Asia-Pacific

Magnitude-6.2 quake jolts Mexico, no casualties

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-06-30 21:14
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MEXICO CITY - A strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck southern Mexico early on Wednesday, shaking buildings as far away as Mexico City but not causing serious damage or casualties.

The US Geological Survey said the quake struck near the town of Pinotepa Nacional around 80 miles (125 km) southwest of the colonial city of Oaxaca, but police patrols checking surrounding towns did not report problems.

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The USGS reported the quake as strong as magnitude 6.5 but later revised the figure to 6.2, also moving the epicenter slightly.

"It was pretty strong," said Jorge Cervantes, a security guard at Hotel Las Gaviotas in Pinotepa Nacional. "Some guests went downstairs but the building is fine and nobody is hurt."

In Oaxaca's cobblestone historic center people felt the tremor strongly and guests at several hotels evacuated briefly.

"Fortunately, we do not have any reports of injured people or damage to buildings. Not here or on the coast," said civil protection official Alberto Narvaez in Oaxaca. "It woke me up, I was scared too," said a colleague, Gilberto Mateo.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had no warning or advisory in place and hotels in beach resorts like Puerto Angel also reported no damage.

The temblor awoke residents in Mexico City nearly 300 miles (470 km) to the north, and cut power in some districts. Some people filed onto the street in their pajamas, but there were no reports of casualties in the city, where many have grim memories of a devastating earthquake in 1985.

Helicopters whirred overhead and police sirens and car alarms wailed, but power and phone connections were still working.

"I felt it like I almost always do. People came running out of the building," said Pedro Salazar, 42, a security guard at a four-story historic apartment building in Mexico City.

Mexico is regularly shaken by tremors and is on tenterhooks ever since devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile earlier this year.