A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Mexico City and Acapulco, a popular tourist area

A powerful earthquake shook southern and central Mexico on Friday, killing at least one person and injuring several others. Officials said there did not appear to be major damage caused by the quake.

The US Geological Survey said the earthquake's magnitude reached 6.5. The epicenter of the quake was near the town of San Marcos in the southern state of Guerrero, near the Pacific coastal resort of Acapulco.

It occurred at a depth of 21.7 miles, and 2.5 miles northwest of Rancho Viejo, Guerrero. The quake was felt more than 250 miles away in Mexico City.

Residents and tourists in Mexico City and Acapulco rushed into the streets when the shaking began.

Tourists remain outside after evacuating their hotels during a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Acapulco, Mexico on January 2, 2026. Francisco Robles/AFP via Getty Images

Karen Gomez, a 47-year-old employee who lives on the 13th floor of an apartment building in Mexico City, told AFP that the siren woke her up.

“I woke up terrified,” she said. “My mobile phone alert told me there was a strong earthquake.”

The Civil Defense Agency reported several landslides around Acapulco and on other highways in the state.

Local officials said that a 60-year-old man in Mexico City died of his injuries after falling while evacuating his second-floor apartment in the capital, Agence France-Presse reported.

Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada confirmed the death in a statement posted on social media. In a separate statement on social media, she said that at least 12 people were injured in the earthquake.

A tourist is helped after being evacuated from a hotel during a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Acapulco, Mexico on January 2, 2026. Francisco Robles/AFP via Getty Images

President Claudia Sheinbaum, whose first news conference of the new year was interrupted by the quake, said she spoke with Evelyn Salgado, the governor of Guerrero state, who told her that no major damage had been reported.

Jose Raymundo Díaz Taboada, a doctor and human rights defender who lives on one of the peaks surrounding Acapulco, said he heard a loud noise and all the neighborhood dogs started barking.

“At that moment, the seismic alarm went off on my mobile phone, and then I started to feel strong shaking with a lot of noise,” he said.

He added that the tremors were milder than in some previous earthquakes, and that he had prepared a backpack containing essentials in preparation for leaving as aftershocks continued.

He said he was unable to reach some friends who live along the Costa Chica, southeast of Acapulco, because of communications blackouts.

People seek safety in a parking lot after a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Mexico City, on January 2, 2026. Gerardo Vieira/Noor Photo via Getty Images

Mexico lies between five tectonic plates and is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.

In January 2025, a 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook southwestern Mexico. The quake occurred about five miles from Colcomán de Vasquez Palares, a municipality of about 20,000 people, about 372 miles west of Mexico City. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 53 miles.

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

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

Exactly five years later, on the same date in 2022, central Mexico was struck by another earthquake, just hours after millions of people participated in a mock earthquake safety drill. The aftermath of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake extended 1,500 miles north, where four-foot waves began rippling inside a Death Valley cavern called Devils Hole.

AFP contributed to this report.

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