Whole towns have been devastated. A state of emergency has been declared. Reconstruction is already estimated to cost the beleaguered economy billions of dollars. Thousands are injured. More than 350 dead. And that figure is likely to rise.

That is the outlook for locals in Ecuador, two days after a 7.8 earthquake ripped through the north-western coastline.

"We are facing a complicated and difficult situation," said Jose Parrish Jacome Hernandez, head of the Baptist Union in Latin America.

He spoke to Christian Today from the Ecuador where he is coordinating some of the church's relief effort.

"The response team are still finding people alive under the wreckage," he said.

"But we seek the hand of God because we are God's people.

"The Baptist Convention in Ecuador and all the churches have organised coalitions to send support and coordinate help coming from abroad. We are sending teams to the most affected areas for relief."

Elsewhere in Ecuador, Santiago Mosquera is helping organise World Vision's response. He spoke to Christian Today as he travelled between some of the worst affected towns.

"Thousands of buildings have been demolished and there are a lot of people missing," he said.

"A whole city has been has been destroyed," he added. The town of Pedernales was close to the epicentre of the earthquake, the largest since 1979, and Santiago's description is no exaggeration. His words have been repeated by Mayor Gabriel Alcivar who said the "entire town" had been flattened.

More than 600 people have been taken to the town's football stadium which is acting as an emergency hospital. Many survivors will spend Monday night on the street despite tropical conditions after more than 300 aftershocks have left them rattled and afraid to re-enter buildings.

As firefighters hand-picked their way through the rubble they demanded silence so they could listen for cries for help.

"There are a lot of people in shelters," Santiago continued. as he went on to describe the dangers to survivors. A lack of food and water has made people desperate and around 13,500 security personnel have already been mobilised to try and maintain law and order.

One local in Portoviejo spoke to Reuters as he looted valuable materials from a recycling business: "I have to take some advantage from this horrible tragedy. I need money to buy food. There's no water, no light, and my house was destroyed."

President Rafael Correa cut short his trip to Italy to fly immediately to the disaster area. The typically cheerful socialist leader looked shocked as he spoke to survivors.

Parrish praised the government's response when he spoke to Christian Today. He said one of the worst affected areas could not be reached by road so the government had organised helicopters with humanitarian aid.

"The church in Ecuador is lifting up prayers and gathering supplies such as food and water," he said via Skype."Some are sent through government organisations but some others like the Baptist Church are sending response teams directly to the most affected areas."

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 19.2km (11.9 miles), about 27km from the town of Muisne.