At least two dead after powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake hits Mexico

Juarez public hospital health workers wait on a street after a 7.5 earthquake sent them out from their work areas, in Mexico City, Tuesday, June 23, 2020.
Juarez public hospital health workers wait on a street after a 7.5 earthquake sent them out from their work areas, in Mexico City, Tuesday, June 23, 2020. Copyright Eduardo Verdugo/AP Photo
By Euronews with AP
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The 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck at 10:29 a.m. local time (5:29 pm CEST) on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

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At least two people have died after a powerful earthquake shook central and southern Mexico, swaying buildings and sending thousands of people into the streets on Tuesday.

The 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck at 10:29 a.m. local time (5:29 pm CEST) on Tuesday, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS estimated that two million people felt strong or moderate shaking and another 49 million felt weak or light shaking.

Seismic alarms sounded in the morning, giving enough warning for residents to exit buildings.

Internet connectivity crashed in the aftermath of the earthquake, according to Netblocks, but there were no reports of serious damage.

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said one person was killed and another injured in a building collapse in Huatulco, Oaxaca. Otherwise he said reports were of minor damage, including broken windows and collapsed walls. 

Oaxaca Gov. Alejandro Murat later said a second person was killed in an apparent house collapse in the tiny mountain village of San Juan Ozolotepec.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a tsunami threat alert warning in the aftermath of the earthquake near the coast of Oaxaca. Guatemala's national disaster agency also issued an alert for its Pacific coast.

The epicentre was 12 kilometres south-southwest of Santa Maria Zapotitlan in Oaxaca state.

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