MEXICO CITY, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- A 7.4-magnitude earthquake rocked the Pacific coast of Guatemala on Wednesday, killing at least 48 people and injuring 155 others.
"We regret the death of 48 people; it is a tragedy, truly lamentable," Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina said during a tour to the affected area. "We still have to confirm this data, but for now it is already a sum that the earthquake has unfortunately left."
Perez said 40 people died in the province of San Marcos and eight more were killed in the neighboring Quetzaltenango province.
Another 155 people were injured and 131 homes destroyed in the same province. Local authorities have set up 11 shelters with a capacity for 800 people.
Eddy Sanchez, director of Guatemala's National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology, said the epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean off Champerico, Retalhuleu province, 200 km southwest of Guatemala City with a depth of 5.4 km.
According to the USGS, the quake struck at 1635 GMT at a depth of 41 km, with its epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, about 24 km southwest of Champerico.
Thousands of panicked Guatemalans have rushed to the streets in fear of aftershocks.
Earlier on Wednesday, Perez has decreed a red alert across the country for the earthquake.
Landmark building should respect the public's feeling
Feedback
RSS
