A powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck northeast of Roatan in Honduras, killing four children.
Emergency workers say they expect the death toll to rise.
The US Geological Survey said the quake hit Islas de la Bahia and had a shallow depth of 10km, briefly sparking a tsunami alert.
The quake, which was originally reported to have a 7.4 magnitude, struck off the northeast coast near the scuba-diving resort island of Roatan.
Many buildings were damaged across the north of the largely impoverished country of some 7 million people.
Four children between the ages of 3 and 15 died when their homes collapsed after the earthquake struck.
The quake knocked out electricity in two towns in eastern Guatemala and another town in the same area was cut off due to damaged roads.
In the Honduran town of Santa Barbara, a handful of houses collapsed and the ceiling of an old colonial church fell in. The tremor sent people running into the street and the power was cut in some areas, Honduran radio said.
Houses also fell in the port of Puerto Cortes while fires broke out in the northern business city of San Pedro Sula.
Honduras has few high-rise buildings but several places reported collapsed homes and damaged churches.
