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A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico on Friday, shaking buildings across the capital and forcing President Claudia Sheinbaum to halt her daily press conference as the tremor rolled through the city.
The national seismological service confirmed the magnitude of the quake, which was felt throughout Mexico City. The timing of the earthquake interrupted Sheinbaum mid-briefing, underscoring the sudden nature of the seismic event that rattled one of the world's most populous metropolitan areas.
Sheinbaum and journalists were briefly evacuated from the presidential palace during her regular morning news conference after the earthquake alert sounded.
Sheinbaum said there were no immediate reports of major damage in Mexico City or Guerrero.
The earthquake caused damage to buildings in Mexico City, though the full extent of structural impacts remained under assessment following the initial shaking.
“I woke up in terror. My cellphone alert said it was a powerful earthquake,” Karen Gomez, a 47-year-old office worker who lives on the 13th floor of an apartment building in Mexico City, told AFP.
Norma Ortega, a 57-year-old kindergarten director living on the 10th floor, said she felt her building shake. “I got a terrible fright,” she said.
Mexico City sits in a particularly vulnerable seismic zone, built partially on the soft sediments of a former lakebed that can amplify earthquake waves.
The city has experienced numerous significant earthquakes throughout its history, including devastating quakes in 1985 and 2017 that killed thousands and collapsed buildings across the metropolis.
The 6.5 magnitude places Friday's earthquake in the strong category on seismological scales, capable of causing considerable damage in populated areas. Earthquakes of this magnitude can generate powerful ground shaking and pose serious risks to infrastructure, particularly in densely built urban environments.
Mexico lies along multiple fault lines where tectonic plates converge, making the country one of the most seismically active regions in the world. The nation has developed extensive earthquake preparedness systems, including early warning networks and regular safety drills, following past disasters.
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