Ecuador earthquake
 

Just woke up to the news of an earthquake in Ecuador. The epicentre was in Muisne. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-36065551

Looks pretty horrendous!

And there were just two in Japan. Wonder if there's any connection - opposite sides of the Pacific plate?

Horrible ~238 killed. I wondered about any connection between the earthquakes.
Crellston were your planning on being in the area where they occurred?

Seems they weren't connected:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/18/wo...&nlid=46581136

So sad. I hear there are many wounded as well.

That is a big quake and combined with some casual construction techniques it likely is devastating in that rather poor region of northwest Ecuador.

There is some info and links on tripadvisor Forum for those leaving soon. Also Wikipedia article has a shaking intensity map and some links.

One expat resident of Cuenca posted on TA suggesting not attempting to drive to the coast at this time (including between Cuenca and Guayaquil).

I believe Fodorite hopefulist was in Quito on the 16th when the quake happened, she posted on TA that she was headed for the Galapagos on the 17th.

Most airports are open except in the affected northwest coastal area, and the quake was not felt in the Galapagos.

As is always the case in these situations, the assessments and death/ injury tolls continue to increase as time goes by. It seems looting is also an issue in some areas!

YT - I was tossing up a number of options for crossing the Peru/Ecuador border but discounted the coastal route (which would have taken us through that area) mainly because it is the most popular and seems to have the most hassles so it is now down to the Piura - Macara - Loja or reversing our last trip via chachapoyas and La Bolsa. Probably go for the former as last time we took the La Bolsa options the roads were subject to frequent landslides etc even without earthquakes. I can only imagine that travel would be next to impossible with only a slight tremor.

Our thoughts go out to those affected. Let's hope there are no further shocks in store and life can get back to normal Asap.

Last time we were in Arequipa the Colca canyon was closed off due to an earthquake. I recall quickly walking outside from our apartment when it started. That was a relatively minor one but still concerning when the very earth starts shaking all around.

Stay flexible and safe crellston.

There are many building collapses so I fear the death toll is likely to escalate.

It's unbelievable. The global community must come together to rebuild. If anyone is looking to donate, this article lists several organizations like the Red Cross that are collecting donations http://hubs.ly/H02LZs20

The UN is stepping in to help

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53774

"The earthquake, the worst in Ecuador’s history, has reportedly left more than 600 people dead and over 12,000 injured mostly in coastal areas. According to estimates by Government and international agencies, 520,000 Ecuadorians were directly affected by the disaster and require food assistance."

Any updates on the situation now? How are they coping?

We are hoping to visit next February but it's hard to make plans with this situation ongoing.