Honduras Earthquake (Map): 7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Honduras

Posted on May 28, 2009

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocked Honduras on Thursday, killing at least four, and causing homes to fall in neighboring Guatemala. Read more on the Honduras earthquake 2009 below.

Local officials fear the death toll will be rising as reports come in from the moutainous areas near the coast.

The quake ruined buildings across the north of Honduras, a poor country of about 7 million people.

Four children between the ages of 3 and 15 died when their homes collapsed after the earthquake struck at 2:24 a.m. local time offshore near the Honduran Caribbean resort island of Roatan.

“They were all asleep. Most of them died crushed,” said Randolfo Funes, a top official at Honduras’ civil protection agency. “There will be many more dead.”

Security guard Pedro Ramirez, 52, was in his truck outside an office building in Tegucigalpa when the tremor hit.

“I felt the car rock and I started to hear little bits of debris from the building next door hitting the roof,” he said. “It was frightening because it was shaking a lot. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

The earthquake hit 39 miles northeast of Roatan, the biggest of the country’s three Bay Islands where many tourists go to snorkel to see dolphins and a big coral reef. It had a shallow depth of 6.2 miles.

On Roatan,officials said the quake had knocked out power and caused minor damage to buildings.

A tsunami watch was issued for Honduras, Guatemala and Belize, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said, but it was lifted about an hour later.

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