7.4 Magnitude Earthquake in Guatemala

Today off the Pacific coast of Guatemala, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurred killing at least 39 people.  San Marcos, a mountain village 80 miles from the epicenter suffered most of the damage where 30 homes collapsed.  More than 300 people worked at rescuing 7 people that were buried alive at a sand extraction site.  The earthquake was about 20 miles deep and was shaking buildings as far away as Mexico City and El Salvador.  President Otto Perez Molina asked civilians to stay put and not travel due to dangerous highway collapses and debris.  He also encouraged civilians that were in the affected areas to evacuate and stated that the country was "on the highest level of alert for subsequent earthquakes in the next few hours" and that there is a very high risk of aftershocks.  There has not been any immediate reports of a tsunami on the Pacific coast, but Nicaragua's disaster management agency has issued a local tsunami alert.  Located along Guatemala's Northwest border, landslides cut off several highways and it may take 24 hours to reestablish transport links.  Many people throughout the country had felt the earthquake and fled to their homes in El Salvador, but there are no reports of injury or serious damage. 

This earthquake was located along the 'Ring of Fire' where about two thirds of all large earthquakes occur.  The epicenter is the point on the Earth's surface directly about the hypocenter where earthquakes are measured.  And magnitude is measured on scales that describe the total energy released by the earthquake in the form of seismic waves that radiate outward from the fault plane.  The impact on people could have been worse from this major earthquake due to building quality, population density, distance from the fault, and duration of shaking.  Preventing earthquakes is not possible, but mitigation of the hazard is important for protection.  Most earthquakes losses are due to the collapse of buildings so it is important to have a building code which requires a site to be suitable for construction.  It is important to ensure that buildings won't be built over faults and that the building foundation are strong enough to withstand earthquakes.  Having trained rescue operations and plans to bring in assistance from outside the affected area is vital, overall it is important for a community to be prepared for a possible earthquake occurrence.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57546549/7.4-earthquake-shakes-guatemala/