TAPACHULA, Mexico (AP) — A strong earthquake rocked the border of Mexico and Guatemala early Sunday morning, sending terrified residents into the streets.
The quake hit just before 6 a.m. near the Mexican border town of Societe, where a river of the same name divides the two countries. The epicenter was Brisas Barra de Suchiate, 10 miles (16 km) west-southwest of the Pacific coast, where the river empties into the ocean.
According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake had an initial magnitude of 6.4 and a depth of 47 miles (75 km).
In Mexico, there were no immediate reports of damage, but more mountainous, remote parts of the border are prone to landslides.
Across the border, Guatemala's national disaster prevention agency shared photos on its social media accounts of small mudslides on highways in the Quetzaltenango region and large cracks in the walls of a hospital in San Marcos, but no casualties. There is no notification.
In Tapachula, near the border, civil defense brigades were combing the town for signs of damage.
Didier Solaris, an official with Suchet's civil defense agency, said they had not yet found any casualties.
“Fortunately, everything is good,” said Solaris. “We are talking to the companies through radio (in rural areas) and there is nothing, thank God there is no damage,” he said.
The early morning earthquake has still spread fear among the people.
The bustling and charming colonial town of San Cristobal was bustling.
“Here we are up because we have a seismic alert service,” said resident Joaquin Morales. “The warning woke me up because it comes 30 seconds before (the earthquake).”
In Tuxtla Chico, a town near Tapachula, María Guzman, a teacher, said: “It was scary, she felt strong. It was a real fear.”
Later Sunday, a swarm of at least two dozen small earthquakes struck the northern Mexican state of Baja California, near the U.S. border. The largest earthquakes had a magnitude of 4.6, while most were between 2.5 and 3.7.
No immediate damage was reported in a sparsely populated area about 30 miles (50 km) south of the relatively unpopulated area south of El Centro, California.
They did not appear to be related to the earthquake in Suchet, which is about 2,330 miles (3,750 km) to the southeast.