Massive 7.6 earthquake shakes Ometepec and Acapulco, Mexico

A major 6.6 magnitude earthquake struck 193 kilometres east of Acapulco on Mexico's Pacific coast, the United States Geological Survey said today.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the inland earthquake would not generate a destructive widespread tsunami, but there was the possibility of some local tsunami effects.

Civil Defence has not issued a tsunami warning for New Zealand.

The USGS located the epicenter of the quake at 525 kilometres east of Ometepec in Guerrero state at a depth of 18 kilometres.

The quake was felt in Mexico City where buildings shook and office employees fled into the street, according to a Reuters witnesses. Cell phone lines were down and traffic snarled in the capital moments after the quake.

No damage was reported in Oaxaca, near where the quake hit, according to local television.

Earlier it had been reported at 7.9 magnitude and initially as 7.6 magnitude