MEXICO CITY – A powerful earthquake struck near the Pacific resort city of Acapulco on Tuesday night, causing buildings to rock and sway in Mexico City nearly 200 miles away, but officials said there were no early reports of serious damage or injuries.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered 17 kilometers (about 10 miles) northeast of Acapulco.
“We heard a loud noise from the building, noise from the windows, things fell inside the house, the power went out,” said Sergio Flores, an Acapulco resident reached by phone. “We heard leaking water, the water went out of the pool and you heard people screaming, very nervous people.”
All he could do when it started shaking was hug his wife, Flores said. He saw people leaving hotels around the bay and some running into parking decks to remove their cars, fearing a collapse.
“We were all worried about some change in the sea, but so far authorities have not said anything about a tsunami alert,” he said.
The mayor of Acapulco, Adela Román, said in a statement to the television news outlet Milenio that “there is no really serious situation” so far and no reports of casualties.
“There are nervous breakdowns, people are worried because there have been aftershocks,” she said, adding that there are “many gas leaks in many places” as well as some landslides and fallen walls.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said via Twitter that authorities in the four states that most felt the earthquake told him there were no victims or serious damage beyond some collapsed walls and falling rocks.
“Fortunately there is no serious damage,” he said. “Fortunately, so far we don’t have information about the loss of any lives.”
Mexico’s National Civil Defense said it was conducting reviews in 10 states, but had not received reports of victims nor serious damage.
In Mexico City, the ground shook for nearly a minute in some parts of the capital, but the quake was less evident in other parts. Some people evacuated their buildings briefly, but most quickly went back inside on a rainy night.
Mexico City authorities said there were no early reports of significant damage in the city, though they said electricity was knocked out in some neighborhoods.