Guatemala Earthquake: 6.5 Magnitude Quake Rattles Country’s Pacific Coastline

Another strong earthquake shook Guatemala’s Pacific coastline Sunday just four days after a major quake killed 42 people and left thousands without homes in the region.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), Sunday’s quake, a 6.5-magnitude temblor, was centered 19 miles west-southwest of Champerico, Guatemala and 115 miles southwest of Guatemala City. It had a depth of nearly 17 miles and was centered just offshore.

Fox News Latino notes that after the quake hit, people fled buildings and homes in panic in cities along Guatemala’s coast near its border with Mexico.

Locals were further panicked by a number of significant aftershocks with magnitudes as strong as 5.0.

While there were no immediate reports of deaths or major damage for Sunday’s quake, Local firefighters said one woman was taken to the hospital in San Marcos with minor injuries after a wall fell on her, but she is expected to recover.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that “based on all available data, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected.”

On Wednesday, a 7.4-magnitude quake struck in the same area, killing 42 people, according to an updated death toll given by President Otto Perez. In addition to the tragic fatalities, President Perez said the country also suffered hundreds of injuries and more than 2,000 homes were damaged by the strong temblor.

Last week’s quake, which was felt as far as Mexico City and affected as many as 1.2 million Guatemalans, was the most violent to strike the central American country since 1976, when one with a magnitude of 7.5 killed about 23,000 people.

Aljazeera has more on the devastating effects of the recent Guatemala earthquakes in the video below: