Magnitude 7.3 quake strikes Mexico-Guatemala border, two injured

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck the southern Mexican Pacific coast on Friday, with its epicenter about 48 km southwest of Aquiles Serdán in Chiapas, at a depth of 15 km. The tremor was felt from Mexico City to El Salvador and triggered at least ten aftershocks ranging from magnitude 4.9 to 6.

In Tapachula, the main city on Mexico's southern border, residents reported the shaking intensifying after an initial mild tremor. >"We were upstairs on the second floor when it started shaking; we thought it would pass, but then it got stronger, so we all went downstairs and evacuated in an orderly manner to the front courtyard," said Alejandra Mendoza, an administrative employee at a public hospital.

Demetrio Martínez, head of Tapachula's Civil Protection agency, said a Haitian migrant woman in her 30s suffered a nervous breakdown and jumped from a four-meter height, sustaining fractures but not life-threatening injuries. He added that another minor injury resulted from a broken window at a nearby business.

Guatemala's National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) reported no immediate major damage, though social media showed videos of landslides on western roads and a collapsed wall outside a bus station. The Ministry of Education suspended in-person classes in four departments near the epicenter.

In Mexico City, buildings creaked but the official earthquake alert did not sound because the initial energy did not exceed activation thresholds. President Claudia Sheinbaum said preliminary reports indicated no damage, while the navy advised a six-hour beach closure due to a possible tsunami. The Meteorological Service of Chiapas warned of waves up to one meter along the coast, and the mayor of Suchiate said coastal areas were being monitored.

The quake was also strongly felt in San Salvador, though no deaths or damage were reported. The region remains seismically active, recalling deadly quakes earlier this year in Mexico and the 2017 magnitude-7.1 event that killed hundreds in Mexico City.