[2] Damage was widespread but light in and around the capital, Guatemala City, resulting mostly in cracked walls and rockslides.

The northern part of the country hosts the Motagua Fault and Chixoy-Polochic Fault, accommodating left-lateral strike-slip movement on the transform boundary between the North American and Caribbean plates.

[5][6] The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 according to local seismological agencies but was later revised to 6.2 in the moment magnitude scale by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

It damaged or destroyed 39 houses and buildings in and around the capital, Guatemala City, and caused multiple landslides blocking roads near the mountains.

Three people suffered fatal heart attacks, one each in Mixco, Quetzaltenango, and Baja Verapaz, while two people, including a minor, suffered injuries.