A 7.3-magnitude Central America earthquake struck off the Pacific Coast Monday night, killing one person but causing no major damage.
The tremor occurred around 9:50 local time with the epicenter 56 miles from
LaUnion, El Salvador, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake knocked out power to portions of San Salvador and rattled parts of Guatemala City and
San Jose, Costa Rica, according to Bloomberg News. The USGS stated that the earthquake was preceded by a smaller one near the Costa Rica coast, about 4.5 in magnitude.
"There are no reports of major damage," Francisco Meardi, the mayor of Usulutan, said on El Salvador's state-run radio station. "We'll see over the course of the night and morning what the reports are. The quake was very strong."
In San Miguel, El Salvador, a man was killed when an electricity pole
fell on him, Mayor Wilfredo Salgado told Reuters. The news agency said that emergency services in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala reported no early signs of damage or injuries.
Nicaraguan presidential spokeswoman Rosario Murillo told coastal residents to seek out higher land in case of a tsunami.
Some images of the earthquake damage were posted on social media.
Lina Pohl, minister of the environment and national resources, warned residents about the possibility of aftershocks that could bring landslides in areas already affected heavy rain over the
past several days, according to The Associated Press.
A 7.3 magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast of El Salvador did trigger a brief tsunami warning in 2012 but caused no major damage or deaths. In 2001, two strong earthquakes a month apart killed more than 1,150 people combined and left thousands looking for shelter.
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