Earthquake kills 77 in Ecuador, devastates coastal area

Patients wait outside a clinic that was evacuated after tremors were felt resulting from an earthquake in Ecuador, in Cali, Colombia, April 16, 2016.[Photo/Agencies]

FLEEING FOR HIGHER GROUND

Ramon Solorzano, 46, a car parts merchant in the coastal city of Manta, said he was leaving with his family.

"Most people are out in the streets with backpacks on, heading for higher ground," he said, speaking in a trembling voice on a WhatsApp phone call. "The streets are cracked. The power is out and phones are down."

President Rafael Correa cut short a trip to Italy to return.

"Everything can be rebuilt, but lives cannot be recovered, and that's what hurts the most," he said.

Parts of the highland capital Quito were without power or telephone services for several hours but the city government said those services had been restored and there were no reports of casualties in the city.

The government described it as the worst quake in the country since 1979. In that disaster, 600 people were killed and 20,000 injured, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Among international aid, Venezuela and Mexico were sending personnel and supplies, the Correa government said.

A tsunami warning was lifted on Saturday night but coastal residents were urged to seek higher ground in case tides rise.

"At first it was light, but it lasted a long time and got stronger," said Maria Jaramillo, 36, a resident of Guayaquil, describing windows breaking and pieces falling off roofs.

"I was on the seventh floor and the light went off in the whole sector, and we evacuated. People were very anxious in the street ... We left barefoot."