Downtown Acapulco, Mexico, is seen on Tuesday following a powerful earthquake that registered a magnitude of at least 7.0. Photo by David Guzman/EPA-EFE
Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the southwest coast of Mexico on Tuesday night, killing at least one person and knocking out power to more than half a million people hundreds of miles away in Mexico City.
The country's seismological agency said the temblor hit at 8:47 p.m. nearly 7 miles off the coast of Acapulco. The U.S. Geological Survey, which registered the quake at a magnitude of 7.0, said "significant casualties & damages are likely & impacts are potentially widespread."
One man died as a result of the quake in Guerrero state west of Acapulco, officials said. He was struck by a falling post.
The Mexican seismic agency counted almost 100 aftershocks following the initial earthquake, the largest with a magnitude of 5.2.
The shock caused loudspeakers to blare seismic alerts throughout Mexico City, located 230 miles north of Acapulco, and images online showed flashes of light in the sky, similar to lighting, due to arcing electricity.
The Federal Electricity Commission said 1.6 million people in Mexico City and the states of Mexico, Guerrero, Morelos and Oaxaca were without power.
In Mexico City alone, 763,000 people were without power early Wednesday, the Secretariat for Comprehensive Risk Management said in a statement.
The Federal Electricity Commission added that employees were working to restore power and patrolling infrastructure looking for damage. Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum tweeted that several neighborhoods were without electricity.
In a video message, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said there was no significant damage.
The quake initially caused a tsunami warning, which was later canceled.
Earthquakes are common in Mexico. Last June, a 7.5-magnitude quake hit off the coastal city of La Crucetia and hundreds died in 2017 when a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Mexico City.
