Swarm of 700 quakes unnerve residents of El Salvador

November 26, 2011 – SAN SALVADOR (Reuters): More than 700 slight to moderate earthquakes hit an area in eastern El Salvador in a 24-hour period, damaging dozens of homes but hurting no one. The brief quakes, which started Thursday and ranged from 1.8 to 4.6 in magnitude, have occurred in the municipality of El Carmen, some 163 km (101 miles) east of the capital of San Salvador, the country’s National Territory agency said. Jorge Melendez, in charge of civil protection, said on Friday that 80 homes were damaged by the tremors, known as an earthquake swarm. A hospital in the area showed cracks on the walls but no structural damage so far, he said. Army troops were sent in to monitor the damaged areas. While authorities have not ordered evacuations yet, many residents of El Carmen chose to sleep in the open and the army was handing out tents. El Salvador suffered two powerful earthquakes 10 any ten years ago: one of 7.6 magnitude in January 2001 and another of 6.6 magnitude a month later. The quakes killed more than 1,150 people and left about one million others homeless. El Savador is a region on the turbulent subduction border where the Cocos Plate interfaces with the ever-growing more dangerous Caribbean plate. As can be seen from the map, El Salvador is lined with volcanoes. –The Star

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