At least one person has been confirmed dead, according to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. That person was killed in the coastal town of Manzanillo, about 130 kilometers south of the epicenter. According to the president, the person died when a shopping mall collapsed in the port city. According to the USGS, the epicenter of the earthquake was in the Pacific Ocean near La Placita de Morelos, about 300 miles northwest of Acapulco. The US Tsunami Warning System has issued a warning that a tsunami is possible along the coast of Michoacán, Mexico. A Twitter user in Puerto Vallarta captured the effects of the earthquake on video. In the clip, the room rumbles and a ceiling fan shakes wildly as the earthquake shakes the area. Puerto Vallarta is about 400 kilometers north of the epicenter. According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, potential tsunami waves could occur up to 300 kilometers from the epicenter. He noted that waves between 1 and 3 meters above the high tide level are possible along the Mexican coast. On Monday afternoon the agency said it had observed tsunami waves. Waves of up to 0.3 meters above the high tide level are possible for a number of nations including Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Australia, Japan, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat in Hawaii after the quake. The effects of the earthquake were felt hundreds of miles away. Video from Mexico City showed signs swaying during the quake and locals crowding the streets as a warning siren blared in the background. In Manzanillo, videos showed the wall of a gym collapsed, leaving it and the roof in a pile of rubble. The sky was visible through a gaping hole in the exterior of the building. The earthquake occurred on the same day that Mexico is holding its national earthquake drill, which also commemorates the massive 1985 earthquake that left thousands dead in Mexico City. Another earthquake struck Mexico on the same day in Puebla in 2017, leaving 370 dead. Monday’s earthquake occurred just half an hour after the annual exercise ended. On Sunday, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Taiwan, killing one and injuring 146.
