A 7.3-magnitude earthquake has struck southern Mexico and parts of Central America, with a tsunami alert briefly 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. Authorities have not yet reported any casualties.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the quake’s epicentre was located offshore some 48km from the town of Aquiles Serdan, at a depth of 18km.
The Mexican seismological service recorded more than 30 aftershocks of various magnitudes, measuring as high as 6.8.
The US government issued a tsunami warning for Pacific coastal areas of Mexico and Guatemala, but later said the threat had passed.
In Tuxtla Gutierrez, the state capital of Chiapas, there were scenes of panic in the few tall buildings of the city.
Araceli Sanchez, a government employee who was in a 15-floor building, told AFP: “It feels horrible up there. There were people who cried.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she had spoken to the governors of the affected states, while Navy Secretary Raymundo Morales told reporters: “There are no serious effects.”
In Guatemala City, multiple buildings were evacuated and classes were cancelled in some areas closest to the Mexican border.
Mexico City, hard-hit by two powerful earthquakes in 1985 and 2017, is more than 800km from the epicentre, though some reported on social media that they had felt it.
Some tall buildings were evacuated as a 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.
- AFP