The earthquake struck off the Pacific coast southwest of the capital Guatemala City, 135 kilometers west-southwest of Santa Ana, El Salvador and 155 kilometers south-southeast of Quezaltenango, Guatemala at 2:29 pm (0059 IST) according to the US agency.
On February 4, 1976, a major earthquake destroyed several cities and caused more than 25,000 deaths.
Guatemala's highlands lie atop the boundary between the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates, and thus are subject to frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity. Guatemala has 37 volcanoes, four of them active: Pacaya, Santiaguito, Fuego and Tacaná. The last major earthquake was on February 4, 1976, killing more than 25,000 in the Central Highlands. - Source: DDNews and Wikipedia
Posted June 13th, 2007 by Armen Hareyan
