The ISC-GEM seismic catalog shows that the M=7.8 epicenter is surrounded by large quakes over the past century, whereas in southern Ecuador, there have been no great quakes (top). Nevertheless, the strain rate is high along the entire Ecuador coastline (bottom). This part of the boundary could slip aseismically, or in less frequent but larger earthquakes. These invaluable datasets were produced by the GEM Foundation, which is building a seismic risk model for the world, and is currently working on its Ecuador model together with South American scientists.