6.2-magnitude earthquake strikes Guatemala

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A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck Guatemala on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey said, with the tremor also felt in El Salvador and Nicaragua.

No casualties or damage were reported in the three countries.

The tremor hit at 8:53 pm (0253 GMT) with its epicenter eight kilometers (five miles) southeast of Jalapa city, at a depth of 265.5 kilometres, according to the USGS.

The seismological institute in El Salvador recorded the quake at a magnitude of 5.9 while that of Nicaragua registered it at 5.2-magnitude.

Civil protection authorities of the three Central American countries reported no casualties or damage to infrastructure.

Central America is on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a vast area of intense tectonic activity that runs along the west coast of the Americas and across the Pacific basin.

In 2018, another natural disaster rocked the country.

The death toll from the eruption of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano reached 109, officials said at the time.

An earthquake is the shaking of the Earth’s surface caused by the sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust, resulting in seismic waves, PUNCH Online reports.

This natural phenomenon can lead to significant ground shaking and surface rupture, often causing considerable damage.

AFP

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