Earthquake in Honduras - SOS Children update

A powerful earthquake hit Honduras yesterday morning. Fortunately, there has been limited damage to SOS Children buildings and neither staff nor children have been hurt.

A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook Honduras in the early hours of Thursday and four people were killed, emergency workers said. The 30-second quake knocked down homes, buildings and churches in several areas. It was felt in Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Cancun in Mexico.

The earthquake struck at 2:24 a.m. local time (0824 GMT) when most people were asleep. The epicentre was 320 kilometres north-northeast of Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. A tsunami warning was issued for Honduras, Guatemala and Belize, but was lifted about an hour later.A bridge which spans the country's largest river collapsed in the north-west. The power was cut across a large part of Honduras, as well as telephones and Internet connections.

At our Villages in Honduras, Internet is down due to the fact that a submarine cable was broken by the quake. Strong rains from the past three days have caused flooding and communication problems. In some family houses in our San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba Villages, walls have cracked. In CV Tela, children were moved to the youth home as a precautionary measure, since the Village is close to the ocean.In CV Sta Rosa de Copán three houses have cracks.