FOX Weather explains why scientists favor the newer Moment Magnitude scale to measure the power of an earthquake over the Richter scale developed in the 1930s.
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck just offshore the coasts of Mexico and Guatemala on Sunday morning, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
According to the USGS, the quake happened at 5:39 a.m. local time (7:39 a.m. EDT) with an epicenter about 10.5 miles west-southwest of Brisas Barra de Suchiate, Mexico. The earthquake struck at a depth of about 47 miles.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck near the Mexico-Guatemala border on Sunday, May 12, 2024.
(FOX Weather)
CONRED, Guatmetala’s disaster agency, said on X, formerly Twitter, that structural damage was reported near the country’s border with Mexico in the departments of Quetzaltenango and San Marcos, where there was a landslide that blocked a portion of a road.
There was also damage to housing in the El Mosquito subdivision of San Pedro Sacatepéquez in San Marcos, CONRED reported.
According to Reuters, shaking from the earthquake was reportedly felt in Guatemala City, the country’s capital.
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Mexico’s national civil protection agency said on X that it had not received any initial reports of damage in Mexico, but it will continue to monitor for updates.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning System and Mexico’s navy noted there was no risk of a tsunami associated with the quake.
Some information reported in this story was translated from Spanish via Google Translate