On 7 November 2012 at 10:35 am local time, the southwestern region of Guatemala was impacted by a strong earthquake that provoked fatalities and losses. The 7.4 magnitude earthquake had its epicenter 35 kilometers south of the Port of Champerico in the Retalhuleu Department. The National Coordinating Agency for Disaster Reduction of Guatemala (CONRED) conducted a damage and needs assessment and confirmed that most damages took place in the highlands. On 8 November 2012 the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Mr. Otto Perez Molina, declared a State of Public Calamity in San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, Quiche and Huehuetenango. In order to obtain satellite imagery and maps of the affected area, the Executive Secretariat of CONRED contacted UN-SPIDER to request the activation of the International Charter Space and Major Disasters, which was subsequently activated by the Argentina Civil Protection Agency (SIFEM) on behalf of CONRED on 8 November 2012. More information is available on the Charter website [1] and on the UN-SPIDER Knowledge Portal [2]. [1] http://www.disasterscharter.org/web/charter/activation_details?p_r_p_1415474252_assetId=ACT-420 [2] http://www.un-spider.org/disaster/6274/2012-11-07/eastern-region-guatemala/earthquake
