At least 413 people are now known to have died in the earthquake that struck Ecuador, the country’s government says.
The 7.8-magnitude quake struck Ecuador’s Pacific coast on Saturday April 16th, and the search for survivors continues.
The cost of rebuilding is likely to be in the billions of dollars, President Rafael Correa said during a visit to the worst-affected region.
He said it was the biggest tragedy to hit Ecuador in the past seven decades with the death total currently at 413 and 2,500 people injured.
As rescuers and families desperately delve through the rubble this week to pull out survivors of an earthquake that killed hundreds and destroyed several towns (Manabi Province being the hardest-hit), many take to social media with striking images, videos and written reports on missing persons and relief initiatives.
People are tweeting hashtag #DesaparecidosEC to try & locate missing persons after the Ecuador Earthquake.
Another tweet reads: Missing in Bahia Steven Garrett contact @averysmartblonde #DesaparecidosEC #TerremotoEcuador.
When a huge natural disaster like this hits, it reminds us of the good that social media can do to help the city and families who have been affected by this tragedy. A couple decades ago, the world didn’t have these huge social media platforms to help reveal information and bring assistance to the remedy, as far off as that may seem. It’s clear that social media is helping the situation.
These posts, pictures and videos are indeed helping this horrible disaster, so even if you hate social media and it normally bothers you to see random people voice their opinion on such a large scale level, people have connected with others, answering some of these hashtags, helping families find their loved ones, as well as keeping them updated, sometimes even faster than the news can report it.
See what’s going on in the South American nation, learn how you can help and some of the hashtags being used in the process. Prayers up.
