Magnitude 7.6 earthquake shakes Mexico’s Pacific coast

MEXICO CITY — A magnitude 7.5 earthquake shook Mexico’s central Pacific coast on Monday, setting off an earthquake alarm in the capital.

There were no immediate reports of damage from the quake that hit at 1:05 p.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geologic Survey. Initial reports put the earthquake at magnitude 7.5, but the USGS upgraded the quake to a 7.6 a short time later.

The earthquake was centered in a remote coastal area of the state of Michoacán, but was felt as far away as Mexico City and Puerto Vallarta, according to social media posts. There were online reports of buildings swaying in the Mexican capitol with some structures being evacuated, but so far there has been no indication of major damage.

The quake comes on the September 19th anniversary of two major deadly earthquakes that struck Mexico City in 1985 and 2017. Alarms for the new quake came less than an hour after a quake alarms warbled in a nationwide earthquake simulation marking the anniversary of those two powerful temblors.

A tsunami alert has been issued due to the potential threat of a tsunami on the west coast of Mexico.