The initial 6.3 magnitude (revised) shock alarmed Salvadoran residents, and local media even showed images of people outside shopping malls due to the force of the event.

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) said the earthquake originated on the coast of La Paz, in the south-central part of the country, at 11:18 a.m. local time, 29 kilometers southwest of the Costa del Sol beach.

The earthquake had a depth of 33.1 kilometers and was caused by the subduction process, although the MARN ruled out tsunami threats.

After the first earthquake, the entity continued to record aftershocks, the first of 4.1 magnitude at 11:23, with a depth of 66.4 kilometers on the coast of La Paz.

At around 11:28, another one was recorded with a magnitude of 3.9, followed by another at 11:36, 40 kilometers from the Costa del Sol. A minute later, another one of 3.8 degrees was reported, and at 11:46 another one of 4.8 degrees occurred, both in La Paz.

Later, at 11:49, the MARN reported another earthquake of 4.3 degrees, 34 km south of Playa San Marcelino, and at 11:54 another one of 4.2 degrees occurred, 32 km southwest of Playa Costa del Sol.

Reports up to noon by Civil Protection did not report victims or material damage. Since the beginning of December, El Salvador has been the center of seismic activity in the department of La Unión, which has already registered nearly 1,530 movements, of which 202 were felt by the population.

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