A magnitude 5 earthquake shakes an Amazon area of Ecuador

An earthquake of preliminary magnitude 5 and originating at a depth of about 129 kilometers has shaken this Thursday a sector of the Amazonian province of Morona Santiago, in the southeast of Ecuador, without any casualties or material damage being reported so far.

The Geophysical Institute (IG) of the National Polytechnic School has reported that the tremor occurred at 8:38 p.m. local time (early morning in Spain) about 36 kilometers from the city of Macas, the capital of the province.

The epicenter of the telluric movement was located at 2.01 degrees south latitude and 78.27 degrees west longitude, with a hypocenter located 129 kilometers deep, the IG has specified on its web portal.

The earthquake, of which there are no reports indicating that it was felt by the population, has been located in an area close to the Sangay National Park, where the active volcano of the same name stands.

Ecuador is subjected to great seismic activity because it is located in the so-called subduction zone, an underwater region where the Nazca plate collides with the South American continental shelf near the coastal profile.

Likewise, the interior of the Ecuadorian territory is crossed by numerous systems of geological faults linked to the Andes mountain range, which also affects the seismic activity of the country.