Guatemala activated the National Response Plan following a 7.4 earthquake off the coast of Chiapas, Mexico, which was felt throughout the country, left 58 reported emergencies, and forced authorities to deploy damage assessments while the scientific system monitors a sequence of aftershocks and rules out a seismic swarm.
So far, the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology reported that 42 aftershocks have been recorded, with magnitudes between 3.4 and 6.1.
The event also prompted a tsunami alert for the Guatemalan coast, which was later canceled at 11:04, after an increase in wave height of between 30 and 34 centimeters above the usual level was observed in sectors of San Marcos and the coast.
In the official conference, the director general of INSIVUMEH Edwin Rojas explained that the main earthquake was located in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chiapas, at a depth of 18 kilometers, and was the result of a subduction process between the Cocos and Caribbean plates.
Before the main event, the seismic network had detected a foreshock at 07:20 at a depth of 3.88 kilometers and then, at 08:48, a preliminary movement of magnitude 5.6 at a depth of 10 kilometers.
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A stretch of road in Santa Clara La Laguna, Guatemala, shows debris from a collapsed retaining wall and a fallen metal fence following a landslide.
The preliminary report indicates 58 emergencies and zero deaths
The executive secretary of CONRED Claudine Ogaldes detailed that the assessments are concentrated in Huehuetenango, San Marcos, Totonicapán, Suchitepéquez, Retalhuleu, Sololá, Quetzaltenango, Chimaltenango, Escuintla, and Sacatepéquez, where the seismic wave had the greatest impact.
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The official balance includes zero deaths, one person hospitalized, 21 people affected, and eleven evacuated. Also reported were three homes with minor damage, two with moderate damage, three with severe damage, three roads affected by landslides, and 14 schools and 12 public buildings with cracks.
Ogaldes specified that the evacuated people were moved to the homes of relatives and that there are no shelters enabled for now. The decision regarding the delivery of humanitarian aid will depend on the damage and needs assessment that is still in progress.
The territorial distribution of the emergencies shows 12 incidents in San Marcos, eleven in Quetzaltenango, nine in Sololá, eight in Huehuetenango, seven in Suchitepéquez, four in Quiché, three in Guatemala, and one in Retalhuleu, Totonicapán, Sacatepéquez, and El Progreso.
A National Civil Police officer stands in front of a partially collapsed house in Santa Clara La Laguna, with adobe and wood debris on the ground. (PNCdeGuatemala)
Three roads reported damage due to landslides
During the Q&A session, Ogaldes identified the affected routes: the road to San Pedro La Laguna, the road leading down to Panajachel, both in Sololá, and a section in Comitancillo, San Marcos. He clarified that, except for the route to Panajachel, these are not main roads.
The Ministry of Defense, for its part, indicated that it maintains its emergency operations center active at the level of the National Defense General Staff and in other areas of the Army. The Vice Minister of Defense Policy and Planning Moisés López pointed out that an aerial reconnaissance is also being carried out to assess possible damage.
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Rojas also responded to one of the questions that arose after the movement: why a magnitude of 5.6 was initially reported and then one of 7.4 was confirmed.
As explained, the alert application issues preliminary data to notify the population, while the definitive magnitude is established after a quantitative technical analysis, so the variation was due to the adjustment protocol and not a confusion.
The institute’s director also clarified that, in scientific terms, “sismo” (seismic event) and “terremoto” (earthquake) mean the same thing. He added that the social perception of the term usually depends on the impact of the event and said that the one recorded this Friday can be classified as a strong seismic event that could be considered an earthquake, although the fact that it originated offshore reduced the sensation on land.
Impacts in Guatemala due to seismic swarm in Chiapas, Mexico.
The alert system reached 15% of about 500 thousand users
One of the data points the institute presented was the performance of its alert application. Rojas indicated that the system reached 15% of Android and iOS users, based on a total of nearly 500 thousand people.
According to the official, the main limitation was not the system’s operation but the signal and connectivity issues that were recorded after the earthquakes. He also mentioned factors linked to the software and the equipment used by users to receive notifications.
The official monitoring medium, he added, continued to operate at 100% and that allowed for the timely detection of the first movements before confirming the main event. The institute is also developing a 2.0 version of the application, a process that, as explained, was already planned and did not arise as a response to what happened today.
The authorities asked the population to remain calm, not to spread rumors on social media, to prepare a 72-hour emergency kit, review the family response plan, identify evacuation routes, and report any incidents to the number 119.
