A powerful earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5 struck southern Mexico on the morning of Friday, January 2, 2026, shaking buildings and triggering landslides near the popular coastal resort of Acapulco.
Quake Interrupts Presidential Briefing
The tremor was strong enough to interrupt President Claudia Sheinbaum's first press briefing of the new year at the National Palace in Mexico City. Seismic alarms sounded in the capital, located approximately 400 kilometres from the epicentre, prompting the evacuation.
According to Mexico's national seismological agency, the quake's epicentre was located near the town of San Marcos, close to the Pacific coast and the tourist destination of Acapulco. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the quake as striking around 8 a.m. local time.
Landslides and Terrified Residents
The state's civil defence agency reported various landslides around Acapulco and on other highways in the state of Guerrero following the seismic event. Residents and tourists in both Mexico City and Acapulco rushed into the streets as the ground shook.
Karen Gomez, a 47-year-old office worker living on the 13th floor of an apartment building in Mexico City, described being jolted awake by a street siren. "I woke up in terror. My cellphone alert said it was a powerful earthquake," she told AFP.
Another Mexico City resident, Norma Ortega, a 57-year-old kindergarten director, felt her 10th-floor apartment shake. "I got a terrible fright," she said.
In Acapulco, Dr. Jose Raymundo Diaz Taboada, who lives on one of the peaks surrounding the bay, reported hearing a strong rumble before the shaking began. "In that moment the seismic alert went off on my cellphone," he told the Associated Press, "and then the shaking began to feel strong with a lot of noise." He noted that all the neighbourhood dogs began barking at the initial rumble.
Immediate Aftermath and Response
Images from the scene showed evacuees, including hotel guests and staff, gathering on streets in Mexico City in the aftermath. While initial reports focused on landslides disrupting highways, there were no immediate widespread reports of major structural collapses or casualties in the first hours following the quake.
Earthquakes are common in Mexico, which sits atop several major tectonic plates. The region near Acapulco is particularly seismically active. The event serves as a stark reminder of the constant geological threats faced by the country, even as it welcomes the new year.
This report includes information from AFP and The Associated Press.
