6.5-magnitude quake hits off SE Mexico

A 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck the border city of Ciudad Hidalgo in Mexico's southeastern Chiapas state on Friday, said the country's seismological agency.

The National Seismological Service (SSN) reported that the earthquake occurred at 10:14 a.m. local time (1614 GMT) about 37 kilometers southwest of Ciudad Hidalgo, a city located on the border of Mexico with Guatemala.

The agency adjusted the magnitude of the earthquake from 6.6 degrees of its preliminary report.

Authorities said the quake was felt in some areas of Mexico City and in the states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Puebla, Mexico and Veracruz, where residents evacuated homes and offices.

In a television interview, the secretary of civil protection in Chiapas, Luis Manuel Garcia, said after activating the corresponding protocols, they have not found affected persons or major damage to buildings, only minor damage at the epicenter of the quake.

"Fortunately there has been no loss of life or injured persons needing hospitalization, only nervous crisis," the official said.

Things are getting back to normal and work is underway for a timely evaluation of damages, Garcia added.

Civil protection authorities in Oaxaca have also said there were no reports of victims or material damage at the moment.

Claudia Sheinbaum, mayor of Mexico City, said no "damage was recorded" and that helicopters did a flyover to check the status of the metropolis.

Meanwhile, authorities in El Salvador reported minor damage to buildings in the capital of San Salvador, where the quake was also felt.