7.3-magnitude earthquake hits Mexico, tsunami alert issued

Southern Mexico and parts of Central America were hit by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake on Friday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), with a tsunami alert issued for a stretch of the Pacific coast.

Residents felt intense tremors in the Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca as well as in Guatemala and El Salvador, AFP journalists confirmed. The authorities haven’t reported any victims.

According to the USGS, the earthquake took place 48 kilometers off the coast of the Mexican town of Aquiles Serdan, at a depth of just 18 kilometers.

The Mexican seismological service recorded over 30 aftershocks with up to a 6.8 magnitude.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a tsunami threat alert following the earthquake.

In Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the state of Chiapas, there were scenes of panic in the few tall buildings of the city, according to an AFP journalist in the area.

“It feels horrible up there,” Araceli Sanchez, a government employee who was in a 15-story building, told AFP. “There were people who cried,” she added after fleeing down the emergency stairs.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she spoke to the governors of the affected regions, while Navy Secretary Raymundo Morales told reporters “There are no serious effects.”

Local residents were urged to retreat from the beach in case of any tsunami wave.

In Guatemala City, the intensity of the earthquake led to the evacuation of multiple buildings and the cancellation of classes in towns near the border.

Mexico City, hard-hit by two powerful earthquakes in 1985 and 2017, is over 800 kilometers from the epicenter, though there were some reports on social media of people having felt it.

Some tall buildings were evacuated out of precaution.

Mexico and Central America are located on different tectonic plates whose movements have turned the region into one of the most earthquake-prone in the world.