Strong M6.3 Earthquake struck on Friday Morning in the North Pacific Ocean near Esmeraldas (Ecuador).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 25th, 2025. Last updated May 17th, 2025.

In the North Pacific Ocean 21 kilometer from Esmeraldas, Ecuador, a strong Magnitude 6.3 earthquake occurred in the early morning of Friday April 25th, 2025. Earthquakes like this can cause significant economic damage and have a significant risk at casualties. Colombia is also near its epicenter.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, right off the coast of Ecuador (6 mi offshore), 21 kilometer north-east of Esmeraldas. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 35 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 25, 2025 06:44 (Guayaquil Time) - Apr 25, 2025 11:44 Universal Time.
Location:	21 km NE of Esmeraldas, Ecuador. Coordinates 1°6'18"N 79°32'4"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.3 Detected by 82 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.034 .
Depth:	35 km (22 mi) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VIII Severe On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Significant impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 48% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 fatalities, and a 95% chance that the number of fatalities falls between 1 and 1,000.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 35% likelyhood of between 1 and 10 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 92% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 100 million USD.

Roughly 6.3 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 6.3 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 197,700 people were exposed to level VII. At this level, very strong shaking and likely moderate damage can be expected. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 4.4 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected.

People in 2 countries have been exposed to shaking. Roughly 5.8 million people were exposed to shaking in Ecuador , with level VII (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage) as the highest recorded. In Colombia , around 570 thousand people.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. Ecuador and Colombia are both within 300km distance of its epicenter.

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Esmeraldas in Esmeraldas, Ecuador. Esmeraldas is located 21 kilometer (13 mi) north-east of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Esmeraldas is estimated to be around level VII on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage).

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Esmeraldas is located 21 km to the southwest and experienced an intensity of VII (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage). Quito is located 186 km to the south-east and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Guayaquil is located 369 km to the south (intensity unknown, possibly low).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is VIII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 60 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 60 people have reported shaking in 19 places in 2 countries (Ecuador, Colombia).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador: 26 people.
• Esmeraldas, Esmeraldas, Ecuador: 11 people.
• Cotacachi, Imbabura, Ecuador: 3 people.
• Pasto, Nariño, Colombia: 2 people.
• Santa Lucía, Guayas, Ecuador: 2 people.
• Santo Domingo, Pichincha, Ecuador: 2 people.
• Sangolquí, Pichincha, Ecuador: 2 people.
• Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador: 1 person.
• Cayambe, Pichincha, Ecuador: 1 person.
• Popayán, Cauca, Colombia: 1 person.

Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 1 smaller aftershock occurred. Just 1 day after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.5 was detected 44 km (28 mi) west-northwest of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

This is the strongest earthquake in 9 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since July 11th, 2016, when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit 59 km (37 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on April 16th, 2016.

In total, 4 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.3 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 years.

Low tsunami risk

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 17/05/25 14:08 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000pv06
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250425_0000202
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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