Powerful Earthquake Strikes off El Salvador

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck late on Monday off the coast of El Salvador and Nicaragua and was felt across Central America, killing at least one person, but there were no immediate reports of major damage.

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck late on Monday off the coast of El Salvador and Nicaragua and was felt across Central America, killing at least one person, but there were no immediate reports of major damage.

El Salvador's emergency services urged people living near the coast to move inland after placing a tsunami alert in effect. Nonetheless, they said via their Twitter account that coastal areas appeared calm.

Wilfredo Salgado, mayor of the city of San Miguel in El Salvador, said on his Twitter account that a man was killed when an electricity post fell on him.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

"It felt really powerful, suddenly the whole house started to move," said Xiomara Amaya, 30, who lives in El Salvador's department of Usulutan.

The quake struck 42 miles (67 km) west-southwest of Jiquilillo off the coast of San Salvador and Nicaragua, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It said the quake hit at a depth of 25 miles (40 km).

Emergency services in neighboring Honduras and Guatemala said they had no early reports of damage or injuries.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center at one point warned of possible tsunami waves in the region but then said there was no threat.

(Reporting by Nelson Renteria and Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Simon Gardner and Kieran Murray)

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American