5.7 Quake Strikes Nicaragua

An earthquake sent frightened residents into the streets today and state-run radio said some buildings were damaged in the southern town of Rivas.

Radio broadcasts called on the public to remain calm. The quake at 8:46 a.m. (7:46 a.m. PDT) measured 5.7 on the Richter scale, said John Minsch, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Center at Golden, Colo. The quake was centered near the west coast of Nicaragua about 80 miles south of Managua, he said. Managua was devastated by an earthquake in December, 1972, that killed at least 10,000 people.