Temblor Leaves at Least 173 Dead in El Salvador

A strong earthquake ripped through El Salvador on Tuesday, killing more than 170 people and deepening the misery of a nation still recovering from a deadly temblor last month.

Tuesday’s magnitude 6.6 quake destroyed homes, office buildings and schools and injured more than 1,500 people when it struck at 8:22 a.m., its epicenter about 15 miles southeast of the capital, San Salvador.

At least 173 people were killed, according to official preliminary reports, and the death toll was expected to rise.

Coming exactly one month after the more powerful quake that killed more than 800 people and damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings, the disaster left the nation on edge and its economic future in doubt.

President Francisco Flores, whose government was severely criticized for its slow response to last month’s disaster, made a quick visit to the areas most affected, in the central provinces of San Vicente, Cuscatlan and La Paz.

There, he appealed for calm and said El Salvador will be able to overcome its latest tragedy. The country has yet to arrive at a price tag for the damage from the January quake.

“Even though this new quake is another blow to the country, it is not as hard as the Jan. 13 earthquake,” Flores said.

The quake struck as many Salvadorans were on their way to work. With the capital largely spared, the hardest-hit areas seemed to be in the central part of the country, in a region that had escaped much of the damage last month.

As reports trickled in from many parts of this densely packed nation of 6.2 million, the potential existed for a sharp rise in the death toll. In fact, the total tally from last month’s quake is unknown, with hundreds still reported missing.

Tuesday’s earthquake was also felt in the neighboring Central American nations of Honduras and Guatemala.

In Cojutepeque, a city of 100,000 in Cuscatlan province about 15 miles east of San Salvador, several houses and businesses collapsed. At least 102 people died in Cojutepeque and the surrounding area, and more than 500 were injured, local officials reported.

“The situation here is dramatic, and dozens of houses were destroyed,” said Roberto Villalobos, the local police commander.

Throughout the day, hundreds labored in the rubble of Cojutepeque, trying to salvage what was left of their belongings.

“This quake was more scary. It barely gave us a chance to run,” Tanya Lopez said as she gloomily observed the ruins of her home. “My house collapsed completely.”

Just outside Cojutepeque, in the village of Candelaria, officials worked to determine the fate of about 15 students trapped inside a parish school that collapsed.

At least four children and their teacher were killed in the collapse, and the fate of the missing 15 remained unknown late Tuesday. One of the survivors, an 8-year-old boy, wept as he told reporters of the loss of his companions.

In San Vicente, the other province most damaged, local media reported dozens dead and more than 550 injured.

The Pan American Highway between San Salvador and San Vicente was blocked by one of the dozens of landslides reported throughout the country.

In San Pedro Nonualco, near the quake’s epicenter, an unidentified resident called a radio station to report that the whole town was in ruins and that several people had died while others remained trapped under the dirt and rubble.

“The whole town was destroyed. I want the government to pay more attention to us. We have an emergency here,” the woman said, sounding near tears.

National Police Chief Mauricio Sandoval said that a curfew was going to be implemented at 7 p.m. in San Vicente and Cojutepeque to prevent looting. Flores also ordered the deployment of 600 troops to the damaged areas.

“This is sad--we only ask God to give us strength to keep on living,” said Cojutepeque resident Juan Jose Diaz, who brushed aside tears as he salvaged belongings from the remains of his business.

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Special correspondent Renderos reported from Cojutepeque and Times staff writer Miller from Santa Rosa, Calif.