2007 Guatemala earthquake

On June 13, 2007, the United States Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center reported that a strong earthquake, ranking 6.7 on the Richter scale, occurred at 19:29:46 UTC (13:29:46 local time). The EPICENTER was located in the Pacific Ocean, south of Puerto Quetzal, AbOUT 115 km (70 miles) south-southwest of Guatemala City.

The quake was reportedly felt in Guatemala, El Salvador and parts of Mexico. There were no reports of major damages or causalities.

While the USGS assigned a magnitude of 6.7 for this event, many local seimological agencies in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua only registered the quake in the 5.5-6.0 range. These calculations are more accurate due to the seismographs' locations closer to the epicenter, and are in agreement with the minor shaking reported by residents.

In addition, the USGS coins all movements as earthquakes, while in Latin America, small movements such as this one are called tremors. This misnomer confused the international community into thinking this event was much larger and more severe than it really was.