MEXICO CITY, May 30 (Xinhua) -- There are no initial reports of significant damage after a Magnitude-6.8 earthquake struck off the coast of El Salvador on early Thursday, authorities said.
A "monitoring of the entire country reflects that there has not been serious or generalized damage," El Salvador's civil protection authorities said on Twitter, adding that they would conduct a revision of the affected areas. Firefighters said they were monitoring various areas as well.
Some buildings and roads suffered minor damage, and there were power interruptions in several cities, but until 7:00 a.m. local time (1300 GMT) the authorities had not reported any serious damage or injuries.
The quake was recorded at 03:03 a.m. local time (0903 GMT) and its epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of the department of La Libertad, according to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of El Salvador.
Within three hours after the quake, 16 aftershocks of between magnitude 3.4 and 4.9 were recorded, according to the ministry.
Salvadorian Vice President Oscar Ortiz called on the population to remain calm and keep informed through official channels.
After the earthquake, local authorities issued a tsunami warning. However, the Ministry of Environment later reported that the tide gauges did not register variations in the sea level.
Nevertheless, the ministry urged the population to remain alert and to comply with the recommendations issued by the country's civil protection authorities.
Some coastal areas were evacuated and classes were cancelled for 24 hours in coastal areas as a precaution, according to the Ministry of Education.
