CNN —
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake off Mexico’s southwest coast in the state of Michoacan on Monday has sparked tsunami warnings and claimed at least one death, according to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The epicenter of the strong earthquake occurred in a sparsely populated region of the state of Michoacan, very close to the coast. In nearby Colima, about 100 km from the epicenter, very strong tremors have been reported, which may cause “moderate” damage, according to USGS data.
In Mexico City, around 500 km away, “light to moderate” tremors were reported, which can cause “very light” damage, especially to vulnerable structures. According to the city’s mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum, there are still no known casualties or damage in Mexico City.
Local news channels reported that firefighters had closed some buildings in Mexico City to the public due to the risk of collapse.
One person has died at a mall in Manzanillo, in the western state of Colima, after a fence fell, President López Obrador said on social media, citing Marine Minister José Rafael Ojeda Durán.
Mexico’s civil protection coordinator Laura Velazquez also confirmed the death in a press conference on Monday afternoon.
The magnitude of the quake was originally given as 7.6 by the US Geological Survey (USGS). Mexico’s national seismological agency later updated the magnitude to 7.7 in a news conference Monday.
According to the USGS, the quake struck about 37 kilometers southeast of the city of Aquila with a depth of about 15.1 kilometers.
Immediately after the quake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves up to 3 meters high could hit Mexico. The first tsunami waves have probably already appeared in coastal towns such as Manzanillo and Acapulco and could also hit the tourist hotspot Puerto Vallarta.
Tsunami waves smaller than 0.3 meters could also hit the Pacific coasts of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru, according to the organization.
The news came on the fifth anniversary of the 2017 earthquake that killed 216 people in Mexico City.
The epicenter of this magnitude 7.1 earthquake was 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) east-northeast of San Juan Raboso and 34.1 miles (55 km) south-southwest of the city of Puebla, Puebla state, the USGS reported at the time.