M5.4 earthquake near Machala, El Oro

What happened

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 6 km N of Machala, Ecuador on 21 Aug 2023, 05:24 UTC at a depth of 40 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 Machala, about 7 km away in El Oro, Ecuador.