- Earthquake struck off coast of Chiapas sate around midnight Thursday.
- Local officials say that at least five people have died.
- Tremors were felt in Mexico City, more than 600 miles away.
- Videos show buildings shaking as the quake struck land.
- Tsunami waves are being recorded in the aftermath of the quake.
At least five people have been killed after an 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mexico overnight, according to officials in the country.
Buildings collapsed and thousands of people were evacuated after the powerful tremor struck off the coast of Chiapas, the country's southernmost state, just before midnight on Thursday.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said that the earthquake was the strongest to strike the country in a century. Video footage posted to social media shows highways and buildings shaking as the tremors rocked Mexico.
This is the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City:
And lamp posts trembling on an elevated highway:
Tsunami waves have since been recorded as a result of the quake, and could reach three metres high, according to the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.
The governors of Chiapas and neighbouring Tabasco state have so far confirmed five deaths as a result of the quake.
Three casualties were in San Cristobal, Chiapas, where a house collapsed. The two dead in Tabasco are children: one was crushed by a wall, and the other was a baby in hospital who died when the quake cut the power to his ventilator.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake's epicenter was 165 kilometers (102 miles) west of Tapachula in southern Chiapas state. It had a depth of 35 kilometers, or about 20 miles and struck at 11:49 p.m. local time on Thursday.
"The house moved like chewing gum and the light and internet went out momentarily," said Rodrigo Soberanes, who lives near San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, a poor, largely indigenous state popular with tourists.
Civil Defense in Chiapas said on its Twitter account that its personnel were in the streets aiding people and warned residents to prepare for aftershocks. But it made no immediate comment about damage.
The quake was so powerful that frightened residents in Mexico City more than 1,000 kilometers (650 miles) away fled apartment buildings, often in their pajamas, and gathered in groups in the street.
Buildings swayed strongly for more than one minute, loosening light fixtures from ceilings. Helicopters crisscrossed the sky above Mexico City with spotlights. Some neighborhoods kept electricity while others were in darkness.
In neighboring Guatemala, President Jimmy Morales spoke on national television to call for calm while emergency crews checked for damage. Local radio in the Central American country reported one death, but it could not be confirmed.
"We have reports of some damage and the death of one person, even though we still don't have exact details," Morales said. He said the possible death occurred in San Marcos state near the border with Mexico.
The most dangerous tsunami waves are due to strike Mexico, but smaller waves of up to one metre were also predicted for the following territories.
- The Cook Islands
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Fiji
- French Polynesia
- Guatemala
- Kiribati
- New Zealand
- Samoa
- Tokelau
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
- Wallis and Futuna
Mexico’s civil protection agency said Thursday night's quake was the strongest to hit the country since a devastating 1985 tremor that toppled buildings and killed thousands, Reuters reported.
“I had never been anywhere where the earth moved so much," a witness interviewed by the news wire service said. "At first I laughed, but when the lights went out I didn’t know what to do. I nearly fell over,” said Luis Carlos Briceno, an architect, 31, who was visiting Mexico City.
The Mexico earthquake comes just as the southeastern US braces for Hurricane Irma, which is being called a "potentially catastrophic" Category 5 storm — and just weeks after Hurricane Harvey slammed Texas and Louisiana, killing at least 70 people.
The earthquake appears to have triggered a rare phenomenon known as "earthquake lights" wherein the motion of certain rocks causes atmospheric electrical discharges.
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