A magnitude-7.8 earthquake occurred Saturday evening on the coast of Ecuador, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The tremor was recorded at a depth of 19.2 kilometers (11.9 miles).
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in the capital of Quito, located 173 kilometers (108 miles) from the epicenter of the earthquake.
In Guayaquil, Ecuador’s most populous city, shoppers were shaken by the quake. Video from a store showed kitchen utensils and pans hanging from an end cap swinging slightly back and forth and some items falling off shelves.
The lights in the store go out and alarms go off.
The shaking appears to last less than a minute.
A resident of the city told his brother, a CNN employee, that there is damage to some buildings and many areas have lost power.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued threat forecasts for many Pacific Ocean countries. It said waves reaching some parts of Ecuador could reach 1 meter (3 feet) above tide level.
Tsunami waves less than .3 meters (1 foot) above tide level could hit places as far away as Australia, the Hawaiian Islands and Taiwan, it said.
A magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck Ecuador in August 2010.