MEXICO CITY _ A powerful 7.2 earthquake has struck south and central Mexico, setting off quake alert systems and sending panicked residents fleeing into the streets.
There were no immediate reports of deaths, but local television reports said homes and businesses near the quake's epicenter in Oaxaca state had been seriously damaged.
The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's preliminary magnitude at 7.2 and said it originated about 225 miles south of Mexico City. Given the magnitude, damage near the epicenter is likely, USGS geophysicist Jana Pursley said.
"It's a strong earthquake," she said. "In the immediate area, it is likely to cause damage."
A series of aftershocks were felt in the capital, but Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said no major damage was reported. Many residents, still shaken from the Sept. 19 earthquake that killed more than 200 people in Mexico City, gathered on the streets instead of going back inside their office buildings and homes.
"We're totally traumatized," said Maria Eugenia Angulo, 48, who was eating ice cream with her children and grandchildren in the Condesa neighborhood when the earth started swaying.
The origin of Friday's earthquake was much farther away from Mexico City than the Sept. 19 quake, which had an epicenter only 80 miles away.
