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Guatemala earthquake: Strong 7.5 quake shakes region, at least one fatality

Guatemala earthquake: The 7.5 magnitude quake collapsed houses and a school building, injuring eight people. The earthquake, off the Guatemala coast, was felt as far away as Mexico City. .

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USGS
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the Pacific Coast of Guatemala Wednesday a.m.
  • By Staff Associated Press

| Guatemala City

A strong earthquake struck off the Pacific coast of Guatemala Wednesday morning, rocking the capital and shaking buildings as far away as Mexico City and El Salvador. Guatemala's emergency management agency said on its Twitter account that it had received preliminary reports of one death from the quake.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was a possibility of a local tsunami, within 100 or 200 miles of the epicenter, but they were not issuing an immediate warning for the broader region. The magnitude-7.5 quake, about 20 miles deep, was centered off the town of Champerico. Nicaragua's disaster management said it had issued a local tsunami alert, but there were no immediate reports of a tsunami on the country's Pacific coast.

People fled buildings in Guatemala City, in Mexico City and in the capital of the Mexican state of Chiapas, across the border from Guatemala.

RELATED: Nuclear sites in the Pacific ring of fire

A reporter in the town of San Marcos, about 80 miles north of the epicenter, told local radio station Emisoras Unidas that houses had collapsed onto residents and smashed televisions and other appliances had been scattered into the streets.

The local fire department said on its Twitter account that a school had collapsed and eight injured people had been taken to a nearby hospital. Local radio reported widespread power outages and cuts in telephone service.

A spokesman for El Salvador's Red Cross branch told The Associated Press that the quake had been felt throughout the country, sending people fleeing their homes in the capital, but there had been no immediate reports of injuries or serious damage. He said there had been no local tsunami warning issued. El Salvador's Civil Protection agency said officials were evacuating some coastal communities as a precautionary measure.

The mayor of Mexico City said no serious damage or injuries had been reported in the city, although many people had fled their offices and homes during the quake.

RELATED: Nuclear sites in the Pacific ring of fire

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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