QUITO, July 1, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A magnitude 4.2 earthquake shook Ecuador's
capital Quito on Monday, cutting off power in some neighborhoods but causing
no immediate casualties or significant damage, the country's geophysics
agency announced.

The epicenter of the quake, which struck at a depth of nine kilometers (5.6
miles), was located 8.49 km from Quito, the geophysics institute said on
social media network X.

Residents ran out of their homes into the streets when the tremor struck just
after midnight local time, footage released by Ecuador's emergency services
department showed.

Some neighborhoods of the capital Quito were plunged into an electricity
blackout, Quito mayor Pabel Munoz said in a post on X.

"The airport, metro, landfills, water production plants and landfills"
suffered no significant damage, he added.

Quito residents said on social media that they felt strong shaking and some
reported cracked walls.

The quake was also felt strongly in at least two provinces neighboring
Pichincha, where the capital is located, according to the Geophysical
Institute.

Fifteen people were killed when a strong 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit
Ecuador's southwestern border region with Peru in March 2023.