Earthquakes Strike Argentina and Nicaragua

A 5.0 magnitude earthquake jolted the Argentine city of San Juan at 2:16 a.m. Wednesday morning while a lesser 4.5 tremor occured just off the Pacific coast of Nicaragua, also in the early hours.

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The epicenter of the Argentine quake was located 45 miles from the city of San Juan, in Argentina’s central-west, and 105 miles from the country’s fourth largest city by population, Mendoza, reported the United States Geological Survey.

San Juan suffered two devastating earthquakes in 1944 and 1977, the latter claiming the lives of 65 people.

Local reports said buildings shook, but no deaths or serious injuries have been reported.

The Helmholtz-Centre Potsdam - GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences recorded a 4.8 tremor with a depth of 14 miles off Nicaragua’s Pacific coast, with tremors felt in the country’s southern coastal region but no serious damage reported.

Earthquake fears have been high across Latin America after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck much of Ecuador’s Pacific coast on April 16. The tremors killed 659 people, with 40 still missing, and left a number of cities and towns in flattened. The popular tourist town of Canoa had 95 percent of its infrastructure destroyed.