A man died
when a major 7.3- magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of densely-populated
El Salvador yesterday night.
The victim, who is believed to be homeless, was killed by an
electricity pole that fell on impact and this was confirmed by San Miguel mayor
Wilfredo Salgado on Twitter.
The off-shore earthquake hit about 42 miles west of neighbouring
Nicaragua with a depth of 25 miles, and the epicentre was within 55 miles of
the coast of El Salvador at 9.52pm local time.
Xiomara Amaya, who lives in the Usulutan area, said: “It felt really
powerful, suddenly the whole house started to move.”
Emergency services said a dozen homes in Usulutan had been slightly
damaged, however the coastal areas remained calm and the international airport
was unaffected by the disaster.
Electricity was cut off in parts of the country and building walls
crumbled, but there were no reports of widespread serious damage.
A 5.0-magnitude aftershock was felt throughout Central America with
shaking reported in Guatemala, southern Belize, Honduras, Costa Rica, western
Panama and south-eastern Mexico.
There were no early reports of injuries or damage in neighbouring
Honduras and Guatemala.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had alerted of possible flooding in
the region but then withdrew the warning.
In 2001, two powerful earthquakes exactly one month apart killed more
than 1,150 people combined while leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
Two years ago, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific off El
Salvador, triggering a brief tsunami warning but causing no major damage or
casualties.
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