6.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Mexico; no injuries reported

The German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said Friday that Mexico was hit by an earthquake of 6.4 magnitude, near the coast of Chiapas, as authorities have not yet reported any fatalities or injuries. 

According to Mexican civil protection, there were no immediate reports of material damage, injuries or fatalities.

"The quake struck at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles)," GFZ said.

Last year, a deadly earthquake of 7.6 magnitude struck western Mexico killing at least two people, damaging buildings, knocking out power and sending residents of Mexico City rushing for safety.

Authorities had said at that time that two died in the Pacific port of Manzanillo, one crushed by the facade of a department store while another was found dead at a mall. 

Authorities also reported damage to several hospitals in the western state of Michoacan near the epicenter, which was in a sparsely populated part of Mexico. One person was injured by falling glass at one of the hospitals, the government said.

It was relatively shallow, at only 15 km (9 miles) deep, which would have amplified its impact.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for coastal areas, saying waves reaching 1 to 3 meters (3 to 9 feet) above the tide level were possible.

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said there were no immediate reports of major damage in the capital after the quake struck, which rumbled through Mexico on the same day as destructive earthquakes battered the country in 1985 and 2017.

"It seems like a curse," Isa Montes, a 34-year-old graphic designer in the city's central Roma neighbourhood, said of the quake's timing as helicopters flew overhead, surveying the city.

The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), one of the country's most prestigious seats of higher learning, said there was no scientific explanation for three major quakes on the same day and attributed it to pure coincidence.