TAPACHULA, México — A powerful earthquake hit Mexico’s southern Pacific coast on Friday near the border with Guatemala, shaking communities across a wide area from Mexico City to El Salvador. Officials in the affected countries did not immediately report major damage or injuries.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake measured magnitude 7.3 and was centered 48 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Aquiles Serdan, near the Chiapas coast, at a depth of 15 kilometers (9 miles). A smaller quake, with an epicenter slightly farther offshore, occurred before the stronger tremor.
In Tapachula, the main city along Mexico’s southern border, residents said the shaking started gently before building in intensity.
“We were upstairs on the second floor when it started shaking; we thought it would pass, but then it got stronger, so we all went downstairs and evacuated in an orderly manner to the front courtyard,” Alejandra Mendoza, an administrative employee at a public hospital in the city, told The Associated Press.
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The quake also rattled Guatemala City, where its duration alarmed residents. As the workday was getting underway during rush hour, many people left buildings and gathered in the streets.
In Mexico City, some buildings in certain neighborhoods creaked and swayed, but the capital’s seismic alert did not activate. The government said “the energy radiated by the earthquake during the first few seconds did not exceed the activation thresholds.”
Authorities were monitoring coastal areas in Suchiate, a town on the river dividing Mexico and Guatemala, for any possible tsunami risk, Mayor Elmer Vázquez Gallardo said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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