In 1917, an earthquake during an eruption of the nearby San Salvador volcano damaged the city, but it escaped additional damage because the lava flowed down the back side of the volcano. On 2 December 1931, president Arturo Araujo was ousted by a military coup d'état and replaced by the military Civic Directory. The directory named vice-president Maximiliano Hernández Martínez as president and Araujo went into exile. The Hernández Martínez regime lasted from 4 December 1931 to 6 May 1944.