Earthquake of April 16, 2016, in Ecuador: A general vision of the events and lessons learned

Abstract

In 2016, Ecuador suffered an earthquake of 7.8 Mw, 20 km deep, off the coast of the provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas. After the main event, approximately 1,417 aftershocks were registered during a month. The fatal balance of the Pedernales earthquake (16A Earthquake) is close to 668 deathly victims, with a recovery cost of around 3,350 million dollars, being one of the events with the greatest human and economic impact in the last 50 years. There are many lessons to learn and systems to review in order to establish better response to events of such magnitude, especially in relation to prevention. Ecuador is established in an area susceptible to natural hazards, however much is still needed to consolidate risk management strategies that allow developing a true culture of risk prevention. This document presents a bibliographic review in which the different plans and national preventive strategies that seek to articulate effective responses in the population were analyzed. The research also considers the role of technological tools as appropriate alternatives for communicating natural hazards. ‘Geoeducation’ is discussed as an instrument that allows dissemination and facilitates the understanding of the geological dynamics and risk management.

Keywords

• ecuador
• pedernales
• terremoto 16 de abril de 2016
• cultura de prevención
• geoeducación