Hopes of finding Ecuador quake survivors fade as death toll nears 500 - Reuters

Rescuers in Ecuador were losing hope on Tuesday of finding more survivors from an earthquake that killed nearly 500 people and dealt a shattering blow to the South American OPEC country's already fragile economy.

Praying for miracles, distraught family members beseeched rescue teams to find missing loved ones as they used dogs, bare hands and excavators to hunt through debris of flattened homes, hotels and stores in the hardest-hit Pacific coastal region.

The death toll stood at 480 on Tuesday afternoon but was expected to rise.

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Ecuador quake toll climbs over 400, damage put at billions of dollars - Reuters

Touring a city ravaged by the earthquake that killed at least 413 people, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on Monday said rebuilding would cost billions of dollars and may inflict a "huge" toll on the fragile OPEC nation's economy.

Two days after the magnitude 7.8 quake, traumatized survivors begged Correa for water in the city of Portoviejo, while a football stadium in the beach town of Pedernales served as a makeshift relief centre and morgue.

Afraid of staying indoors, or with no home to go back to, families huddled in the streets, while police and soldiers patrolled in a bid to control looting.

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Beach Towns Hardest Hit In Ecuador's Weekend Earthquake - NPR's Morning Edition

David Greene talks to Julia Symmes Cobb of The Washington Post, about conditions in Ecuador's earthquake zone and relief efforts there. The government says the death toll is expected to rise.

Ecuador quake kills at least 350 - CTV News

Freelance journalist Julia Symmes Cobb is in Pedernales, Ecuador speaking to survivors of a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed hundreds over the weekend.

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A close call with death in Ecuador’s earthquake - Washington Post

PEDERNALES, Ecuador — If Maria Zambrano had stayed in the pharmacy a bit longer, gossiping with the girl behind the counter, she would be dead.

Zambrano, 61, had gone around the corner from the small stand where she sold costume jewelry, barrettes and sunglasses, to pick up some vitamins, leaving the shop not five minutes before a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador’s Pacific coast.

“As I left I said, ‘See you tomorrow. Have a good night,’ ” she said, tears spilling down her cheeks as she sat in a temporary shelter that she and some neighbors rigged up in the town square. Behind her, backhoes and rescue crews were combing the debris of the pharmacy for remains.

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