Ecuador and Japan both sit atop a quake prone belt, an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. The belt is also called the Ring of Fire. 

According to the plate tectonics theory, the lithosphere, which is the rigid outermost shell of a planet, is broken up into tectonic plates. The plates move and squeeze with each other and cause energy to release, resulting in earthquakes and volcano eruptions. The Ring of Fire, sometimes called the circum-Pacific belt, is the most active one, covering the largest areas. About 90% of the world's earthquakes and 81% of the world's largest earthquakes occur along the belt. Statistics from United States Geological Survey show that every year, the world sees about 130 quakes ranging from 6 to 6.9-magnitude, and 18 7-7.9-magnitude quakes.