NY Times article
here.

Quito, Ecuador — The earthquake that shook Ecuador last Saturday
has proved to be the most destructive in nearly seven decades and has caused the
worst humanitarian catastrophe here in memory. Official figures record more than
577 dead, but according to the hundreds of volunteers in the disaster zone,
there are many more fatalities not yet accounted for. Entire villages have been
destroyed, and the photographs circulating on social media resemble scenes from
the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

The earthquake is historic not only for the magnitude of the destruction and
human suffering, but also for giving rise to the most impressive mobilization of
civil society in Ecuador I can remember. The country has become one huge relief
center, and in almost every neighborhood, in towns large and small, there are
collection points for donations of clothing, food and blankets.

So many people have joined the aid effort that in some places, they have been
asked to stop sending volunteers. Social media has become a citizens’ channel
for messaging about offers of help or calls for relief: everything from medicine
and mattresses to drinking water and toys for children, and even powdered lime
to cover the hastily buried corpses of loved ones.

What is striking about this huge humanitarian operation is that it has pushed
the state into a secondary role. This may be normal in other countries, but in
Ecuador this is an immensely significant development.