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Strong Quake Kills at Least 60 in Central America
Strong Quake Kills at Least 60 in Central America
A powerful earthquake of 7. 7 magnitude left more than 60 people dead in El Salvador and Guatemala as it hit Central America Saturday, injuring hundreds and leaving more than 1,200 missing.
Red Cross in El Salvador said 61 people had been confirmed dead, while officials in Guatemala reported another two dead.
The Red Cross also said 200 people had been injured and 1,200 were reported missing in El Salvador alone, and National police in El Salvador estimated that the death toll may go higher to near 100.
Salvadoran President Francisco Flores has already declared a national emergency and appealed for international aid and help from experts at searching for buried victims.
Strong Earthquake Hit Central America A 7.7-magnitude strong earthquake hit Central America and Mexico Saturday, leaving 13 dead and 20 injured in the most-devastated country of El Salvador, said official sources.
The earthquake also affected Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and southeast Mexico.
El Salvador was reported to see a bridge and many houses collapsed, a fissure emerged along a highway close to the epicenter, together with power blackout and suspension of telephone services in many cities.
According to the Alaska Geological Institute, the earthquake occurred at 11:35, El Salvador local time (1735 GMT), and had its epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, at a depth of 32 kilometers, near the Los Blancos beach which is in the Salvadoran state of La Paz.
Air flights were also temporarily suspended at the international airport of San Salvador, said the director of the National Civil Police (NCP), Mauricio Sandoval.
Following the earthquake, thousands of people in different parts of El Salvador abandoned their houses and stayed outside for fear of further earthquake strikes and possible collapses of their houses, according to local authorities.
Salvadoran President Francisco Flores ordered to build the Emergency Command Center as a measure to handle the crisis.
In the Salvadoran city of Santa Ana, three people died while 10 injured after the collapse of a church.
In Guatemala, one two-year old girl died, and seven more people were injured following the collapse of a house.
The Guatemalan authorities said the earthquake had produced momentary blackout and led to a suspension of the telephone service in different parts of the country, where many people received medical attention due to nervous breakdown.
Meanwhile, in Nicaragua, the earthquake affected the cities of Managua, Masaya and Granada, and it was felt in some parts of the Mexican southeastern state of Chiapas, bordering Guatemala.
In Managua, the Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER) in Managua said the earthquake is related to the tectonic processes of the collision between the Cocos and Caribbean plates.
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