“A thousand tremors in eight days”: Guatemala hit by a series of earthquakes
Since July 8, Guatemala has been experiencing a series of earthquakes that have caused the deaths of at least seven people and serious material damage in three departments of the country. In Santa María de Jesús, the city hardest hit by the earthquakes, residents are struggling to access basic needs.
More than a thousand tremors in eight days. For more than a week, Guatemala has been rocked by intense and particularly long-lasting seismic activity. July 15 marked the eighth consecutive day of earthquakes that caused the deaths of at least seven people and significant material damage, leaving more than 12,500 people homeless, reports Prensa Libre .
The series of tremors began at 3:41 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8, when the first earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale struck the country. Since then, magnitudes have ranged from 0.8 to 5.6.
The initial tremor destroyed several homes, prompting authorities to issue an orange alert, which remains in effect to this day. As a matter of urgency, the government also suspended in-person classes in several affected departments, such as Guatemala City, Sacatepéquez, and Escuintla, before a gradual return to normalcy from July 10, as reported by Soy502 .
Among the various areas hit by the earthquakes, the town of Santa María de Jesús, in the department of Sacatepéquez, was the most affected and is the focus of attention in the Guatemalan press. According to official data relayed by local media, 50% of the homes in this municipality of 27,000
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