( CNN ) -- It met the definition of a major one , but the magnitude-7.2 earthquake that struck Friday in southern Mexico 's Guerrero state did n't land the kind of punch that it might have . `` There was no way not to feel it , '' Gustavo Lozano told CNN 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 . En route , they noticed a few walls from older buildings had collapsed , but nothing worse . Once there , they concluded they need n't have bothered taking shelter . `` It seems like the worst has already happened , '' he said . 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 . Its impact was also felt in Mexico City , 170 miles ( 273 kilometers ) northeast of the epicenter . `` I was working in my radio news program ... and we were talking about ( author ) Gabriel GarcÃ­a Marquez 's death , when I started to feel how the ground was shaking and the lamps were moving , '' journalist Sol Rivera said via e-mail . She urged her listeners to remain calm and to move to a safe space . Reporters soon called to inform her that everything was OK. At least one building in the capital was damaged , but there were no reports of major damage , Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera told CNN affiliate FOROtv . The city 's secretary of civil protection , Fausto Lugo , said electricity failed in some areas and that some people reported being trapped inside elevators , but that there were no reports of injuries . Tecpan is 54 miles ( 87 kilometers ) northwest of Acapulco , where the city 's civil protection office said via Twitter that basic services were operating without reports of damage . Seated on top of three tectonic plates , Mexico is in one of the most seismically active parts of the world . On September 19 , 1985 , a magnitude-8.1 earthquake killed an estimated 9,500 people in Mexico City . What you need to know about earthquakes . Measuring the magnitude of earthquakes . The place where two earthquakes hit every hour . CNN 's Elwyn Lopez , Kurt Muller , Jason Hanna and Nelson Quinones contributed to this report .
`` There was no way not to feel it , '' a villager says . The quake was centered an hour and a half northwest of Acapulco . The quake was a shallow 15 miles at the epicenter , the U.S. Geological Survey says . A building was damaged in Mexico City , 170 miles from quake 's epicenter .