An earthquake of 7.8 magnitude hit in the Northwest part of Ecuador in the evening of April 16th, 2016.
Six most affected provinces have been declared in emergency and remain under red alert: Manabí, Esmeraldas,
Guayas, Santa Elena, Santo Domingo and Los Ríos, with Manabí being the hardest hit.The worst hit Canton of Pedernales has been declared "disaster zone".
A total of 541 aftershocks have been felt since April 16th , including the largest of the 6.3 magnitude in the early hours of April 20th. This is expected to continue in the next few weeks.
281 schools are damaged or destroyed (Ministry assessments), affecting an estimated 170,000 students.
The first batch of relief supplies from UNICEF (WASH, education and health) which arrived from Copenhagen and Panama will be dispatched to the affected regions for immediate response.
UNICEF deployed 5 staff from the Global and Regional Offices as well as through the LACRO Regional Rapid Response Roaster. In addition,10 national staff have been sent in the field to support UNICEF response operations.