Third earthquake strikes Nicaragua in less than a week: fears rampant of ‘big one’

April 2014 – NICARAGUA – A third earthquake in less than a week struck Nicaragua early on Monday morning, shaking buildings in the capital, Managua, though there were no immediate reports of damage. An official at Nicaragua’s seismological authority said the quake magnitude was 5.6, but its shallow depth had imparted a greater impact. The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake struck some 6 km (4 miles) northwest of Managua at a depth of 14 km. The USGS initially registered the quake at magnitude 5.1. Emergency services in Managua were checking for signs of impact, but did not immediately report any damage. Earthquakes also struck Nicaragua on Thursday and Friday last week. The latter, of magnitude 6.6, was felt as far away as El Salvador and Costa Rica. –Times of India

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake shook Nicaragua on Sunday night, the third quake to hit the Central American nation within a week. Seven homes collapsed but there have so far been no reports of any casualties. Officials said the quakes could be an indication that the geological fault line which runs underneath the capital, Managua, has been re-activated. Movement in the Estadia fault caused the 1972 quake which killed at least 5,000 people and devastated Managua. Nicaragua was struck by another two earthquakes on Thursday and Friday last week, raising fears a bigger quake may hit “within days.”

The president said there had been reports of injuries, but did not give further details. Angelica Munoz of Ineter, the Nicaraguan state body which monitors tremors, said there had been nine aftershocks following Sunday’s quake. She said one of the aftershocks had originated in the fault line which caused the 1972 earthquake, in which large parts of Managua’s city centre were destroyed and two thirds of its one million residents displaced. – BBC