El Salvador: Damage to 130 houses from 219 earthquakes in half a day

by

No deaths or serious injuries have been reported, but the quakes damaged some 130 homes and caused at least 20 landslides

At least 130 houses were damaged by a series of successive earthquakes in El Salvador, which forced more than a dozen residents to take refuge in earthquake reception centers, authorities in the Central American country said Monday.

The authorities spoke of a total of 219 earthquakes from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning.

No deaths or serious injuries were reported, but the quakes damaged some 130 homes and caused at least 20 landslides, prompting officials to declare a state of alert for communities in the region of Ahuachapan, the epicenter of the seismic activity.

“We are working to make a risk assessment of the houses” and “meet the needs of the population,” noted Luis Amaya, director of the Salvadoran Civil Protection, during a press conference.

The strongest earthquake was recorded on Sunday morning (local time). It had a magnitude of 5.1 and occurred at a relatively shallow depth of 9.1 kilometers in the municipality of San Lorenzo, Civil Protection officials said.

Crews of public works workers were clearing debris from the earthquake-affected areas yesterday, while the authorities said they had opened eight spaces capable of accommodating residents in need of temporary shelter.

RES-EMP

You May Also Like

Recommended for you