At least one earthquake rattled the Central American nations of El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras today, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The first quake struck just after 6 p.m. (Irish time), and Nicaragua's Institute of Territorial Studies said preliminary data showed it had a magnitude of around 5.9.
It said the quake was centered about 210 miles (350 km) northwest of Nicaragua's capital, Managua, near the border with Honduras. El Salvador lies just to the west.
The US Geological Service's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado, said it had measured the earthquake at 5.3.
A quake of about magnitude 6 is capable of causing widespread damage.
A representative of the Red Cross in El Salvador said there had been no reports of damage or injuries, although the quakes caused widespread alarm among a population that endured two killer quakes earlier this year.
A representative of Honduras' fire service said calls had come in from the capital, Tegucigalpa, but no damage or injuries were reported.
El Salvador was devastated by two major earthquakes, one measuring 7.6 on January 13th and the other 6.6 on February 13th. They killed more than 1,150 people, left about 1 million homeless and caused 1.6 billion in damage.