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Strong quake off Mexican coast rattles Guatemala and El Salvador

A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Mexico’s southernmost state of Chiapas on Friday, shaking buildings as far away as Guatemala and…

By Samantha Johnson / July 17, 2026

A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the coast of Mexico’s southernmost state of Chiapas on Friday, shaking buildings as far away as Guatemala and El Salvador, though authorities said there were ‌no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said emergency protocols were activated but that neither Chiapas nor the neighbouring state of Tabasco reported issues, and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo said there were no deaths.

In some parts of Guatemala, residents in their homes and office workers spilled onto the streets.

The quake struck at a depth of 15.2km (9.4 miles), the US Geological Survey said, after revising its earlier assessment of a magnitude 7.4 quake at a shallow depth of 10km (six miles).

Following the tremor, the US Tsunami Warning System ⁠said that hazardous tsunami waves were possible along coasts located within 300km (186 miles) of the epicentre, which was in the sea 58km (36 miles) from ‌the small coastal town of Puerto Madero.

A member of the Secretariat of Citizen Security uses a megaphone to give instructions to personnel evacuated from several buildings in Mexico City after an earthquake on Friday. Photo: AFP
A member of the Secretariat of Citizen Security uses a megaphone to give instructions to personnel evacuated from several buildings in Mexico City after an earthquake on Friday. Photo: AFP

The waves could reach levels between 0.3 metres (one foot) and one metre (three feet) above tide level for some coasts in Mexico and Guatemala, the tsunami warning centre said.

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