At least one person died and 85 were injured after two earthquakes struck Ecuador’s coastal region within 12 hours Wednesday, President Rafael Correa told reporters in Quito.
They were aftershocks from the massive earthquake that killed at least 654 people and injured more than 4,000 in the same area last month, according to John Bellini with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Two people were seriously injured and school has been canceled in the provinces of Manabi and Esmeraldas until Monday.
The quakes, with magnitudes of 6.8 and 6.7, hit at 2:57 a.m. and 11:46 a.m.
“Several large aftershocks a month out is not that unusual after a 7.8 quake,” he said. “You don’t see a lot of them, but they do happen.”
Big aftershocks like these could trigger more smaller aftershocks, Bellini said.
Correa has asked people to stay calm.