February 1, 2005
The Star — Malaysia
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - The hundreds of tremors that have shaken Ecuador's coast in the past 11 days may presage a major earthquake in the region, but the danger of a massive tsunami is negligible, a geophysicist said Monday.
Since Jan. 20 there have been 317 earthquakes measuring between magnitude 4 and magnitude 6 off the coast of Ecuador.
Hugo Yepez, director of the Geophysical Insitute, said the cluster of quakes is an anomaly and indicates a buildup of energy from the Nazca plate, which is pushing under the South America plate off the western coast of the continent.
Yepez said it was impossible to predict where or when a major quake might occur.
In an interview with Channel 4 television, he described the zone where the earthquakes are occurring as "a small fuse that is faced with an overload.''
"But we cannot predict how this is going to end.'' Despite the possiblity of a large quake, Yepez said the geography of the coast does not allow the formation of tsunamis similar to the one that struck the Indian Ocean in December.
The earthquakes have prompted fears among residents that a major disaster is about to occur.
After a magnitude-6 quake shook the country last week, television news broadcast scenes of people sleeping in public parks and streets with others fleeing to higher ground.
Major temblors occur in the region on average twice each century although it is impossible to predict exactly when or how strong the next one will be, Yepez said.
In 1942 a quake of magnitude 8 struck the area, and one of nearly magnitude 9 occurred in 1906, but neither caused a tsunami, he said.
An earthquake of magnitude 8 is capable of tremendous damage.
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