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Marty Offline OP
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Tonight, the residents of Guatemala are recovering from a major earthquake, which was felt in Belize this morning.

It registered 7.5 on the Richter scale.

Experts are reporting that at around 10:35 a.m. Guatemalan time, the quake struck off Guatemala's Pacific coast, 15 miles south of Champerico and 101 miles west-southwest of the capital.

Authorities from Guatemala noted that landslides are blocking roads in some areas, and about 40 houses in the area most affected are damaged.

President Otto Perez is quoted in the media as saying there were as many as 100 people who are unaccounted for, based on reports from relatives.

The international media reports that there are 39 casualties which have been attributed to the quake.

It is one of the strongest quakes to hit Guatemala since 7.5 magnitude quake in 1976 which claimed more than 20,000 lives.

Channel 7


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Marty Offline OP
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EARTHQUAKE rocks Hillview in Cayo. This morning an earthquake rocked Hillview, Gustavo was in the computer room on the third floor and he came rushing down, to say the bar bell with weights on the weight exercise bench was swaying back and forth crazily.

We normally have the downstairs living room TV tuned to Guatemala, the City center. Seems by later news, the center was below the Pacific, just off the coast, West of Guatemala City, about 30 miles from Champerico. No reports of damages, or injuries. The quake registered 7.5 and a Tsunami warning went out for the rest of the Pacific. The quake was felt from San Jose,Costa Rica, all the way North to Mexico City. All of Central America felt the earthquake, including Belize. We watched as all the office workers piled out of the skyscrapers into the Central Plaza.

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Guatemala 7.4-Magnitude Earthquake Kills at Least 39 People

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake off Guatemala's Pacific coast has killed at least 39 people and damaged buildings and homes in the Central American nation.

The quake occurred at 10:37 a.m. local time and shook most of the country for more than 30 seconds, according to Francisco Valdez, seismologist at Guatemala's National Volcanology, Seismology, Meteorology and Hydrology Institute. The most severe damage was reported in the town of San Marcos in northwest Guatemala, where at least three people were killed as homes and buildings collapsed, President Otto Perez Molina said in a news conference.

Perez Molina, who said he was planning to visit San Marcos, announced that the death toll had risen to 39, according to the Associated Press. At least 100 people were missing and 15 people were thought to be buried under fallen rock, homes and buildings, he said.

"The information we have at this time, only three hours after the earthquake, is very preliminary," Perez Molina said. "The most important thing right now is the preservation of life and deploying emergency and health services to limit the amount of casualties across the country."

Perez Molina declared a national red alert for San Marcos for the next 48 hours. The military is being deployed to the damaged areas to assist with rescue efforts, he said.

In Guatemala City, workers and citizens evacuated buildings and stood outside on sidewalks and in the street for several minutes before returning to their buildings. Cellular towers collapsed and many phone lines were down, according to national news station Guatevision.

Seismic Region

The temblor was felt in Mexico City and as far away as Costa Rica. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said the temblor was "intense" in parts of the city, although subway and hospital services were uninterrupted.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was 39 miles (63 kilometers) from Suchiate, Chiapas in Mexico and 53 miles from Retalhuleu, Guatemala, at a depth of 26 miles. The USGS issued a local tsunami warning for coasts located within 100 kilometers of the epicenter. A small tsunami wave was recorded in Acajutla, El Salvador, though no damages were reported, according to the USGS.

Guatemala and the rest of Central America are susceptible to earthquakes because of the movement of at least four tectonic plates, including the Cocos and Caribbean plates. A 7.6- magnitude earthquake on Costa Rica's Pacific coast killed one person and knocked out power across the country for hours on Sept. 5. Today's quake was the largest recorded in Guatemala since 1976, according to Perez Molina.

Silver mining company Tahoe Resources Inc. (THO) said its Guatemala site appears to be undamaged, spokesman Ira Gostin said via e-mail. Goldcorp Inc. (G) spokesman Jeff Wilhoit said in an e-mail that the company's Marlin mine in Guatemala temporarily lost power but no damage was reported at the site.


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Marty Offline OP
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Death Toll From Guatemala Earthquake Climbs To 48

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K
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K
President Otto Perez? Was there a coup too? its President Molina, ex general


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Darn. Prayers to the affected.
Did anybody out here feel it? Just curious.



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