[gatagato]

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit Wednesday off the coast of Guatemala, near its border with Mexico.

A powerful earthquake off the Pacific coast of Guatemala on Wednesday sent debris crashing down onto cars, collapsed roads and killed dozens in the Central American nation, officials said.

At least 48 people died in the temblor, President Otto Perez Molina said in a Twitter post Wednesday night, and doctors treated at least 150 others for injuries.

Earlier Wednesday, Guatemala's disaster relief agency said 29 people were missing and hundreds had lost their homes.

Residents felt the 7.4-magnitude quake throughout Central America and as far north as Mexico City. Its epicenter was about 15 miles off the western coastal town of Champerico, at a depth of 26 miles.
It was the strongest quake to hit Guatemala since 1976, the president told reporters, when a 7.5-magnitude quake killed 23,000 people.

"Fortunately, the damage that we have is not at the same level," Perez Molina said Wednesday.

Earthquake location 13.987°N, 91.965°W
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Population per ~1 sq. km. from LandScan