Preliminary 7.6-magnitude earthquake hits west coast of Mexico; tsunami alert issued
A massive earthquake struck along the west coast of Mexico Monday morning.
The preliminary magnitude 7.6 earthquake was centered near La Placita de Morelos, about 300 miles northwest of Acapulco in the relatively sparsely populated western central Pacific Coast of Mexico, according to the US Geological Survey.
People as far away as Mexico City, which is over 300 miles away from the epicenter, reported light shaking.
Originally, USGS registered the quake as a 7.5-magnitude just off the coast in the Pacific Ocean. However, USGS has since updated their alert and upgraded the preliminary magnitude to 7.6 as well.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued an alert for Mexico near the coast of Michoacan after the earthquake.
According to the tsunami warning center, waves of up to three meters are possible.
Communities like Manzanillo and Acapulco, along with Puerto Vallarta, may see the tsunami waves. A little further down the coast, officials say the Pacific coasts of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru could also see tsunami waves of less than .3 meters.
Notably, Monday's earthquake came on the fifth anniversary of a 2017 quake that left 216 people dead in Mexico City.
