The United States Geological Survey (USGS) says that a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador near the border with Peru early Monday morning.

The quake’s epicenter was in a sparsely populated area 17 kilometer south of the town of Montalvo, at a depth of 132 km.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that there was no risk of a tsunami and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

A second earthquake, measured at 5.5 struck eastern Ecuador about 20 minutes later at a depth of 82 km.

According to the USGS, most major earthquakes in South America are at shallow depths of 70 km or less.

Source: VOA