A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck near Ecuador’s capital city of Quito late Thursday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Approximately two million people live within 60 miles of the region that was struck hardest by the natural disaster.
Ecuadorian officials have not shared the number of people killed, wounded, or missing as a result of the incident.
Around the same time, a 5.8.-magnitude quake rocked Chile while a 5.5-strength one hit on the Colombia-Panama border, according to multiple reports. The trio of quakes took place in South and Central American countries.
Any earthquake with a magnitude above six is considered “strong” on the Richter Scale, which USGS uses to score them.
On Thursday, a powerful earthquake struck Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, leaving at least 16 people dead or presumed dead while an unspecified number remain missing as well as injured.
The earthquake measured a magnitude 6.7, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, and was followed by a massive landslide when the side of a ridge collapsed and buried nearby villages in soil and trees.
