6.8 Earthquake in Southern Mexico Damages Roads and Housing in Guatemala

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 6.8whose epicenter was in the Mexican state of Chiapas, this Friday caused landslides on roads and damage in some homes in southwestern Guatemala, reported the civil protection.

Spokesperson for the National Coordinator for Natural Disaster Reduction (Conred), Julio Sánchez, he told reporters that Stony falls blocked one of two lanes on three roads.

At least 3 people were slightly injured by the earthquake, according to the rescuers who attended the emergency.

The tremor caused the collapse of a wall enclosure of the school Santo Tomás La Unión de Suchitepéquez (south), damage to the main vault of the Church of San Gabriel in the same locality, and the fall of some shelter housing in the western city of San Marcos.

Similar damage was recorded in Quetzaltenango, to the west of the Guatemalan capital.

Sánchez said the earthquake had resulted in the evacuation of thousands of students from educational institutions, as well as buildings where offices work.

Guatemala generally experiences phenomena of this type due to the convergence of Caribbean, Cocos and North America tectonic plates, as well as local geological faults generating a series of movements, mostly imperceptible.

(With information from AFP)