The Ground awakens in Central America

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Earthquake in Honduras
Struck this morning at 2:24am, Thursday, May 28, 2009.

The Honduras border runs south east of Guatemala, and from looking at a map, the epicenter is approximately 400 miles from Guatemala City, about from Los Angeles to Phoenix. Whitney is currently in the City of Guatemala training in the Missionary Training Center. The MTC was built by the Church and constructed of the highest earthquake standards.

All phone lines and electric power is out which makes it more worrisome for the families of missionaries waiting to hear if their missionary and other missionaries are okay. Whitney comes from Earthquake country and has experienced several of them. I believe that both the Californian and native missionaries will be ones who will help calm the fears of those missionaries who are new to the earths movement. I personally have full confidence that all is well with our missionaries and they will be instrumental in helping the Central American people who have been affected by this earthquake, to rebuild and pick up their lives again. The Lord will continue to bless them and their efforts.

Reports say that Guatemala receive no major damage in this 7.1 quake. However, the mission president will make contact with the missionaries asap. The church will be notified about them. The church will make a statement about the missionaries. The missionaries will probably end up rolling up their sleeves, and going to work to help in the clean up effort.

Check the Newsroom at the churches website for reports:
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e419fb40e21cef00VgnVCM1000001f5e340aRCRD

More detailed info on the quake below:

Honduras Quake
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: May 28, 2009
Filed at 10:46 a.m. ET

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) -- A powerful earthquake toppled more than two dozen homes in Honduras and Belize early Thursday, killing two children and injuring 40 people as terrified residents spilled from their homes across much of Central America.

The magnitude-7.1 quake struck at 2:24 a.m. (4:24 a.m. EDT; 0824 GMT) off the Caribbean coast of Honduras, 80 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of the beach town of La Ceiba, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado.

Democracy Bridge, which spans the country's largest river, the Ulua, collapsed in the town of El Progreso, Cordero said. The bridge is one of two connecting the northern city of San Pedro Sula, Honduras' second-largest, with the rest of the country. Officials were evaluating the second bridge to make sure it was safe.

At least five wooden houses on stilts collapsed in three Belizean coastal towns, while Belize City residents ran into the street as glasses and framed pictures crashed off of shelves. A water tower toppled in the town of Independence and electricity was out all the way to the Mexican border, local officials said.

Closest to the epicenter were the idyllic islands of Roatan and Utila, where officials and hotel employees said there were no injuries or major damage. A tsunami watch was canceled for Honduras, Belize and Guatemala when no unusual waves appeared.

The quake was felt strongly in El Salvador, Guatemala and northern Nicaragua, but firefighter Byron Juarez said a survey of firefighting offices throughout Guatemala revealed no reports of major damage. No damage was reported in El Salvador or Nicaragua.

The quake was relatively shallow, with a depth of only 6 miles (10 kilometers), increasing its potential to cause major damage, said Don Blakeman, a U.S. Geological Survey expert.
''It is still possible we may find out there was more damage, but I think the fact that this earthquake was a bit off shore has helped tremendously,'' he said. ''Obviously the further away from the epicenter you get, there is less damage.''

Associated Press writers Juan Carlos Llorca in Guatemala City and Patrick Jones in Belize City contributed to this report.

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