Magnitude 7.3 earthquake quake strikes off Mexico coast

Magnitude 7.3 earthquake quake strikes off Mexico coast

A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of southern Mexico on Friday, triggering a tsunami warning for parts of the Pacific.

No fatalities or significant damage have been reported in Mexico or Guatemala from the quake, which was also felt in El Salvador.

Mexico's navy secretary Admiral Raymundo Morales told a press conference that there was "no serious impact", but that people were being advised to stay away from beaches.

The US Tsunami Warning System had warned of possible "hazardous tsunami waves" along the nearby coasts of Mexico and Guatemala. It later recorded waves of 0.3m (1.1 feet) above tide level in Puerto Madero and Chiapas in Mexico.

Several hours after the initial warning was issued, the centre said the threat had passed but advised people in affected areas to "remain observant and exercise normal caution near the sea".

The quake, which struck near the fishing town of Puerto Madero in Mexico at 08:49 local time (14:49 GMT) on Friday, had a depth of 15.2 km (9 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Governor Salomón Jara Cruz, of the southern Mexican state Oaxaca, said the quake was felt with "moderate intensity" but no significant damage had been reported.

Eduardo Ramírez, governor of the state of Chiapas closest to the epicentre, also said there had been no serious impact, but added he had instructed his cabinet to suspend administrative activities and urged the private sector to do the same.

In Guatemala and El Salvador, the tremor shook buildings, triggering evacuations and causing some people to run from their homes, Reuters news agency reported.

A series of aftershocks, with magnitudes between 4.7 and 6, have been recorded.

Guatemala's President Bernardo Arévalo said the country's emergency management agency had been deployed in response to a magnitude 5.6 earthquake with its epicenter in Quetzaltenango. No fatalities have been recorded so far, he added.

"I call on the population to remain calm and to follow the recommendations," he said on X.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which operates the tsunami warning center, forecast waves of less than 0.3m above tide level along the coasts of El Salvador, Colombia, Costa Rice, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and Honduras.

A tsunami is a series of waves, with times between crests ranging from five minutes to an hour, that can persist for many hours, according to the agency. In this case, the waves lasted for 12 minutes in Puerto Madero and 28 minutes in Chiapas.

"Persons caught in the water of a tsunami may drown, be crushed by debris in the water, or be swept out to sea," NOAA said.

It added that government agencies in the threatened coastal areas should instruct populations at risk, and advised people located in those areas to "stay alert for information and follow instructions from national and local authorities".