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Aid begins to flow in after earthquake kills 246 in Ecuador

QUITO, Ecuador — No danger is expected in Washington after a powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake flattened buildings and buckled highways along Ecuador's Pacific coast Saturday.

Officials raised the death tool Sunday to at least 246 people. Vice President Jorge Glas said the toll is likely to rise. More than 2,500 are injured.

Aid began to flow in Sunday to the areas that were most devastated.

Sunday morning, President Rafaelo Correa estimated that 233 were dead.

The quake was initially reported as a 7.4 magnitude earthquake. Immediately after, Ecuador's vice president, Jorge Glas, estimated that at least 28 were killed.

More than 135 aftershocks followed, one as strong as magnitude-5.6.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami alert for the coastal areas of Ecuador and Colombia shortly after the earthquake struck at around 5 p.m., PST.  The alert expired later that night.

>> Follow this link to see photos of the destruction.

This is the the strongest earthquake to hit Ecuador since 1979. It was centered on Ecuador's sparsely populated fishing ports and tourist beaches, 105 miles northwest of Quito, the capital.

According to Glas, there were also deaths in the cities of Manta, Portoviejo and Guayaquil — all several hundred miles from the center of the quake.

President Correa signed a decree last night declaring a national emergency and was rushed home from Rome.

In Pedernales, a town of 40,000 near the quake's epicenter, dozens of scared residents slept in the streets while men equipped with little more than car headlights tried to rescue survivors who could be heard trapped under rubble.

"We're trying to do the most we can, but there's almost nothing we can do," said Gabriel Alcivar, mayor of Pedernales.

Glas said 10,000 armed forces had been deployed to help. In addition, 4,600 national police were sent to the towns near the epicenter.

Officials said shelters and field hospitals have been deployed. More than 3,000 packages of food and nearly 8,000 sleeping kits have been delivered to the region.

Towns near the epicenter were evacuated as a precautionary measure in case of hazardous tsunami waves but several hours later authorities said was safe for coastal residents to return to their homes.

Follow this link to see answers to a list of frequently asked questions during tsunamis.