Earth

Tsunami warning follows quake off El Salvador coast

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 7.3-magnitude earthquake in the Pacific Ocean off the central American country of El Salvador near midnight local time (4:37 UTC) on Sunday, August 26. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a brief tsunami alert for a stretch of central American coastline. There have been no initial reports of major damage or injuries. Reuters reported contacting several residents in the El Salvador capital San Salvador, who said they had not felt the quake.

The tsunami alert from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center was for El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and Mexico. They issued the alert, and then canceled it.

Here are the details of the August 26 earthquake off the El Salvador coast, from the USGS.

Event Time
2012-08-27 04:37:20 UTC
2012-08-26 22:37:20 UTC-06:00 at epicenter
2012-08-26 23:37:20 UTC-05:00 system time

Nearby Cities
111km (69mi) S of Puerto El Triunfo, El Salvador
118km (73mi) S of Usulutan, El Salvador
123km (76mi) S of San Rafael Oriente, El Salvador
133km (83mi) S of Santiago de Maria, El Salvador
171km (106mi) SSE of San Salvador, El Salvador

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported a small tsunami hit the El Salvador port of Acajutla following the quake.

Bottom line: The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a brief alert for a stretch of coastline off central America during the night on August 26-27, 2012 following a 7.3-magnitude earthquake off the coast of El Salvador. There are no initial reports of major damage or injuries.

Posted 
August 27, 2012
 in 
Earth

Like what you read?
Subscribe and receive daily news delivered to your inbox.

Your email address will only be used for EarthSky content. Privacy Policy
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

More from 

Deborah Byrd

View All