Lalo Salazar, a newscaster on the Mexican TV network Televisa, was on air at the moment a massive 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit.<br /><br />He stayed calm as a quake siren sounded while describing the shaking inside the studio.<br /><br />The tremors were felt across at least half a dozen states and Mexico’s capital.<br /><br />There were no reports of major damage or casualties.<br /><br />Some residents said paintings fell off their walls.<br /><br />Damiana Duran, a Mexico City resident said: “In our office they weren’t allowing people to come out and we were afraid, but now I feel better.”<br /><br />The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially calculated the quake’s magnitude at 7.5, but later downgraded it to 7.2. <br /><br />It was centered in the western state of Guerrero, close to the Pacific beach resort, Acapulco.<br /><br />Friday’s quake occurred along a section of the Pacific Coast known as the Guerrero Seismic Gap, a 200-kilometre section where tectonic plates meet and have been locked, meaning huge amounts of energy are being stored up with potentially devastating effects, said USGS seismologist Gavin Hayes.<br /><br />A devastating 8.1-magnitude earthquake in 1985 killed thousands of people in Mexico City. <br /><br />In March 2012, a 7.4-magnitude quake hit Mexico but did not cause major damage.
