7.4 quake hits off El Salvador coast followed by small tsunami

Central America was hit by a 7.4 magnitude earthquake on Sunday night, around 125 km off the El Salvador coast in the Pacific Ocean. A small tsunami followed.

The U.S. Geological Survey has said that a 7.4 magnitude earthquake occurred south of Usulutan department in the southeast of El Salvador. The quake hit at a depth of 53 kilometers. Following the earthquake, a tsunami warning was issued for Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and Mexico. According to a bulletin from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, "Sea level readings confirm that a tsunami was generated." According to David Walsh, an oceanographer with the Pacific Tsunami Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, a 20cm swell was registered off Acajutla, El Salvador. The tsunami warning has now been lifted and there were no immediate reports of damage to coastal areas or to shipping.