At least 35 killed in one of biggest earthquakes ever in Mexico

MEXICO -- One of the most powerful earthquakes ever to strike Mexico has hit off its southern coast, killing at least 35 people, toppling houses and businesses and sending panicked people into the streets more than 650 miles away.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake hit off Chiapas state near the Guatemalan border with a magnitude as 8.1 - equal in force to the 1985 quake that killed thousands and devastated large parts of Mexico City.

Officials said at least five people died, but the death toll could rise as authorities assess the damage. Buildings collapsed, power was cut at least briefly to more than 1 million people and authorities closed schools Friday in at least 11 states to check them for safety.

"The house moved like chewing gum and the light and internet went out momentarily," said Rodrigo Soberanes, who lives near the Chiapas state city of San Cristobal de las Casas.

The U.S. Geological Survey recorded at least 20 aftershocks of magnitude 4.0 or greater within about five hours after the main shake, and the president warned that a major aftershock as large as magnitude 7.2 could occur.

The USGS said the quake struck at 11:49 p.m. Thursday (12:49 a.m. EDT; 0449 GMT Friday) and its epicenter was 102 miles west of Tapachula in Chiapas. It had a depth of 43.3 miles.

The quake caused buildings to sway violently in Mexico's capital more than 650 miles away. As beds banged against walls, people still wearing pajamas fled into the streets, gathering in frightened groups.

Chiapas Gov. Manuel Velasco said that three people were killed in San Cristobal, including two women who died when a house and a wall collapsed. He called on people living near the coast to leave their houses as a protective measure.

"There is damage to hospitals that have lost energy," he said. "Homes, schools and hospitals have been damaged."

Tabasco Gov. Arturo Nunez said two children had died in his Gulf coast state. One of them was killed when a wall collapsed, and the other was a baby who died in a children's hospital that lost electricity, cutting off the infant's ventilator.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of 3.3 feet above the tide level were measured off Salina Cruz, Mexico. Smaller tsunami waves were observed on the coast or measured by ocean gauges in several other places. The center's forecast said Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala could see waves of a meter or less. No threat was posed to Hawaii and the western and South Pacific.

Mexican authorities said they were evacuating some residents of coastal Tonala and Puerto Madero because of the warning.

The quake hit as Mexican emergency agencies were bracing for another crisis on the other side of the country. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Katia was likely to strike the Gulf coast in the state of Veracruz early Saturday as a Category 2 storm that could bring life-threatening floods.

In neighboring Guatemala, President Jimmy Morales spoke on national television to call for calm while emergency crews checked for damage.

"We have reports of some damage and the death of one person, even though we still don't have details," Morales said. He said the unconfirmed death occurred in San Marcos state near the border with Mexico.

The quake occurred in a very seismically active region near the point of collision between three tectonic plates, the Cocos, the Caribbean and the North American.

Mexico's National Seismological Service said the area has seen at least six other quakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater since 1900 - though three of those all occurred within a nerve-wracking nine-month span in 1902-1903.

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