A 6.5-magnitude earthquake rattled Mexico’s capital and a tourist hotspot on the Pacific coast on Friday, killing at least two people and causing moderate damage in a small town near the epicenter. The US Geological Survey said the quake struck shortly before 8:00 am near Acapulco, a major port and beach resort. It was felt around 400 kilometers (250 miles) away to the north in Mexico City, where alarms sent people rushing into the street for safety, disrupting a holiday weekend.
A 60-year-old man died after falling while evacuating his second-floor apartment in the capital, local authorities said. President Claudia Sheinbaum was forced to evacuate the presidential palace during her regular morning press conference. Mexico’s National Seismological Service said that the earthquake’s epicenter was situated 14 kilometers southwest of the town of San Marcos in the state of Guerrero.
Sheinbaum said there were no immediate reports of major damage, but in San Marcos, the effects were visible. A woman in her fifties “lost her life when her house collapsed on top of her,” said Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado. San Marcos Mayor Misael Lorenzo Castillo said around 50 houses were destroyed and “all the houses have cracks.” Residents showed an AFP journalist the cracks in the walls of their homes and sections of collapsed walls.
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