Earthquake in Chiapas: Civil Protection reports damage to buildings in 5 municipalities; military maintains presence in the area

A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake jolted the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, leaving a trail of damaged buildings and prompting emergency responses. The tremor, which occurred Friday morning, affected several municipalities, including the state capital, Tuxtla, as well as Tapachula, Mazatán, and Ostuacán.

In Tuxtla, emergency services attended to seven individuals suffering from nervous crises. Tapachula reported damage to nine homes and six public buildings, while a school in Suchiate also sustained damage. In Mazatán, the municipal building and a church were affected, and two IMSS hospital facilities in Jitotol and Ostuacán also reported damage.

The VII Military Region has deployed 1,200 personnel and 55 vehicles to assist in response efforts across the state. The Secretariat of Civil Protection attributed the extent of the damage, in part, to a lack of investment in adequate infrastructure and technology by previous state government administrations, despite Chiapas's known high seismic activity.

Currently, the state relies on a multi-alert system with towers equipped with loudspeakers and sensors. Efforts are underway, in coordination with the National Center for Disaster Prevention (Cenapred), to formally incorporate the state into the Mexican Seismic Alert System (Sasmex). In Tapachula, a Haitian migrant was injured after jumping from a third-floor window during a nervous crisis triggered by the earthquake.