A powerful earthquake struck western Mexico on Monday on the anniversary of two devastating temblors, shaking buildings, knocking out power and sending residents of Mexico City scrambling into the streets for safety.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time, the 7.6-magnitude quake quake hit near the coast on the border region of the states of Michoacan and Colima at a depth of around 15 kilometres, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said there were no immediate reports of damage in the capital after the tremors, which rumbled through Mexico on the same day as major quakes battered the country in 1985 and 2017.
"It's this date, there's something about the 19th," said Ernesto Lanzetta, a business owner in the Cuauhtemoc borough of the city. "The 19th is a day to be feared."
Power was knocked out in parts of the central Roma area of the capital, hundreds of kilometres northeast of the epicentre. Local residents cradling pets stood on the street, while tourists visiting an area market with a local guide were visibly confused and upset.
Traffic lights stopped working, and people clutched their phones, sending text messages or waiting for calls to get through.
Thousands of people were killed in the Sept. 19, 1985, earthquake and more than 350 died in the Sept. 19, 2017, quake.
The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for parts of Mexico's coast, saying waves reaching one to three metres above the tide level were possible.
Alarms for the new quake came less than an hour after quake alarms warbled in a nationwide earthquake simulation.
