7.2 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE HIT SOUTHERN MEXICO.

It met the definition of a major one, but the magnitude-7.2 earthquake that struck Friday in southern Mexico's Guerrero state didn't land the kind of punch that it might have.
"There was no way not to feel it," Gustavo Lozano talked about the temblor, which struck at 9:27 a.m. (10:27 a.m. ET) and was centered 22 miles (36 kilometers) north-northwest of Tecpan. He was with his family at their home in Barra de Potosi, a fishing village nearly a three-hour drive northwest of Tecpan, when the earthquake hit. "It was extremely strong."
Afraid of a possible tsunami, and unaware that no advisory had been issued for one, he and his family drove to a shelter at the Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo International Airport, where dozens of other people also were gathering.
The quake's depth at the epicenter was a shallow 15 miles (24 kilometers), the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The Mexican National Seismological Service measured its depth at 6 miles (10 kilometers) and its magnitude as 7.0.
USGS classifies any quake magnitude 7.0 to 7.9 as "major," and any at 8.0 or more as "great."
The earthquake's timing and location could have proved devastating -- it occurred on the Pacific coast between major resort towns of Acapulco and Zihuatanejo during Holy Week, when Mexicans traditionally flock to the beaches, and resorts typically run at full capacity.