A 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Guatemala on Saturday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
There were no initial damage or injury reports immediately available.
The quake hit about 62 miles from Champerico, Guatemala, according to the USGS map. It was the latest earthquake to strike along the Motagua fault, which has seen a dozen similar seismic events over the last year.
Newsweek has reached out to the USGS for comment via email during non-working hours on Saturday.
Why It Matters
Guatemala sits along active plate boundaries and fault systems that produces frequent earthquakes and landslides.
Many communities are still coping with the human and infrastructure impacts of a series of quakes that struck the country in July, killing multiple people and leaving buildings damaged across several towns, according to the Associated Press.
What To Know
The earthquake registered 5.9 in magnitude and occurred offshore at shallow depth, which increased the distance over which shaking was felt.
People reported feeling shaking in Guatemala City and in parts of southern Mexico, the AP reported.
It comes weeks after an 8.8 magnitude quake in Russia prompted tsunami warnings and evacuations across the West Coast. The earthquake on Saturday also comes just one month after Guatemala saw multiple seismic events, spanning from July 8 to 9.
During that sequence, a 5.7-magnitude mainshock near Amatitlán and produced hundreds of aftershocks. Authorities reported several deaths, landslides, and widespread damage to homes, schools and roads, according to the AP.
Geologically, Guatemala experiences earthquakes as a result of the Cocos Plate subduction beneath the North American and Caribbean plates along the Middle America Trench and from strike-slip systems such as the Motagua Fault system across the country’s northern region.
These tectonic structures have produced major historical earthquakes, including a deadly 1976 event referenced in reporting on the region’s seismic history, USGS reported.
What Happens Next?
Seismologists expect aftershocks to continue following any shallow earthquake and anticipate there will be continued seismic activity in the region in the coming days.
Residents in vulnerable areas should remain alert for additional shaking and to follow guidance from national authorities on evacuations and road safety, the USGS said.
Guatemalan authorities will make their damage assessments in the following days.
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