Apocalyptic scenes after earthquake strikes Guatemala
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E-mail Xinhua, November 9, 2012
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Photo shows residents standing near debris after an earthquake in San marcos, Guatemala, on Nov. 7, 2012. [Agencies] |
It was a pretty normal and quiet Wednesday morning when people in Guatemala's northwestern province of San Marcos woke up. They might have never predicted that peace would be no more hours later.
At 10.30 a.m. (1630 GMT), a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck, and people began to swarm into the streets. Yet many people were trapped in debris.
At least 48 people have been killed and 155 others injured in the earthquake, said President Otto Perez Molina in a message to the nation.
The president declared a state of emergency and urged people to be cautious. He also said that public buildings and damaged homes will be evacuated in case of aftershocks.
"THE END OF THE WORLD"
"I thought it was the end of the world," Sergio Rodas, a dentist, told Xinhua.
"It was half past ten, my wife, my daughter Sara and I have just had breakfast, then began the shaking. But our house is built with wood and is safe, so we did not run away," he said.
"We heard that everything in the house was falling, but the worst thing was to go outside. I saw lamp poles moving from side to side and the walls crumbling down. Many adobe houses collapsed. People were screaming, crying, and running in all directions. Cars collided," said the dentist, who still seemed to be in shock.
"Police and the Red Cross came after the shock. There was no light, no water. We saw a peddler was trapped under a toppled wall. His wife and daughter were killed in the earthquake. One of the peddler's legs was amputated," he said.
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