No tsunami off El Salvador after all: US

No tsunami has been detected off the coast of El Salvador after officials warned that a US military aircraft had spotted a potential tidal wave, sparking evacuation warnings, US and Salvadoran authorities say.

The US embassy in El Salvador said on Twitter a Defense Department aircraft had seen a "possible tsunami" some 600 miles (965km) from the border of El Salvador and Nicaragua, sparking some evacuations along the Pacific Coast of Central America.

However, Orlando Tejada, a Salvadoran civil protection official, said there was "absolutely no register" of a tsunami and the US embassy said soon afterwards that no activity which could result in such a phenomenon had been detected.

"But, given the speed with which tsunamis can move, we considered it prudent to share this information promptly," the US embassy said on Twitter on Monday, saying that it and Salvadoran authorities were continuing to monitor the situation.