7.4-Magnitude Pacific Earthquake Causes Panic in Central America

A strong 7.4 magnitude quake struck off the Pacific coast of Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico on Wednesday.

The earthquake led to panicked evacuations, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, international media report.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck at 1635 GMT some 24 km southwest of Champerico, Guatemala, and 163 km west-southwest of Guatemala City.

The quake was strongly felt in Guatemala City and Chiapas, and prompted evacuations as far north as Mexico City, where thousands of people streamed out of buildings.

"We just had an earthquake," Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard wrote on Twitter. "It was intense in a good part of the city."

One Mexico City metro line was briefly suspended but Ebrard reported moments later that the system was back running normally.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no destructive widespread tsunami threat. The USGS had initially measured the quake at 7.5 magnitude on the Richter Scale.

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