Mexico earthquake: No deaths reported from rattling magnitude 7.2 quake

A strong earthquake has shaken southern Mexico, but there are no immediate reports of casualties, Mexican and US authorities have said.

The epicentre of the magnitude-7.2 quake was south-east of Pinotepa Nacional in the southern state of Oaxaca, the Mexican National Seismological Centre advised. 

Earlier, the US Geological Survey had issued a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 and located the epicentre 2km from another town in the same area, Pinotepa de Don Luis.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, the head of the local disaster relief agency, Luis Felipe Puente, said.

Authorities in the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Michoacan, Puebla and in Mexico City were still checking for casualties, Puente added.

The US National Tsunami Warning Centre says a tsunami is not expected.

The quake hit at 5.39pm local time at a depth of 43km.

Tremors were felt as far away as Mexico City, where many people fled buildings after hearing warning sirens.

A total of 59 aftershocks were reported within an hour of the quake.

Mexico was hit by two devastating earthquakes which killed 360 people in September.

More than 100 of those lives were lost in the country's south following an 8.2-magnitude quake on September 7, with the remaining deaths caused by a magnitude-7.1 event south of Mexico City on September 19.