ETAPA).
The raw water that enters the plant has high turbidity and this does not allow normal treatment. For this reason, ETAPA reduced the volume of drinking water production. The affected parishes are Ricaurte, Llacao, Sidcay, Checa, Octavio Cordero Palacios.
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03/20/2023
12:44 p.m.
Health assures that hospitals in El Oro are operational
In an interview with Radio Superior, the Minister of Health, José Ruales, pointed out that the 461 injured in Machala have already been treated in establishments in the city.
According to Ruales, the entire health system in Machala and Pasaje is working. “In El Oro, they are operational and have not stopped attending during the emergency due to the earthquake,” said the Minister on his Twitter account.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Health recalled the offer of the Government to repower the San Vicente de Paul Hospital, in Pasaje, which suffered damages due to the earthquake on Saturday.
The non-structural affectations occurred in the hospitalization rooms, surgical center and outpatient clinic.
To repair these damages, the Government will allocate USD 400,000. In addition, another USD 600,000 will be invested for the construction of a new emergency service and improvements in the electrical network and drinking water system.
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03/20/2023
11:23
13 houses destroyed and damage to 40 infrastructures in Azuay
The governor of Azuay, Matías Abad, updated the data on the damage caused by the earthquake in Azuay on the morning of March 20, 2023. According to Abad, in the province there were two deaths and 34 injuries were reported, most of them have already been discharged and are with their families.
In addition, he reported that there are 13 victims who lost their homes and belongings. In Cuenca, 10 houses collapsed, two in the Nero parish and eight in Chaucha. Two houses collapsed in the Pucará canton.
In Cuenca, up to March 20, 40 affected infrastructures have been recorded, including public and private assets, reported the Risk coordinator, Milton Benítez.
At least nine heritage buildings in Cuenca have light damage from the earthquake. This Monday, March 20, the Directorate of Historic Areas of the Municipality continues the review of the assets.
Felipe Manosalvas, director of Historic Areas, reported that among the affected buildings are the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the Old Cathedral, the Church of Santo Domingo, the Remigio Crespo and Modern Art museums.
These heritage assets have cracks, fissures, roof movement or part of the finishes have detached. The Archdiocese of Cuenca will make a complete evaluation of the structure to find out if there was more serious damage.
Manosalvas reported that in the center of Cuenca there are 171 properties in poor condition, which are the most vulnerable to damage. That was the situation of the house from which a cornice fell off on Saturday, a classic decorative element of downtown houses.
This Monday, municipal technicians plan to evaluate the inside of the property to verify if there is more damage.
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03/20/2023
10:28
29 aftershocks, reports the Geophysicist
At least 29 aftershocks have been registered since the March 18 quake, which caused 14 deaths and hit mainly El Oro and Azuay.
But the director of the Geophysical Institute (IG), Mario Ruiz, clarified that these aftershocks are minimal compared to the earthquake of April 2016, which registered hundreds of telluric movements in subsequent days.
“The largest magnitude aftershock was 4.7, about 10 minutes after the main earthquake,” said Ruiz, in an interview with Teleamazonas, on March 20.
As Ruiz explained, most of these minor events have not been felt in Machala, Cuenca or Guayaquil, cities impacted by the recent earthquake.
One of the reasons why this earthquake presents less aftershocks is because it did not occur near the earth’s surface, but at a depth of 45 and 65 kilometers.
Regarding the possible cause of the earthquake, Ruiz pointed out that it was due to a fracture in the upper part of the Nazca plate, which is under the entire national territory.
Regarding the exact epicenter of the earthquake, the expert indicated that the telluric event was located under the northeastern edge of Puná Island, in the Gulf of Guayaquil.
“An earthquake in the Gulf of Guayaquil was to be expected because it is a highly active area,” said Ruiz.
But, the detector systems recognized the population of Balao, in Guayas, as the epicenter, despite being 50 kilometers from the Gulf.
On the other hand, Ruiz indicated that Saturday’s earthquake has been one of the most important in the last decade, due to its effects on buildings and human lives.
Although he ruled out that Ecuador is going through a seismic swarm or that the affected populations will face similar events.