Strong (6.6) Earthquake In Guatemala: Many Injuries, One Dead

Right on schedule:

Strong Earthquake In Guatemala

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 6.6-magnitude earthquake that shook Guatemala’s Pacific coast yesterday evening (September 7, 2013). Earthquakereport.com reported one woman dead from a heart attack during the earthquake, plus many people injured and carried to hospitals. USA Today reported that some injuries occurred when adobe homes to collapsed in a town near the epicenter, which was 3 miles south of the small town of Pajapita, near the border with Mexico. Other injuries occurred in traffic accidents when people ran from their homes into the streets.

USGS reports details of the quake as follows:

Event Time
2013-09-07 00:13:29 UTC
2013-09-06 18:13:29 UTC-06:00 at epicenter

Location
14.643°N 92.104°W

Depth=67.0km (41.6mi)

Nearby Cities
5km (3mi) ESE of Ciudad Tecun Uman, Guatemala
15km (9mi) NE of Suchiate, Mexico
26km (16mi) WSW of Coatepeque, Guatemala
28km (17mi) SSW of Malacatan, Guatemala
171km (106mi) W of Guatemala City, Guatemala

USA Today said the quake was felt strongly in the capital of Guatemala City, and caused blackouts in some areas, but authorities did not immediately report any damage there.

Bottom line: A strong earthquake – 6.6 magnitude – in Guatemala Friday evening (local time) caused many injuries. One woman died of a heart attack during the quake. Some homes and other buildings collapsed.

Very Strong earthquake In Guatemala: Frequent Updates

06:46 UTC : 30 people were injured when they fled from they houses and fell or caused traffic accidents. They all were carried to hospitals.

5:52 UTC : Unfortunately one woman from Coatepeque area suffered a heart attack due to the earthquake and died.
More than 40 people in different parts of Guatemala suffered a nervous breakdown or other kinds of shocks. The local fire fighters care for them. At least 11 people were injured by the direct shaking effects (falling debris, etc), among them a pregnant woman.

2:13 UTC: At least 20 people were injured after getting run over by traffic as they fled from their homes in San Marcos.

1:42 UTC:
-4 homes collapsed in San Miguel Sigüila, Quetzaltenango.
-A house collapsed in the village of San Sebastián Lemoa, Quiché.
-2 women were injured in San Marcos.
-There are damaged houses in Patzicia, Chimaltenango.
-A house caught on fire due to the quake in Tiquisate, Escuintla
-Damage can be seen on the roof of Rafael Landívar University.
-Ceiling fell on the Enriquez passageway in Xela.

1:14 UTC: There are collapsed and heavily damaged houses around Quetzaltenango. Also 1 person has been injured by falling debris in there.

1:08 UTC: Unconfirmed reports indicate that 3 houses, damaged on last years quake, have collapsed with no people inside.

1:03 UTC: People have been injured, most of them from traffic accidents.

12:49 UTC: There are reports of damaged houses as well as collapsed walls around Guatemala. A very big landslide has been reported in kilometer 214.

12:44 UTC: USGS expects that 41,000 people felt  a Very Strong shaking (Mercalli Scale of VII), 1,351,000 a strong shaking (MMI of VI) and almost 4 million people feeling a Moderate shaking (MMI V). If these values are correct then this is a very dangerous earthquake.

12:39 UTC: Damage has been reported in San Marcos, Guatemala. Broken windows have been observed in a municipal building of San Marcos.

12:37 UTC: Power is out in some locations around Guatemala. Landslides could had happened since the area has been hit by hard rains lately

12:33 UTC: EMSC is giving a magnitude of 6.5 at a depth of 95km and USGS is giving a M6.5 at a depth of 67km. Both calculations show that this was a deep earthquake.

161 km W of Guatemala City, Guatemala
28 km SW of San Marcos, Guatemala
8 km W of Nuevo Progreso, Guatemala