Ecuadorean beach town grapples with crisis

PEDERNALES, Ecuador: The rustic beach town of Pedernales, devastated by Ecuador’s magnitude 7.8 quake, has a history of being struck by tragedy and pulling itself back up again.

During the 1980s, the Pacific coastal town tapped into the "blue revolution" of farmed seafood by cultivating shrimp, helping Ecuador become the world’s second biggest exporter of the crustacean.

A decade later, a virus known as the white spot syndrome ravaged the industry.

To recover, Pedernales turned to tourism, luring vacationers with its palm tree-dotted coastline and new hotels.

But its 20-km beach stretch now lies in ruin, and surviving residents are once again faced with an economic disaster and a long road to recovery.

"This town must be cursed," said Hilda Morales, 58, as she salvaged possessions, including religious images, from the debris of her home. "First the white spot, and now this tragedy. We’re doomed."

Of course Saturday’s quake, which killed nearly 500 people and was the largest to strike Ecuador in decades, inflicted a human toll the shrimp catastrophe did not.