Guatemala earthquakes leave four dead, houses damaged

 

People walk along a road that collapsed after a series of earthquakes rattled the area in Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala, on July 9, 2025. [AFP]

The death toll from several earthquakes that struck Guatemala rose to four Wednesday with the discovery of a teenager buried by a landslide, authorities said.

A series of tremors of up to 5.7 magnitude rattled the country on Tuesday, centred near the towns of Amatitlan and Alotenango southwest of the capital, according to the US Geological Survey.

The teenager's body was found in a village in the worst-hit municipality of Santa Maria de Jesus, disaster coordination agency Conred reported.

The other victims were two men whose vehicle was buried by falling rocks, and a woman killed by a landslide, President Bernardo Arevalo said on social media.

The earthquakes damaged around 90 homes, more than a dozen roads and a bridge, Conred said.

In Santa Maria de Jesus, home to an Indigenous Mayan community, 50 percent of homes had some kind of damage, mayor Mario Perez said.

The municipality had no power and was almost cut off due to landslides blocking access roads.

Arevalo flew in by helicopter to assess the damage.

"Please know that we are working tirelessly for the safety of the entire population," he said on X, expressing his "deepest condolences to the families of the dead."

School classes were suspended in the worst affected areas.

Around 200 aftershocks were recorded, according to the country's seismology institute.

Hundreds of people spent the night sleeping in the streets and parks, afraid to return home.

"We don't know yet what we're going to do. Now that dawn is breaking, almost everyone is starting to go back to their homes to check what has fallen or been damaged," said Carmen Carrillo, 49.

The tremors caused dozens of people to evacuate buildings in Guatemala City, where anti-earthquake alarms sounded.

They were also felt in neighboring El Salvador.

Central America often experiences earthquakes due to the shifting Caribbean and Cocos tectonic plates.