QUITO, Ecuador — At least 28 people have died in a magnitude-7.8 earthquake that was centered near the coast of Ecuador, the country’s vice president, Jorge Glas, told the nation in a televised address. Glas said a state of emergency was now in effect and added that preventative evacuations in coastal areas were underway because of possible tsunami risks.
The earthquake occurred Saturday evening on the coast of Ecuador, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The tremor was recorded at a depth of 11.9 miles.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in the capital of Quito, located 108 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake.
In Guayaquil, Ecuador’s most populous city, shoppers were shaken by the quake. Video from a store showed kitchen utensils and pans hanging from an end cap swinging slightly back and forth and some items falling off shelves.
The lights in the store go out and alarms go off.
The shaking appears to last less than a minute.
A resident of the city told his brother, a CNN employee, that there is damage to some buildings and many areas have lost power.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued threat forecasts for many Pacific Ocean countries. It said waves reaching some parts of Ecuador could reach 1 meter (3 feet) above tide level.
Tsunami waves less than a foot above tide level could hit places as far away as Australia, the Hawaiian Islands and Taiwan, it said.
A magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck Ecuador in August 2010.
