M5.2 earthquake near Esmeraldas, Esmeraldas

What happened

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 18 km SW of Esmeraldas, Ecuador on 12 Dec 2016, 15:54 UTC at a depth of 35 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Esmeraldas, about 19 km away in Esmeraldas, Ecuador.