.The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered 16 miles south-southeast of Muisne on the country's coast
- .At least 77 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in the worst earthquake to hit the country since 1979
- .It sent residents fleeing for their lives and was felt as far away as Colombia, where it shook Cali and Popayan
A powerful, 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Ecuador's central coast yesterday, killing at least 77 people and spreading panic hundreds of miles away as it collapsed homes and buckled a major overpass.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the shallow quake, the strongest since 1979 to hit Ecuador, was centered 16 miles south-southeast of Muisne, a sparsely populated area of fishing ports that's popular with tourists.
Some 77 people were killed in surrounding cities including Manta, Portoviejo and Guayaquil - all several hundred miles from where the quake struck shortly after nightfall.
Vice President Jorge Glas said the death toll will likely rise further in what he called the 'worst seismic movement we have faced in decades'.
'At this moment, the number of confirmed deaths has reached 77, Glas said early today, adding more than 588 people were injured.
A powerful, 7.8-magnitude earthquake shook Ecuador's central coast on Saturday night, killing at least 77 people and spreading panic hundreds of miles away as it collapsed homes and buckled a major overpass
The death toll was expected to rise today as rescuers reached the sparsely populated area of fishing ports and tourist beaches where the quake was centered
Rescue workers work to pull out survivors trapped in a collapsed building in the city of Manta
Residents walk on a street amid destroyed buildings following the earthquake last night in Guayaquil, Ecuador
A hotel (left) barely stands after an earthquake in the town of Manta. Right, people look over a car that was crushed when an overpass buckled in Guayaqui
Police officers stand guard next to a collapsed overpass in Guayaquil, Ecuador after the earthquake rattled the area just after nightfall
Police inspect a car that was crushed when the overpass buckled and collapsed during the shaking in the coastal city
People stand next to the debris of a building in Manta, Ecuador. On social media residents shared photos of homes collapsed, the roof of a shopping center coming apart and supermarket shelves shaking violently
Gabriel Alcivar, the mayor of Pedernales, said: 'There are villages that are totally devastated What happened here in Pedernales is catastrophic. We're trying to do the most we can but there's almost nothing we can do.'
The death toll was expected to rise today as rescuers reached the sparsely populated area of fishing ports and tourist beaches where the quake was centered.
The quake was felt across the border in Colombia, where it shook residents in Cali and Popayan, and Peru briefly issued a tsunami warning. He pleaded for rescuers as dozens of buildings in the town were flattened, people trapped and looting broke out amid the chaos.
'This wasn't just a house that collapsed, it was an entire town.'
Among those killed was the driver of a car crushed by an overpass that buckled in Guayaquil, the country's most populous city.
On social media, residents shared photos of homes collapsed, the roof of a shopping center coming apart and supermarket shelves shaking violently.
In Manta, the airport was closed after the control tower collapsed, injuring an air force official. Hydroelectric dams and oil pipelines in the OPEC-member nation were shut down as a precautionary measure.
President Rafael Correa, who is in Rome after attending a Vatican conference Friday, called on Ecuadoreans to stay strong while authorities monitor events.
He said on Twitter that he had signed a decree declaring a national emergency but that the earliest he could get back to Ecuador is this afternoon.
'Everything can be rebuilt, but lost lives cannot be recovered, and that's what hurts the most,' he told Ecuador's state television channel from Rome. 'The material part is the least important, what is fundamental is guaranteeing human life.'
Residents survey destroyed housing following the earthquake in Guayaquil that has killed at least 77 people and injured hundreds
Among those killed was the driver of a car crushed by an overpass that buckled in Guayaquil, the country's most populous city
In Manta, the airport was closed after the control tower collapsed, injuring an air force official
A man walks along the top of a collapsed building in the immediate aftermath of the deadly earthquake
A group of residents stand on a pile of rubble in which mattresses and other possessions are seen lying within the concrete
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, who is in Rome, called on residents to stay strong while authorities monitor events
A house is left in ruins after the disaster struck last night, sparking fears of a tsunami and sending residents fleeing for their lives
The top floor of this house collapsed during the shaking, while the bottom floor remained intact
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said hazardous tsunami waves are possible for some coasts and in the capital Quito hundreds of kilometers away, the quake was felt for about 40 seconds and people fled to the streets in fear.
Maria Torres, 60, a resident in Quito, said: 'Oh, my God, it was the biggest and strongest earthquake I have felt in my whole life. It lasted a long time, and I was feeling dizzy. I couldn't walk... I wanted to run out into the street, but I couldn't.'
At Guayaquil airport, passengers awaiting flights ran out of the terminals when they felt the ground shake.
'Lights fell down from the ceiling. People were running around in shock,' said Luis Quimis, 30, who was waiting to catch a flight to Quito.
Guayaquil resident Carlota Lopez said that she was in a car when the earthquake struck.
'The power lines were swaying wildly, and I was afraid that the lines or the street lights would fall on the car,' she told AFP by phone.
Lopez said it felt 'as if the car was being shaken with great strength' by people outside the vehicle and that there was a power outage immediately afterwards.
The quake was felt across the border in Colombia, where it shook residents in Cali and Popayan, and Peru. Pictured: Patients and relatives wait outside the Colombia Clinic in Cali, Colombia, which was evacuated as a precaution
A group of patients are evacuated from Columbia clinic due to the presence of cracks in the building
Patients and relatives wait outside the Colombia Clinic in Cali, Colombia
Residents along the coast were urged to move to higher ground and towns near the epicenter were also being evacuated as a precautionary measure.
An emergency had been declared in six of Ecuador's worst hit provinces, while sporting events and concerts were cancelled until further notice nationwide.
The quake knocked out electricity in several neighborhoods and six homes collapsed but the situation under control and power being restored, Quito's Mayor Mauricio Rodas said.
'I'm in a state of panic,' said Zoila Villena, one of many Quito residents who congregated in the streets. 'My building moved a lot and things fell to the floor. Lots of neighbors were screaming and kids crying.'
'I was in my house watching a movie and everything started to shake. I ran out into the street and now I don't know what's going to happen,' said Lorena Cazares, 36, a telecommunications worker in Quito.
In the capital, the quake was felt for about 40 seconds and people fled to the streets in fear
The shockwaves sent confused residents streaming into the streets of the capital Quito
A collapsed bridge in Guayaquil, Ecuador, after the powerful earthquake hit the country
The USGS originally put the quake at a magnitude of 7.4 then raised it to 7.8. It had a depth of 19 kilometers.
At least 55 aftershocks followed, one as strong as 6 on the Richter scale, and authorities urged residents to brace for even stronger ones in the coming hours and days.
Guayaquil's international airport was also closed because of a lack of communications.
The quake comes on the heels of two deadly earthquakes across the Pacific, in the southernmost of Japan's four main islands.
A magnitude-6.5 earthquake struck Thursday near Kumamoto, followed by a magnitude-7.3 earthquake just 28 hours later.
The quakes have killed 41 people and injured about 1,500, flattened houses and triggered major landslides.
Ecuador lies near a shifting boundary between tectonic plates and has suffered seven earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher in the region of Tuesday's quake since 1900, the USGS said. One in March 1987 killed about 1,000 people.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially issued a warning for the nearby Pacific coastline but later said that the threat had largely passed.
A shakemap shows the location of a 7.4 magnitude earthquake near Esmeraldas, some 28km South-southeast of Muisne, near the coast of Ecuador
Cars travel on a darkened street using only their headlights to guide the way after the failure of electrical service in Guayaqu
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