Strong 6.6-magnitude quake strikes southern Mexico
TUXTLA GUTIRREZ, Mexico - A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake rattled southern Mexico on Thursday, causing minor damage and prompting people to evacuate buildings and schools, while the quake was also felt in neighboring Guatemala.
The 94-kilometer-deep (58-mile) quake struck at 1:49 pm (1949 GMT) in the state of Chiapas, some seven kilometers east of the coastal town of Tres Picos, according to the US Geological Survey.
The quake was strongly felt in Chiapas, as buildings and schools were emptied in the state capital, Tuxtla Gutierrez.
The Chiapas state civil protection agency reported minor damage to buildings, including cracked walls.
The earthquake was also felt "moderately" in neighboring Oaxaca state and "strongly" in Tabasco, said Mexico's civil protection coordinator, Luis Felipe Puente.
Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said it was "lightly felt" in the mega-capital of 21 million people but no immediate damage was reported.
The state-run oil firm Pemex said it was operating "normally" in the states of Chiapas, Campeche and Tabasco, but it evacuated its administrative buildings in Tabasco's capital, Villahermosa, as a precaution.
USGS changed its measurement twice after initially calculating a 6.6-magnitude. It downgraded it to 6.4 before revising it back to 6.6.
AFP