A tsunami warning was issued for portions of the Pacific after a strong magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred off the coast of southern Mexico on Friday. El Salvador was also affected by the earthquake, however neither Mexico nor Guatemala have reported any fatalities or serious damage.
At a press conference, Admiral Raymundo Morales, the secretary of Mexico’s navy, stated that there was “no serious impact” but that people were being instructed to avoid beaches. There were potential “hazardous tsunami waves” along the adjacent shores of Guatemala and Mexico, according to the US Tsunami Warning System. Later, it observed waves in Puerto Madero and Chiapas, Mexico, that were 0.3 meters (1.1 feet) above the tide.
The center stated that the threat had gone many hours after the initial warning was issued, but it nonetheless recommended residents in the impacted areas to “remain observant and exercise normal caution near the sea”.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports that the earthquake, which occurred on Friday at 08:49 local time (14:49 GMT) close to the Mexican fishing town of Puerto Madero, had a depth of 15.2 km (9 miles). The state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico received a “moderate intensity” earthquake, according to Governor Salomón Jara Cruz, but no serious damage had been reported.
The governor of the state of Chiapas, which is closest to the epicenter, Eduardo Ramírez, likewise stated that there had been no significant effects. However, he added that he had directed his cabinet to halt administrative operations and asked the private sector to follow suit. According to the Reuters news agency, the earthquake rattled buildings in Guatemala and El Salvador, prompting evacuations and some individuals fleeing their houses.
There have been several documented aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 4.7 to 6.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake with its epicenter in Quetzaltenango prompted the deployment of Guatemala’s emergency management agency, according to President Bernardo Arévalo. He said, “So far, no fatalities have been reported.”
“I call on the population to remain calm and to follow the recommendations,” he stated on X.
Along the beaches of El Salvador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Honduras, waves of less than 0.3 meters above tide level are predicted by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which runs the tsunami warning center.
According to the organization, a tsunami is a sequence of waves that can last for several hours, with intervals between crests ranging from five minutes to an hour. In this instance, the waves lasted 28 minutes in Chiapas and 12 minutes in Puerto Madero.
“Persons caught in the water of a tsunami may drown, be crushed by debris in the water, or be swept out to sea,” NOAA stated.
It also recommended that residents of the vulnerable coastal areas “stay alert for information and follow instructions from national and local authorities” and that government entities in those areas should educate populations at risk.
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