Central America Shaken By Offshore Earthquake
A powerful earthquake in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of El Salvador, shook much of Central America on Tuesday 18.07.23 and measured 6.5 on the Richter Magnitude Scale.
The earthquake happened at 18:22 local time and sent shockwaves along the Central American Pacific Coast and was even felt as far away as Belize on the Atlantic / Caribbean coast. Residents in cities from Nicaragua to Guatemala streamed into the streets, but fortunately there were no victims and no major damage.
Geologists reported that the epicenter was 27 miles out to sea at a depth of 43 miles, just outside the Gulf of Fonseca where Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua share coastline.
In spite of the magnitude of the tremor, authorities were quick to rule out the threat of a subsequent tsunami.
On land, a quake of 6.5 magnitude would generally damage well-built structures and cause severe destruction to poorly designed ones, with the risk of casualties in populated areas very high.
