SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR: A magnitude 7.4 earthquake off the Pacific coast of El Salvador late Monday disrupted power to several communities and claimed the life of one man who had been sleeping on a street.
The quake was part of a series of strong temblors that rattled much of Central America. The strongest quake was centred in the Pacific Ocean about 169 km southeast of San Salvador and occurred at 9-51 p.m. local time (10-51 EDT; 0251 GMT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It had a depth of 70.5 km.
The quakes shook the southern coast and interior of the region from Guatemala to Costa Rica, according local reports. Power outages were reported in El Salvador, and Nicaragua put out an internal alert announcing that schools would be closed on Tuesday.
Jorge Melendez, director of Civil Protection for El Salvador, said a homeless man was killed when he was hit by a power pole in San Miguel, a city 135 km east of the capital.