Guwahati: A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast on Friday, prompting a temporary tsunami alert, leaving at least four people injured in Chiapas and sending tremors across neighbouring Guatemala and El Salvador.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre was located around 48 kilometres southwest of Aquiles Serdán in the coastal state of Chiapas.
Strong ground shaking was reported along parts of Mexico’s Pacific coastline. Following the earthquake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) warned that dangerous tsunami waves could affect areas within a 300-kilometre radius of the epicentre.
Guatemala later detected small tsunami waves measuring under one metre above normal tide levels and assessed the overall risk as low. The PTWC subsequently withdrew the tsunami advisory.
Providing an update after the quake, Mexico’s Secretary of the Navy, Raymundo Pedro Morales Ángeles, said authorities had not found any major damage. He nevertheless urged people to avoid beaches for the time being, as sea levels at some coastal locations could temporarily rise by as much as half a metre.
The federal government also confirmed that no deaths had been reported.
Officials from Chiapas’ civil protection department said four people were injured during the earthquake. Response teams were deployed to incidents involving gas leaks, damaged walls, cracked structures, fallen ceiling panels and other minor building damage.
Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara Cruz said the earthquake was felt moderately in the state capital, adding that officials had not received reports of serious damage.
In Guatemala, President Bernardo Arévalo said there were no reports of fatalities. Authorities said one person had been admitted to hospital and several houses and other buildings sustained damage. The country’s education ministry also suspended classes in parts of western Guatemala as a precaution.
Authorities in El Salvador said no earthquake-related damage had been reported.
The USGS said the region experienced several aftershocks following the main earthquake, including one that measured a preliminary magnitude of 6.0.
Emergency agencies in the affected countries continued assessing the damage while keeping a close watch for further developments.