A rare and powerful 8.2-magnitude earthquake struck southern Mexico late Thursday, killing at least five people as seismologists warned of a tsunami of more than 10 feet.

The quake, which struck at 23:50 local time on Thursday (04:50 GMT Friday), was felt in Mexico City, with buildings swaying and people running into the street. The tremors there, about 1,000km from the epicentre, were reported to have lasted up to a minute.

Mexico’s president, Peña Nieto, said some 50 million Mexicans would have felt the tremor and that the death toll might rise.

The president said he had asked for updates from the National Disaster Prevention Centre, and the authorities were monitoring the situation and would meet immediately to coordinate their response to the quake.

The full extent of the damage from this quake will only be known with the arrival of dawn, about 9 p.m. AEST.

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