A strong earthquake centered near the resort of Huatulco shook parts of southern and central Mexico on Tuesday, killing at least one person and injuring another in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake that hit at 10:29am local time had a magnitude of 7.4 and was centered along the Pacific coast of Oaxaca state.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in a video posted on social media that there are no immediate reports of the extent of damage.
“We will continue to call on people to act with precaution due to possible aftershocks. Let’s take care of ourselves without anguish or despair,” said López Obrador in Spanish.
In Oaxaca, Carlos Moreno, the owner of Koch Mezcal, was working alongside one of his employees in one of his agave artisanal processing plants when the quake struck. The worker was digging up a 50-foot well to ferment the liquor when it happened.
“What a scare!,” Moreno told NBC News. “The man was 15 meters below ground, with an earthquake shaking everything, in almost darkness and in a small space… . We managed to get him out fast, but what a scare.”
Seismic alarms sounded midmorning with enough warning for residents to exit buildings and power was knocked out to some areas.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that about 2 million people felt strong or moderate shaking and another 49 million felt weak or light shaking.
Alejandro Murat, governor of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, told Telemundo News on a live interview that some buildings collapsed in the area of Crucecita, killing at least one person and injuring another.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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Associated Press contributed.