27 Aug 2012

Major quake in ocean off El Salvador

8:49 pm on 27 August 2012

An earthquake of 7.3 magnitude has struck in the Pacific Ocean, 125km off El Salvador, the United States Geological Survey says.

The Pacific Tsunami Center issued a tsunami warning for Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and Mexico.

It says a small tsunami hit the El Salvador port of Acajutla but later cancelled the Central America-wide alert.

The earthquake struck 120km south of Usulutan, El Salvador, at a depth of 53km, the Geological Survey says.

There were no immediate reports of major damage to coastal areas or to shipping.