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🇪🇨 Ecuador /Disasters & Emergencies

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake alarms southern Ecuador

From El Comercio · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Context piece
  • A magnitude 5.5 earthquake shook Loja province in southern Ecuador early Saturday, June 13, 2026.
  • The epicenter was located near Macará, close to the Peruvian border, at a depth of 46 kilometers.
  • Authorities reported no significant structural damage or casualties.

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake jolted Loja province in southern Ecuador early Saturday, June 13, 2026. The tremor occurred at 01:35 local time in the canton of Macará, near the border with Peru, according to the National Polytechnic School's Geophysical Institute.

The definitive report placed the epicenter 20.49 kilometers from Macará, at a depth of 46 kilometers. This depth allowed the seismic waves to propagate significantly across other sub-regions of Ecuador's Sierra and Coast.

Residents in Loja, Azuay, and El Oro provinces described the earthquake as strong and brief. Social media buzzed with concern from cities like Cuenca and Machala, with one user on X describing it as a "strong shake."

As of the latest reports, Ecuador's National Secretariat of Risk Management has not reported any affected individuals or significant structural damage to buildings. The Geophysical Institute also has not recorded any related aftershocks.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Comercio in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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