Powerful 7.2-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes in Mexico
A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico Friday morning, shaking buildings across a large swath of the country, but officials said there were no immediate reports of damage.
The quake struck around 9:28 a.m. local time (10:28 a.m. ET), 39 kilometers east of Petatlan, Mexico, in the southwestern state of Guerrero, north of the resort city Acapulco, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It initially registered as a 7.5-magnitude, but the USGS later revised it down to 7.2.
It was strong enough to shake central and southern Mexico, the Associated Press reported. Shaking was reported for at least 30 seconds in Mexico City, where buildings swayed and people ran out of high-rises, the AP said.
There was no word of injuries. Luis Felipe Puente, Mexico’s national coordinator of civil protection, tweeted Friday, “At the moment no reports of damages from quake.” Mexican Secretary of the Interior Miguel Angel Osorio Chong also tweeted that there wasn’t any damage, and that quake protocols were underway.
The earthquake hit on Good Friday, a day of prayer when few people go to work because most businesses in Mexico are closed for the holiday.
A hotel manager in Acapulco told NBC News he hadn’t found any major structural damage after the shaking.
There was a “major shift” felt at the Acapulco Princess and the Pierre Marques hotels, Thomas Becker said, but the 3,000 guests staying at the two properties were fine.
A 7.4-magnitude quake hit the same area in 2012, killing two people and damaging or destroying 30,000 homes.
In 1985, a magnitude-8.1 quake killed at least 6,000 people and destroyed buildings in Mexico City. That temblor was centered 250 miles away on the Pacific Coast, and prompted Mexico City to reinforce its buildings to withstand earthquakes.