A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Mexico on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. No casualties have been reported so far.
The earthquake struck around 9:30 a.m. in the country's central and southern region, 170 miles southwest of Mexico City. The quake was centered in Chilpancingo, the capital of the southern state Guerrero, the Associated Press reported.
Miguel Angel Mancera, mayor of Mexico City, said there were power outages caused by fallen transformers. Authorities are working on repairing the damage, the AP reported. Other local reports say the damage consisted of broken windows, fallen trees and other debris.
The USGS originally stated the quake was magnitude 7.5, but that was later amended to 7.2. Many residents were home enjoying the Easter holiday when the disaster struck.
"People were turning over chairs in their desperation to get out, grabbing children, trampling people," Enedina Ramirez Perez, who was eating breakfast at a hotel, said according to the AP. "The hotel security was excellent and started calming people down. They got everyone to leave quietly."
Other residents felt the quake from up high in their apartments.
"This is really strong," Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez Chavez told the AP. "And I'm accustomed to earthquakes."
Mexico City is vulnerable to earthquakes due to it being constructed on top of lake beds that have been drained, resulting in muddy ground that shakes during quakes. The city was destroyed after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck in 1985, killing 9,500 people. The center of that earthquake was 250 miles from the city, the AP reported.
USGS seismologist Gavin Hayes told the AP that scientists will monitor the area where Friday's quake struck, located at a joining of tectonic plates called the Guerrero Seismic Gap. The intensity of the quake could have destabilized the seismic plate, causing concern for a future high-magnitude quake, the AP reported.
