6.2 magnitude earthquake strikes southwest Mexico

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake rattled a region of southwest Mexico on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The tremor was about five miles from Coalcoman de Vazquez Pallares, a municipality of around 20,000 people about 372 miles west of the capital Mexico City. The quake struck at a depth of 53 miles.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on social media platform X that the national emergency services had reported “there are no new developments and are initiating review protocols” in Coalcoman.

Mexico lies on five tectonic plates that make it one of the world’s most earthquake-vulnerable countries, particularly on the Pacific coast.

In 1985 an 8.1 magnitude quake centered on the Pacific coast ravaged much of central and southern Mexico, killing thousands and causing severe damage in Mexico City.

A 7.1-magnitude quake on September 19, 2017, killed 369 people, most of them in the capital.

On the same day in 2022, central Mexico was hit by another quake, just hours after millions of people had taken part in a mock earthquake safety exercise. The repercussions of the 7.6 magnitude quake extended as far as 1,500 miles north, where four-foot-tall waves began churning inside a Death Valley cave called Devils Hole.