A powerful 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck southern and central Mexico on Friday, disrupting President Claudia Sheinbaum’s first press conference of the year as seismic alarms rang out and claiming at least two lives.
Mexico’s National Seismological Service said the quake was centered near San Marcos in the southern state of Guerrero, close to the Pacific coast resort city of Acapulco. More than 500 aftershocks were recorded following the main tremor.
Guerrero’s civil defense authority reported several landslides in and around Acapulco as well as on highways across the state. Governor Evelyn Salgado said a 50-year-old woman was killed when her house collapsed in a small community near the epicenter. Officials also reported significant structural damage to a hospital in Chilpancingo, the state capital, prompting the evacuation of patients.
In both Mexico City and Acapulco, residents and visitors rushed outdoors as buildings shook. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said one person died after suffering an apparent medical emergency and falling while evacuating a building.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at a depth of 21.7 miles (35 kilometers), about 2.5 miles north-northwest of Rancho Viejo, Guerrero, in a mountainous area roughly 57 miles northeast of Acapulco.
Sheinbaum resumed her briefing shortly after the tremor.
José Raymundo Díaz Taboada, a doctor and human rights activist living on the hills surrounding Acapulco, said he heard a loud rumble and noticed dogs barking before the shaking intensified.
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“At that moment, the seismic alert sounded on my phone,” he said. “Then the movement became strong and very noisy.”
He added that the tremor felt weaker than some previous earthquakes, noting he had packed an emergency bag as aftershocks continued. Díaz Taboada said he was unable to contact friends along the Costa Chica southeast of Acapulco due to disrupted communications.