Powerful earthquake in Mexico shakes Guatemala and El Salvador
CNN
By Uriel Blanco and Merlin Delcid, CNN
(CNN) — A powerful earthquake in southern Mexico shook nearby countries Guatemala and El Salvador on Friday, with the US Geological Survey (USGS) measuring its preliminary magnitude at 7.3.
The earthquake’s epicenter was located 48 kilometers southwest of Aquiles Serdán, a town in the Mexican coastal state of Chiapas, according to the USGS.
The quake appears to have caused moderate to severe shaking along the coast. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) had cautioned that hazardous tsunami waves were possible within 300 km of the epicenter. Guatemala observed a few tsunamis less than one meter above the tide level but said the threat was low. The PTWC later said the threat had passed.
Mexico’s Secretary of the Navy, Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles, stated that there were “no issues” in the country following the quake.
“There is no serious damage. Regarding maritime conditions, water levels at some beaches are expected to rise by up to half a meter due to the earthquake. The public is advised to stay away from beaches for the time being,” Morales Ángeles said at the end of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s daily morning press conference.
No deaths have been reported at this time, Mexico’s government said.
At least four people have been injured in Chiapas, according to the state’s civil protection service. Authorities have responded to gas leaks and reports of collapsed walls, detached ceiling panels, cracks and other minor structural damage.
Salomón Jara Cruz, the governor of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, said that the quake was felt “with moderate intensity” in the state’s capital city and that “no significant damage” has been reported.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said no fatalities have been reported yet and that emergency response plans are being deployed. At least one person has been hospitalized and several homes and buildings are damaged, authorities said. As a precaution, the education ministry suspended classes in several western regions.
El Salvador’s fire department reported that no damage has been seen in the country so far.
Multiple aftershocks have been felt in the region, including one with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0, according to USGS.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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Mitchell McCluskey and Michael Rios contributed to this report.
