Dozens of earthquakes have been recorded over the span of hours in Guatemala, leaving two people dead when rocks fell on their vehicle, local authorities have said.
More than 37 quakes and aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 3.0 to 5.6 were reported in Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, said director of the National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology, Edwin Rodas.
The tremors resulted in the evacuation of buildings, landslides and minor property damage, officials said, adding they were felt as far away as El Salvador.
The two men killed were traveling in a pickup truck on a road in the department of Escuintla when the rocks fell from a hillside onto the vehicle, firefighters said.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said at a press conference that the main epicentre of the quakes was in the department of Sacatepéquez, with aftershocks in the regions of Escuintla and Guatemala.
At least five people were buried by landslides, but emergency responders were able to rescue two, he added.
The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction declared an orange alert, the second-highest on the emergency scale.
The US Geological Survey reported a 4.8 magnitude earthquake at 3:11 pm local time, four kilometres southwest of the town of Amatitlán, south of Guatemala City, with a depth of 10 kilometres.
It then reported another 5.7 magnitude quake three kilometres northwest of San Vicente Pacaya, a municipality in Escuintla, in the south-central region of the country.
Another 4.8 magnitude quake was reported six kilometres northwest of Palín, also in Escuintla.
