A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 struck the southern Pacific coast of Mexico, close to the Guatemala border, on Friday. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) identified the epicenter 48 kilometers southwest of Aquiles Serdan near Chiapas, at a depth of 15 kilometers. This significant tremor was preceded by a smaller earthquake further out in the ocean.
Residents across a wide region, from Mexico City to El Salvador, felt the quake. In Tapachula, the largest city on Mexico’s southern border, the shaking started mildly but then intensified. Alejandra Mendoza, working at a public hospital there, recounted, “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.”
The quake alarmed residents in Guatemala City as well, with many leaving their homes to gather in the streets during rush hour. Despite the shaking in Mexico City, the earthquake alert was not activated. Officials explained, “The energy radiated by the earthquake during the first few seconds did not exceed the activation thresholds.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reported no immediate damage. However, as a precaution, the navy advised people to avoid beaches for six hours due to potential tsunami risks. In Suchiate, a town near the Mexico-Guatemala border, Mayor Elmer Vázquez Gallardo stated that coastal areas are watching for tsunami threats.
The region regularly experiences earthquakes, some of which have had deadly outcomes. A recent earthquake earlier this year affected southern and central Mexico, resulting in two fatalities. In 2017, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake claimed hundreds of lives in Mexico City.