MEXICO CITY — A strong earthquake has swayed skyscrapers in Mexico City and rattled colonial buildings in neighbouring Puebla state, sending frightened people into the streets.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake had a magnitude of 5.7 and was centred about 140 kilometres southeast of the capital in Puebla.
The Mexican seismological service measured it at 5.9.
The earthquake was stronger and closer to the capital than one that hit last month.
But a spokesman with the U.S. Geological Survey says this one was about 56 kilometres below ground — deeper than normal — and thus unlikely to cause major damage.
Mexico City office worker Mariana Rodriguez, 20, was in a 19th-floor bathroom Friday when she felt her building sway.
“I saw in the mirror that everything was moving,” she said. “The soap even fell down. We were really nervous, but they didn’t let us leave the building.”
But many did run outside across the metropolis of 20 million, and waited several minutes before returning indoors. The capital has lived through powerful earthquakes, including one in 1985 that killed as many as 10,000 people.
Others immediately got on Facebook and Twitter to tell friends and family they were OK. Some said their cellphone service was knocked out.
Mexican TV network Televisa said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in Mexico City or at its epicentre in Puebla.