A powerful earthquake shook southern Mexico on Friday morning, damaging roads and hospitals and briefly interrupting President Claudia Sheinbaum’s first press conference of the new year.
A woman, aged 50, died in the southwestern state of Guerrero when her home collapsed due to the tremors, the state’s governor, Evelyn Salgado, said. Local media also reported that a 67-year-old man died in Mexico City while going down the stairs as he tried to evacuate his apartment building.
As the earthquake struck the capital, 180 miles away from the epicenter, the city’s iconic Angel of Independence monument – a golden angel atop a 45-meter-high column in a roundabout on one of the capital’s busiest avenues – swayed from side to side.
The seismic alarm just before 8 a.m. local time sent crowds evacuating into the streets, many wearing towels or pajamas and cradling anxious pets.
The 6.5-magnitude quake struck near the Pacific Coast in Guerrero at a depth of 35 km (22 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
As of midday, Mexico’s seismological service registered 420 aftershocks, the strongest of which was a magnitude 4.7.
Authorities reported landslides over highways, gas leaks, and damage to homes, public buildings and hospitals around Guerrero state.
The southwestern state is home to Acapulco and other beach resort areas, which are a major draw for holiday tourists. Acapulco, the state’s largest city, is still recovering from a Category 5 hurricane that devastated the area in 2023.
The earthquake also provided drama to Sheinbaum’s daily press conference.
Sheinbaum was speaking at the National Palace in Mexico City when earthquake alarms sounded. She noted the ground was shaking beneath her before calmly evacuating alongside journalists. She resumed the press conference shortly afterward.
In Mexico City, videos shared online showed cracks inside homes, tall buildings shaking against each other and a traffic light smashing into the road beneath it. Authorities did not immediately report any major damage.
Mexico’s aviation authority said the international airports of Mexico City and Acapulco had sustained some minor damage, but said it had not affected operations.
(Reuters)
