M6.4 earthquake near Salinas, Santa Elena

What happened

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 37 km NNE of Salinas, Ecuador on 6 May 1981, 21:36 UTC at a depth of 33 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Salinas, about 37 km away in Santa Elena, Ecuador.