Magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits western Nicaragua

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake has hit in Nicaragua and was felt in Honduras but there are no reports yet of casualties.

A handout shakemap released by the US Geological Survey (USGS) on 10 June, 2016 Source: AAP

An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 has struck in western Nicaragua, the US Geological Survey reports, and was felt strongly as far away as the capital of neighbouring Honduras.

There were no immediate reports of deaths or casualties from the quake on Thursday, which hit 25km northeast of the city of El Viejo, in the Chinandega region, at a depth of 10km.

Nicaragua's government said there was some damage to a church near the epicentre, and that it was still checking for any other damage in the area.

The USGS revised down its initial report of the quake's magnitude as 6.4.