Mexican president’s speech interrupted by emergency sirens as 6.5-magnitude earthquake strikes country

The Mexican president was speaking about tourism when the earthquake struck

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Mexican president's speech interrupted by emergency sirens as 6.5-magnitude earthquake strikes country

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A 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook southern Mexico on Friday, not far from the popular tourist destination of Acapulco, during a press conference being held by President Claudia Sheinbaum.

The seismic event occurred at 7:58 a.m. local time at a shallow depth of 6.21 miles, according to the German Research Center for Geosciences, which can increase the potential for noticeable surface shaking.

The president was holding her first 2026 tourism press conference at the National Palace when the earthquake struck, and sirens were audible over the live broadcast.

A livestreamof her remarks captured the rumblings as Sheinbaum calmly motioned for everyone in the room to evacuate.

The press conference resumed minutes later.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum calmly motioned for press conference attendees to evacuate the room as an earthquake struck Friday morning (YouTube/@ClaudiaSheinbaumP)

Tourists shown outside of their hotel in Mexico City after the earthquake struck in the early hours (AFP/Getty)

Sheinbaum said she spoke with Guerrero’s governor and confirmed that no serious damage occurred there or in Mexico City.

Residents of Guerrero and surrounding areas reported feeling the tremor, as seen in videos shared on X.

Ceiling panels fell from Parking Lot A at Hospital la Raza in Mexico City, according to a local news outlet.

Mexico City resident Karen Gomez told AFP that the early-morning quake awakened her.

“I woke up in terror. My cellphone alert said it was a powerful earthquake.” Another woman, 57-year-old Norma Ortega, who lives on the 10th floor of an apartment block said: ‘I got a terrible fright.”

A tourist speaks on their phone after being evacuated from a hotel during a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico on January 2, 2026. A 6.5-magnitude earthquake shook Mexico City (AFP/Getty)

Sheinbaum's press conference resumed minutes after she and reporters evacuated due to the earthquake (YouTube/@ClaudiaSheinbaumP)

The earthquake’s epicenter was 9 miles from San Marcos, in southern Guerrero, about 143 miles from Mexico City, prompting the hospital and residents to evacuate.

Mexico City, built on soft lakebed soil, is especially vulnerable to earthquakes from Guerrero, including the 8.1-magnitude quake on September 19, 1985, that killed over 10,000, injured 30,000, and left up to 250,000 homeless, according to History.com.

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Mexican president’s speech interrupted by emergency sirens as 6.5-magnitude earthquake strikes country

The Mexican president was speaking about tourism when the earthquake struck

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