eTN Reader and tourist Josh Gates tweeted: A Magnitude 6.9 quake just rolled through Guatemala City. Quite a ride here on the 15th floor of my hotel. Ok…so…Back to bed?
The strong earthquake was measured 6.9 on 1.29 am local time Wednesday morning. It was located close to the Mexican border:
143 km W of Guatemala City, Guatemala / pop: 995,000 /
15 km N of San Marcos, Guatemala / pop: 25,100 /
5 km SE of Tejutla, Guatemala / pop: 2,700 /
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though some resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are mud wall and informal (metal, timber, GI etc.) construction.
Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides that might have contributed to losses.
At this time there are no reports of losses, but this type of earthquake has the potential of major damage and threat to life.