NATURAL DISASTERS: Magnitude 6.1 aftershock
hits Ecuador following deadly earthquake
It was the
strongest aftershock yet following the magnitude 7.8 on the Richter scale that
killed more than 500 people.
The latest
aftershock led some people in Portoviejo to abandon homes, even those with no
apparent damage, and head through the night toward a former airport where temporary
shelters have been set up.
Meanwhile,
scenes of mourning multiplied all along Ecuador's normally placid Pacific
coastline as people began burying loved ones and hope faded that more survivors
will be found. Funeral homes were running out of caskets, and local governments
were paying to bring in coffins from other cities.
The National
Prosecutors Office put the death toll at 553 on Wednesday but officials
expected more bodies to be found, with the Defense Department reporting Tuesday
that about 100 people were still missing.
The final
toll could surpass casualties from earthquakes in Chile and Peru in the past
decade
Saturday´s
earthquake destroyed or damaged about 1,500 buildings, triggered mudslides and
left some 2,000 people homeless, the government said. It was the worst tremor
in Ecuador since the one in 1949 that killed more than 5,000 people.
