Strong Quake Rocks Nicaragua

A strong earthquake rocked central Nicaragua for about 35 seconds today, but authorities said they had no immediate reports of major damage or casualties.

The tremor was recorded by U.S. Geological Survey earthquake monitors in Golden, Colo., at a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 on the Richter scale. It occurred at 11:43 a.m. A witness in Managua described the quake as “quite, quite big” and said, “There was quite a bit of panic.”