perm filename QUAKE.NS[1,JMC] blob
sn#883534 filedate 1990-04-03 generic text, type T, neo UTF8
a246 1833 03 Apr 90
AM-Nicaragua-Quake,0346
Quake Measuring 6.5 Rocks Nicaragua Area, No Casualties Reported
By FILADELFO ALEMAN
Associated Press Writer
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) - An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter
scale rocked Nicaragua and the neighboring region on Tuesday, causing
panic in Managua and along its Pacific coast. Authorities said they
had no reports of casualties.
The quake began at 5:57 p.m. (6:57 p.m. EDT) and was felt in the
beach resort of Montelimar, where five Central American presidents
are holding a two-day meeting to negotiate peace in the region.
One of the seven swimming pools and the still-unfinished complex
center in Montelimar sustained serious cracks from the intensity of
the quake. The other pools swayed from the 30-second tremor, and
water spilled over the sides in small waves.
The U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Information Center in Golden,
Colo., said a preliminary reading showed the earthquake occurred off
the coast of Costa Rica with a magnitude of 6.5.
Several aftershocks followed about 15 minutes later.
In Managua, people fled into the streets in fear, and the National
Legislature suspended its session. The downtown part of the capital
was razed and 10,000 were killed by an earthquake in 1972.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in Costa
Rica.
In Montelimar, outgoing President Daniel Ortega and President-elect
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro were walking down the stairs together
from a meeting with the presidents of Guatemala, Honduras, El
Salvador and Costa Rica when the stairway started swaying.
The two Nicaraguan leaders waited until the earth stopped rocking,
then continued without incident to a hall on the ground floor where
they planned a news conference with about 100 journalists.
Long-distance telephone operators said the quake was felt as far
away as Corinto, in the northwest.
The devastating quake last October in the San Francisco Bay area
measured 7.1.
A quake of magnitude 6 can cause severe damage in populated areas,
and one measuring 7 is considered a major earthquake, capable of
widespread, heavy damage in populated areas.
AP-NY-04-03-90 2125EDT
***************