7.4 magnitude earthquake strikes near Acapulco, Mexico

Story by MSNBC, AP, and Reuters

A strong, long 7.4 earthquake with an epicenter in Guerrero state shook central southern Mexico on Tuesday, swaying buildings in Mexico City and sending frightened workers and residents into the streets.

The U.S. Geological Survey set the intensity at 7.4 at a depth of 11 miles underground. Mexico's National Seismological Survey said the earthquake had an epicenter southwest of Ometepec. The quake, first reported as having a 7.9 magnitude, was centered about 120 miles east of Acapulco.

Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard's Twitter account said the water system and other "strategic services" were not experiencing problems.

 "I have problems with pressure; I felt I was going to faint," said Rosa Maria Lopez Velazquez, 62, outside a mall in Mexico City.

Telephone lines and cell phone reception were down and traffic snarled in the capital moments after the quake, which was followed by a 4.8-magnitude aftershock.  President Felipe Calderon said on Tuesday, via his Twitter account, that there was no serious damage reported.

 "I swear I never felt one so strong, I thought the building was going to collapse,'' said Sebastian Herrera, 42, a businessman from a neighborhood hit hard in Mexico's devastating 1985 earthquake, which killed thousands.

Groups of women hugged and cried at Mexico City's Angel of Independence monument, where hundreds of people evacuated from office buildings said they never had felt such a strong earthquake.

Others typed ferociously on their Blackberries. Samantha Rodriguez, a 37-year old environmental consultant, was evacuated from the 11th floor on the Angel Tower office building.

"I thought it was going to pass rapidly but the walls began to thunder and we decided to get out," she said.
Mexico City's airport was closed for a short time but there was no damage to runways and operations were returning to normal.

Victor Flores, an official at the Guerrero emergency management agency, told msnbc.com that initial reports from teams near the epicenter were of damage only to homes built of adobe or other weak construction material.

 Aerial teams will follow up,” he added, “but so far no deaths or injuries.”
A person at Acapulco City Hall told NBC News that they felt the quake had no immediate reports of injuries or damages.

No damage was reported in Oaxaca, about 100 miles west-southwest of the epicenter, according to local television. The front desk at the Hotel Real Oaxaca told NBC that the temblor scared residents but there was no damage.

A worker at Rica Pizza in Ometepec, one of the towns nearest to the epicenter, told NBC News that there was no damage to his business but he heard of damage to some other buildings in the area. He said electricity had gone out at his location -- and many of his business neighbors had lost theirs. His phone was working -- though he said there were some businesses without phone service. He also said he had heard lots of ambulance sirens but doesn't have any specifics on injuries.

The quake was followed by several aftershocks, he said.

"It was very strong, but we didn't see anything fall," said Irma Ortiz, who runs a guesthouse in Oaxaca. She said that their telephones are down and that the quake shook them side-to-side.

A U.S. State Department official told NBC News that were no injuries to the staff at the embassy in Mexico City, but the building does have some minor damage.

Earlier the quake had been reported at 7.9 magnitude. No tsunami was expected.