A road is cracked in Shika Town, Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 2, 2024. A strong earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.4 struck the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture, in central Japan, at around 4:10 p.m. Jan. 1st , registering 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale — the highest level — following an upper 5 seismic intensity scale earthquake four minutes earlier. ( The Yomiuri Shimbun ) (Photo by Hiroto Sekiguchi / Yomiuri / The Yomiuri Shimbun via AFP)
A 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook Mexico City and parts of southwestern Guerrero state on Friday, the National Seismological Service confirmed.
During the tremor, President Claudia Sheinbaum and journalists attending her regular morning press conference were evacuated from the Presidential Palace when the earthquake alert sounded. They returned safely to continue the briefing minutes later.
Sheinbaum said the quake’s epicentre was located about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from San Marcos in southern Guerrero, roughly 230 kilometres from Mexico City. Preliminary reports indicate no major damage in either Guerrero or the capital.
The US Geological Survey recorded the earthquake at 1358 GMT (7:58 am local time).
Mexico City’s location on muddy subsoil, once the bed of a lake, makes it particularly vulnerable to seismic activity, with the strongest tremors typically originating from Guerrero on the Pacific coast.
The city has a tragic history with earthquakes; on September 19, 1985, an 8.1-magnitude quake devastated large parts of Mexico City, claiming nearly 13,000 lives according to official figures.
Friday’s quake, though strong enough to be felt widely, appears to have caused minimal disruption, serving as a stark reminder of the capital’s seismic vulnerability.
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