Earthquake with 6.5 magnitude rattles southern and central Mexico killing 2

MEXICO CITY — A strong earthquake rattled southern and central Mexico on Friday, interrupting President Claudia Sheinbaum ’s first press briefing of the new year as seismic alarms sounded and leaving at least two people dead

MEXICO CITY — A strong earthquake rattled southern and central Mexico on Friday, interrupting President Claudia Sheinbaum ’s first press briefing of the new year as seismic alarms sounded and leaving at least two people dead.

The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.5 and its epicenter was near the town of San Marcos in the southern state of Guerrero near the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco, according to Mexico ’s national seismological agency. There were more than 500 aftershocks.

The state’s civil defense agency reported various landslides around Acapulco and on other highways in the state.

Guerrero Gov. Evelyn Salgado said that a 50-year-old woman living in a small community near the epicenter died when her home collapsed. Authorities also said that a hospital in Chilpancingo, Guerrero’s capital, suffered major structural damage and various patients were evacuated.

Residents and tourists in Mexico City and Acapulco rushed into the streets when the shaking began. Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said that one person died after suffering an apparent medical emergency followed by a fall while evacuating a building.