Story highlights Colonial capital of Antigua Guatemala suffers some damage in the quake

So far, no reports of injuries, the country's emergency management system says

(CNN) A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Thursday off Guatemala's Pacific coast, the US Geological Survey reported, causing some minor damage.

The quake was recorded at about 24 miles (38 kilometers) from the city of Puerto San Jose, according to the USGS.

One of the areas that suffered damage was Antigua Guatemala, the onetime colonial capital of Guatemala and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site , according to CONRED, the country's emergency management system.

Founded in 1527, Antigua Guatemala survived many natural disasters until an earthquake destroyed most of the city in 1773, according to UNESCO. The capital was moved to present-day Guatemala City, but the monuments and architecture of the old capital earned it the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation in 1979.

Buildings suffer damage Thursday in the city of Antigua Guatemala, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Photos shared by emergency responders Thursday showed damage to the facade of some buildings and debris on some streets of Antigua Guatemala.

Read More</s>GUATEMALA (CNN) — A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck off of Guatemala’s Pacific coast Thursday, the US Geological Survey reports. The quake was recorded at about 24 miles (38 km) from the city of Puerto San Jose, according to the USGS.

Guatemala’s emergency management system, CONRED, says via Twitter it is monitoring for any damage.

Developing story – more to come</s>A week after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck near Guatemala’s northern border with Mexico — killing five people, injuring seven more, and causing significant damage and landslides — a magnitude 6.8 earthquake occurred just off the Central American country’s Pacific coast on Thursday morning. According to the Associated Press, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports the quake was centered roughly 24 miles southwest of the city of Puerto San Jose, and about 6 miles below the ocean surface. The event rocked both Guatemala and neighbor El Salvador, where it “sent people fleeing into the streets.”

Julio Sanchez, spokesperson for the Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres (National Coordination for Disaster Reduction) said there were no reports of major casualties or damage, though local media outlets “showed images of damage to some adobe-walled homes and small cracks in old buildings.” CNN meanwhile has been following CONRED’s official Twitter account, which is monitoring the fallout from the earthquake with emergency response and damage reports.

When the earthquake initially struck, the USGS and CONRAD weren’t the only agencies or persons monitoring it in real-time. A retired high school science teacher and a Norwegian seismologist’s seismometers captured the event as it happened, and the pair published what their devices recorded as the news broke.</s>GUATEMALA CITY – The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.8 earthquake has hit off Guatemala’s Pacific coast.

Residents of Guatemala City report feeling the 8:31 a.m. EDT quake, but there are no immediate reports of what damage it may have caused.

The Geological Survey says the quake was centred about 38 kilometres southwest of Puerto San Jose and 10 kilometres below the surface.</s>GUATEMALA CITY- A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck around 6:31 a.m. Thursday (8:31 a.m. EDT) off Guatemala’s Pacific coast, the US Geological Survey reported, causing some minor damage.

The quake occurred 23.7 km (14.7 miles) southwest of the city of Puerto San José and had a depth of 28 km (28.5 miles), according to the USGS.

One of the areas that suffered damage was Antigua Guatemala, the onetime colonial capital of Guatemala and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to CONRED, the country’s emergency management system.

Founded in 1527, Antigua Guatemala survived many natural disasters until an earthquake destroyed most of the city in 1773, according to UNESCO. The capital was moved to present-day Guatemala City, but the monuments and architecture of the old capital earned it the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation in 1979.

Photos shared by emergency responders Thursday showed damage to the facade of some buildings and debris on some streets of Antigua Guatemala.

A spokesman for CONRED said there are no early reports of injuries.

On Twitter, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales urged residents to remain calm and said more information would be given soon.

Light shaking was felt as far north as the Mexico City of Tuxtla Gutiérrez.

Last week, a deeper earthquake of similar magnitude struck the interior of Guatemala, killing at least two people and damaging buildings.</s>A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Thursday off Guatemala’s Pacific coast, the US Geological Survey reported, causing some minor damage.

The quake was recorded at about 24 miles (38 kilometers) from the city of Puerto San Jose, according to the USGS.

One of the sites that suffered some damage was Antigua Guatemala, the onetime colonial capital of Guatemala and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to the country’s emergency management system (CONRED).

Antigua Guatemala was founded in 1527 and survived many natural disasters, until an earthquake destroyed most of the city in 1773, according to UNESCO. The capital was moved to present-day Guatemala City, but the monuments and architecture of the old capital earned it the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation in 1979.

Photos shared by emergency responders Thursday showed damage to the facade of some buildings and debris on some streets of Antigua Guatemala.

A spokesman for CONRED says the agency continues to monitor for damage, and said there are no early reports of injuries.</s>GUATEMALA CITY (AP) -- The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.8 earthquake has hit off Guatemala's Pacific coast.

Residents of Guatemala City report feeling the 6:31 a.m. (1231 GMT; 8:31 a.m. EDT) quake, but there are no immediate reports of what damage it may have caused.

The Geological Survey says the quake was centered about 24 miles (38 kilometers) southwest of Puerto San Jose and 6 miles (10 kilometers) below the surface.</s>The US Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.8 earthquake has hit off Guatemala's Pacific coast.

Residents of Guatemala City report feeling the 6:31 am (local time) quake, but there are no immediate reports of what damage it may have caused.

The Geological Survey says the quake was centred about 24 miles (38 kilometres) south-west of Puerto San Jose and 6 miles (10 kilometres) below the surface.</s>Guatemala City: A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit near Guatemala`s coast Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, just eight days after another strong tremor killed five people in the Central American country.

There were no immediate reports of casualties. The quake struck at 6:31 (1231 GMT). Its epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean about 23 kilometers (14 miles) southwest of Puerto San Jose, with a depth of 46.8 kilometers, according to USGS.

Residents of El Salvador also felt the trembling, with many people coming out of their houses for fear of aftershocks, according to authorities in that country.

On June 14, a magnitude 6.9 tremor hit Guatemala and southern Mexico, leaving five people dead, causing power outages and knocking down homes.

Guatemala is in a risk zone for tremors, located where the Caribbean Cocos tectonic plates converge with North America`s tectonic plates.

San Marcos was hit by earthquakes in 2012 and 2014 that left dozens dead.</s>GUATEMALA CITY — The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.8 earthquake has hit off Guatemala's Pacific coast.

Residents of Guatemala City report feeling the 6:31 a.m. (1231 GMT; 8:31 a.m. EDT) quake, but there are no immediate reports of what damage it may have caused.
A 6.8-magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Puerto San José, Guatemala.