QUITO (Ecuador) — Machala is affectionately known as the “Banana Capital of the World” and is home to approximately a quarter of a million people. It bustles with commerce during normal times. This weekend was different, however.
On Sunday, grief hung in the air, one day after a strong temblor rocked the city. It toppled homes and buildings along the coast, as well as parts of Peru and the Ecuadorian highlands.
Some streets in Machala were covered with rubble. To bury the dead, neighbors held simple funerals. The pier was gone. Machala residents felt anguished and uneasy a day following the earthquake that killed nine people along the coast.
Luis Becerra, a resident said that “the city is quiet, fear has been felt and the mourning has intensified.” You feel the pain and the drama wherever you go. Everyone should be alert and fearful in the event of a major aftershock.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake was magnitude 6.8, and it killed at least fifteen people. It also injured more than 445 other people. One person died in Peru, while Ecuador lost fourteen.
The earthquake destroyed and brought down hundreds upon hundreds of houses and buildings in many different areas, including the coastal areas and highlands. However, Ecuador had many homes that fell, regardless of where they were located. Many of them were old and did not conform to modern building standards for quake-prone countries.
Yajaira Albarracin and Silvina Zambrano-Chila, Graciela Chilela and Silvina Zambrano, Chila, died in the rubble of their Machala home, which is a low income neighborhood. A few neighbors stopped by the tent where the caskets were set up with floral arrangements, a crucifix and the caskets of the victims. According to some relatives, rescuers discovered the bodies of the children and women as though they were holding hands when disaster struck.
The earthquake struck just offshore of Guayaquil (Ecuador’s second-largest) city, approximately 50 miles (80 km) from the Pacific Coast. Twelve of the 14 country’s victims were killed in El Oro (the southwest coast state that includes Machala) and two in Azuay (the highlands state).
Ecuador is especially vulnerable to earthquakes. More than 600 people were killed in a 2016 earthquake that struck further north along the Pacific Coast.
Hamilton Cedillo, a Machala resident, said Sunday that he and his loved ones hardly slept for hours after the earthquake because they were afraid of aftershocks. They’ve created an evacuation plan and viewed videos about how to protect themselves in case of another earthquake.
Cedillo stated, “I am afraid to leave and that my family will not be here alone at home.”
During his Sunday noon blessing, Pope Francis offered prayers to the victims.
Francis stated, “I am close to Ecuadorian people and assure their of my prayers for the deceased and suffering.”
The emergency declaration by Ecuador’s government covers roads in Azuay. There, the quake debris had cut off many roads and made it worsened the already bad conditions caused by the winter’s heavy rainstorms. One victim was a passenger in a vehicle that was crushed by rubble from Cuenca’s house.
According to the Risk Management Secretariat of Ecuador, an emergency response agency, many people were trapped in El Oro under rubble and damaged buildings.
German Narvaez, a Quito-based architect, said that houses most affected by the earthquake are poorly constructed, with weak foundations and poor design. German Narvaez said that houses with the most vulnerability are usually older and constructed with materials like adobe which were once common in the area.
He said, “At critical points of seismic movements they tend to collapse.”
Juan Vera lost three of his relatives after the earthquake destroyed his niece’s house. The government offered to pay the funeral of the woman and that of her baby and her partner.
Vera now wonders why his family was allowed to live there. He believes the municipality should regulate building conditions better and make sure that only safe occupants are allowed to rent out or occupy properties.
Vera stated that the building where his relatives had died should have been demolished because of its age.
