6-magnitude quake felt on Ecuador-Colombia border

QUITO, Ecuador—A magnitude-6 earthquake rattled Ecuador’s border with Colombia on Monday, shaking low-lying buildings and frightening residents in the sparsely populated area. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck at 3:33 p.m. EDT, had a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles) and was centered about 113 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Quito.

The tremor was felt in small towns on both sides of the border.

Officials in the Colombian town of Cumbal, near the quake’s epicenter, said they formed an emergency committee to survey possible damage. But so far, there were no reports of injuries in the town of 36,000 residents, the majority of them members of an indigenous tribe.

“It was really strong, every house” felt it, said Jose Diomedes Juezpesan, the town’s top official.–Gonzalo Solano with Cesar Garcia in Bogota, Colombia