TODAY NICARAGUA – An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 shook the northwestern coast of Nicaragua late Thursday night, at 9:25pm, in the northwester part of the country, not far from the Hondura border.
The walls of a church had collapsed in Chinandega, the city closest to the epicentre.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Reports say the tremor was also felt strongly in areas of Matagalpa and even in Managua, Nicaragua’s capital.
The epic center of the quake was measured:
- 17.0 km (10.6 mi) E of Puerto Morazan
- 25.0 km (15.5 mi) NE of El Viejo
- 25.0 km (15.5 mi) SSW of Somotillo
- 26.0 km (16.2 mi) NNE of Chinandega
- 114.0 km (70.8 mi) NW of Managua
Schools will be closed today in Chinandega and Leon as a preventive measure, given that the country is on “red alert” for aftershocks.
The quake was also felt in neighboring El Salvador.
Pobladores de Chinandega fuera de sus hogares después del sismo 6.1 sentido en Nicaragua.Falta energía en p.Morazán pic.twitter.com/CQbJXj2e86
— Dennis Schwartz (@dennischwartz) June 10, 2016
Rosario Murillo, the coordinator of the Communication and Citizenship Council, told the Nicaraguan news portal El Pueblo Presidente that aftershocks were likely and warned that people should take precautions.
The USGS initially reported that the quake had a magnitude of 6.4 but later downgraded it to a 6.1.
