On the anniversary of two previous major earthquakes in Mexico, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off Mexico's Pacific Coast on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) issued a Tsunami warning saying waves could reach up to 3 meters and could hit the Mexican coastline. After the warning was issued, reports said waves could have alreadyhit the coastline for areas including Manzanillo and Acapulco. Experts warned that waves could have also hit the town of Puerto Vallarta, popular with tourists.
Hours later, the Tsunami warning that was initially issued immediately after the quake was revised.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the tsunami threat had "largely passed." The latest readings from the organization showed a decrease in wave heights, CNN reported.
The Tsunami warning was widespread, with warnings issued saying waves of less than 0.3 meters could also happen on the Pacific coastlines of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru, PTWC said.
It was not immediately clear how much damage was caused by Monday’s earthquake. No known casualties were reported. The earthquake was centered 22 miles southeast of Aquila. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake started around 2:05 p.m. ET.
The areas mainly affected by the earthquake are in a region of Michoacán in Mexico, which is sparsely populated. Very strong shaking occurred, which was capable of "moderate" damage, the service reported.
Officials did not believe the U.S. coast faced any tsunami risk from Monday's earthquake.
The USGS received reports of moderate shaking in Mexico City, nearly 400 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter. Local media reported that authorities had closed some buildings in Mexico City to the public out of caution.
Many Mexican states and municipalities had just completed earthquake preparation drills earlier in the afternoon when the quake struck.
On this day in 2017, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake shook Mexico City, killing at least 216 people. On Sept. 19, 1985, thousands died when a magnitude 8 earth struck central Mexico.
