M7.8 quake kills at least 77 in Ecuador

Opposite side of the Pacific plate to Japan, probably related to the Kyushu quake?

No relationship

Opposite side of the Pacific plate to Japan, probably related to the Kyushu quake?

Ecuador isn't even on the Pacific plate.

My thoughts are with these people. It's so heartbreaking.

They are likely not connected, but there have been a whole lot of late. Not just in Japan and now Ecuador, but just before Japan there was a large one in Myanmar and the Philippines as well. Even in Japan there's been activity in places that don't get it quite as often. They're saying Aso is unrelated, but I find that a little harder to believe (and if it is or isn't doesn't matter terribly much since it was minor).

M7.8 is much bigger than the M7.3 of the Kyushu earthquake. So I'm surprised only 41 people were killed in the Ecuador earthquake.

@WesternJapan87: in both the cases the death toll is destined to rise, sadly.

WesternerJapan87: "M7.8 is much bigger than the M7.3 of the Kyushu earthquake. So I'm surprised only 41 people were killed in the Ecuador earthquake."

It's not a contest, for starters. Second, where they struck also determines a lot of how it affects things on the ground. This one in Ecuador struck offshore, and some 27 kilometres from the nearest town, it seems, whereas the quakes in Kyushu hit in a far more populated area. We also don't know what type of wave the quake generated in both cases -- at least I haven't read it. Was it the deadlier up-down type earthquake or side to side, for example?

You can't just say one had a bigger magnitude and should therefore have done more damage. It's not that simple.

And now Tonga with a 6.1

Quakes in Southern Japan are usually caused by the subduction of the Philippine plate and the Pacific Plate, Ecuador is on the Nazca plate which has a divergent boundary directly with the other side of the same Pacific plate. Could well be that stress or pressure on the plates might be balancing out.

In a span of a week or two, there was an earthquake in the Burma/Indian border area, Japan, and now here in Ecuador. Coincidence or no?

In a span of a week or two, there was an earthquake in the Burma/Indian border area, Japan, and now here in Ecuador. Coincidence or no?

There are quakes everyday all over the world. No it is not a coincidence.

The number of quakes over 7 in 2015 was around the average. 2016 is following the same path.

There are quakes everyday all over the world. No it is not a coincidence. The number of quakes over 7 in 2015 was around the average. 2016 is following the same path.

I've never seen a series of quakes this disastrous in the span of a few weeks in recent times.