How prepared is Ecuador for a major earthquake? Not very, say officials, including President Rafael Correa, who last week ordered a review of emergency procedures that would respond to disasters similar to those suffered in Haiti and Chile.

In the aftermath of those deadly earthquakes, officials in Quito and in provincial governments, are asking questions not only about public preparedness but about the relative vulnerability of different parts of the country.

Ecuador lies on the eastern rim of the seismically active area known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, according the Ecuador’s Geophysical Institute. There have been at least 37 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or higher since 1541, when written records by the Spanish were first maintained, the institute says. The government estimates that more than 80,000 died as a result of those earthquakes.

What areas of Ecuador are most vulnerable to major earthquakes? At greatest risk, says the institute, is the coast, followed by the northern Andes including the cities of Ambato, Riobamba, Quito and Ibarra.

One of the six most powerful quakes in history struck the northern coast of Ecuador in 1906, killing 2,000 near Esmeraldas and sending a tsunami across the Pacific that killed hundreds more in Hawaii and Japan. The quake measured 8.8 on the Richter scale, equaling the recent quake in Chile. Another killer quake, measuring 7.3, hit a hundred miles to the south in 1999, devastating the town of Bahia de Caraques. Ten years later, many buildings in Bahia still show the scars of that quake and a number of larger buildings stand abandoned.

In the Andes, Riobamba, Ambato and Ibarra have been destroyed by large earthquakes in the 19th and 20th century while Quito has suffered serious damage on three occasions. Ambato is still rebuilding from a 1949 quake that registered 7.1 magnitude.

“No area of Ecuador is free from danger,” says Institute director Hugo Yepes, “but we know that some areas, because of geography, are in much more danger than others and that is where we need to focus our attention.”

Yepes says that the institute has divided Ecuador into four earthquake zones, with areas in the eastern Amazon jungle being the least likely to suffer serious damage, while the coast and Northern Andes are in the greatest danger.

“Even though we put the Northern Andes in the same zone as the coast, the coast is actually much more vulnerable,” says Yepes. “Not only will the quakes there be of greater magnitude but because they usually occur offshore, there is a high risk of tsunamis.”

According to Yepes and the institute, the area least vulnerable to earthquakes, outside of the eastern Amazon, is the southern Andes. “In recorded history, Cuenca has not suffered a destructive earthquake and it has been more than 400 years since Loja has seen serious damage.”

Yepes explains that the southern Andes are older, more settled mountains and consequently see less seismic activity. “It is very important to understand,” Yepes cautions, “that all of Ecuador, including the southern Andes, is vulnerable and we must remain vigilant.”

Institute officials say that Cuenca has seen a number of earthquakes over the years in the 4.0 to 4.5 magnitude range, the most recent in 2008.

Photo caption: Officials are concerned about the vulnerability of older structures, such as Cuenca's cathedral, in the case of a major earthquake.