A 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Guatemala ravaged the Pacific coast killing at least 52 people and leaving 22 people missing, reported The Associated Press.
The large earthquake hit on Wednesday morning at 10:35 a.m. and President Otto Perez Molina said that as many as 1.2 million people have been affected. The AP reported that more than 700 people were currently in shelters due to the earthquake.
The earthquake was widespread affecting a large area including 21 out of 22 of Guatemala's states and was even felt in Mexico City which is 600 miles northwest, reported The AP.
Molina said in a news conference that many people have no electricity, water to drink and cannot communicate. He also said that the area was in danger of experiencing aftershocks. He noted that in the first 24 hours after the quake there were 70 aftershocks.
The AP reported that San Marcos, Guatemala was the most heavily affected area with 40 people dead. Eight were killed in the neighboring state of Quetzaltenango.
Julio Cesar Fuentes from the municipal fire department said, "We started rescue work very early. The objective is our hope to find people who were buried."
In San Marcos, there was widespread damage to homes, including 30 homes in its center that were either cracked or reduced to rubble," reported The AP.
The New York Times reported that President Molina said in a news conference that "This is the largest earthquake we have had since the one in 1976," which killed approximately 23,000 individuals .
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