Earthquake

5:47 PM

Dear families of missionaries in the El Salvador Santa Ana Mission,

You may be aware of the earthquake that occurred off the coast of El Salvador last night. While we felt it in Santa Ana, we have seen no damage. All the missionaries are safe and have been working as usual today.

Thank you for your prayers. We are pleased to work with your missionaries as they invite the wonderful people of El Salvador to come unto Christ.

Sincerely,

President Spjut

MSN NEWS SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - 

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck late on Monday off the coast of El Salvador and Nicaragua and was felt across Central America, killing at least one person, but there were no immediate reports of major damage.

El Salvador's emergency services said a dozen homes in the department of Usulutan had been slightly damaged but that coastal areas appeared calm and the country's international airport was unaffected.
Wilfredo Salgado, mayor of the city of San Miguel in El Salvador, said on his Twitter account that a man was killed when an electricity post fell on him.

"It felt really powerful, suddenly the whole house started to move," said Xiomara Amaya, 30, who lives in Usulutan.

The quake struck 42 miles (67 km) west-southwest of Jiquilillo in Nicaragua and 174 km southeast of San Salvador, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It said the quake hit at a depth of about 25 miles (40 km).

Emergency services in Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala as well as in Panama said they had no early reports of damage or injuries. Nicaraguan presidential spokeswoman Rosario Murillo urged coastal residents to seek out higher land in case of a tsunami.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center at one point warned of possible tsunami waves in the region but then said there was no threat.