M6.9 earthquake near San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas, Esmeraldas

What happened

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 51 km NW of Valdez, Ecuador on 1 Feb 1958, 16:10 UTC at a depth of 15 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 San Lorenzo de Esmeraldas, about 63 km away in Esmeraldas, Ecuador.