The Weather Channel -A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake has rattled the Mexican state of Oaxaca and prompted tsunami warnings for Mexico and parts of Central America.
The quake struck at 10:29 a.m. local time Tuesday about 7 miles southwest of Santa María Zapotitlán, on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said one person was killed and another injured when a building collapsed in Huatulco, Oaxaca. Otherwise he said reports were of minor damage such as broken windows and collapsed walls.
There had been more than 140 aftershocks, most of them small.
The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said tsunami waves of 3 to 9 feet above tide level were possible along Mexico’s coast. Smaller waves were possible in other parts of Central and South America. No warning was issued for the United States.
In Huatulco, a coastal resort town, the earthquake knocked goods off shelves and some rubble from buildings, The Associated Press reported.
Mari González of the Princess Mayev hotel in Huatulco said staff and guests evacuates the building during the quake. Forty-five minutes later they were still outside as strong aftershocks continued.
“It was strong, very strong,” she said. Local news media reported damage to some buildings in the state capital, Oaxaca city. State officials said they were looking for damage.
A journalist in Mexico City said the quake was felt there, nearly 500 miles away.
There have been no reports of injuries or widespread damage yet. Power outages have been reported.
This quake happened when the Cocos plate, which is to the southwest of the area, slipped under the North American plate, U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Paul Earle told AP.
“You’ve got all sorts of plates and they’re moving quickly,” Earle said. “The important thing is how fast the plates are moving relative to each other.”