The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says a large earthquake struck off the coast of Central America near El Salvador, and has generated tsunami warnings in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, and Mexico. There is no tsunami warning for Hawaii or the Pacific Region.
The earthquake struck at 4:58 Zulu Time, on August 27, or 6:58 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time on Sunday, August 26. The initial magnitude is set at 7.4. The quake’s coordinates were 12.7 North and 88.5 West, at a depth of 54 kilometers, around 34 miles deep, off the coast of Central America.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center emphasized that this is a warning only, and it is not known if a tsunami will actually be generated. They look to local authorities in the affected region to take the lead in determing how to respond and what actions to take. Again, no tsunami warning has been issued for the Hawaiian Islands.
Below are the expected arrival times of a possible tsuami in the affected regions, as initially calculated.
COSTA RICA CABO_SAN_ELENA 10.9N 274.0E 0526Z 27 AUG
PUERTO_QUEPOS 9.4N 275.8E 0553Z 27 AUG
CABO_MATAPALO 8.4N 276.7E 0555Z 27 AUG
NICARAGUA CORINTO 12.5N 272.8E 0532Z 27 AUG
PUERTO_SANDINO 12.2N 273.2E 0539Z 27 AUG
SAN_JUAN_DL_SUR 11.2N 274.1E 0551Z 27 AUG
EL SALVADOR ACAJUTLA 13.6N 270.2E 0543Z 27 AUG
HONDURAS AMAPALA 13.2N 272.4E 0556Z 27 AUG
GUATEMALA SIPICATE 13.9N 268.8E 0559Z 27 AUG
PANAMA PUNTA_BURICA 8.0N 277.1E 0605Z 27 AUG
PUNTA_MALA 7.5N 280.0E 0652Z 27 AUG
BALBOA_HTS. 9.0N 280.4E 0912Z 27 AUG
MEXICO PUERTO_MADERO 14.8N 267.5E 0606Z 27 AUG
The initial quake detail and location relative to other nearby cities:
- 118 km (74 miles) S (185°) from Usulután, Usulután, El Salvador
- 138 km (86 miles) SSW (196°) from San Miguel, San Miguel, El Salvador
- 139 km (86 miles) SSW (212°) from La Unión, La Unión, El Salvador
- 169 km (105 miles) SSE (156°) from SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador
