According the authorities, there are villages totally devastated. Shelters had been set up and emergency portable hospitals were being deployed. About 13,500 security force personnel were mobilized to keep order around Ecuador, and $600 million in credit from multilateral lenders was immediately activated for the emergency. President Rafael Correa cut short a trip to Italy to return and signed a decree declaring national emergency. There were no reports of casualties in the capital Quito but parts of the city had power and phone service interrupted for several hours. Venezuela and Mexico were sending immediately personnel and supplies to help. In Manta, the airport was closed after the control tower collapsed. The principal refinery of Esmeraldas, located near the epicenter, had been halted as a precaution. Hydroelectric dams and oil pipelines were shut down.
UPDATE
More than 350 people were killed and thousands injured.
