6.1-magnitude earthquake hits Mexico

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MEXICO CITY, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale on Wednesday jolted 18 km northwest of Ayutla de los Libres municipality in southern Guerrero state, the U.S. Geological Survey, monitored here, said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 34.76 km, was initially determined to be at 17.0081 degrees north latitude and 99.3547 west longitude.

Meanwhile, Mexico's National Seismological Service (SSN) said the quake occurred at 07:38 am local time (1238 GMT) with its epicenter 18 km west of San Marcos, a town in Guerrero, after a revision of initial readings of 6.2 and 5.0 degrees. Seismic alerts were activated seconds earlier.

An aftershock with a preliminary magnitude of 5.62 degrees was recorded about 24 minutes later, according to the SSN, with its epicenter in the state of Guerrero.

The National System of Civil Protection reported that attention protocols had been activated by the earthquake in central Mexico, but there were no immediate reports of major damage or casualties.

Guerrero Governor Angel Aguirre said Civil Protection crew reported cracks of buildings in municipalities of Chilpancingo, Acapulco and San Marcos. He said the state Civil Protection authorities were working to determine possible effects.

According to Constantino Gonzalez Vargas, the head of Guerrero Civil Protection, although no major damage was located in the state, the authorities started checking buildings and public schools to see if there was structural damage.

"We are monitoring the seven regions of the state and the security and safety protocols have been activated in the state," said the state official.

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