A Haitian woman living in Tapachula experienced a severe nervous breakdown and jumped from the second floor of a building housing several foreigners after a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Chiapas on the morning of Friday, July 17, 2026.

The incident added urgency to emergency response efforts already mobilized due to the seismic activity. According to Chiapas Civil Protection authorities, the first quake occurred at 8:48 a.m., with its epicenter located 135 kilometers southwest of Ciudad Hidalgo, near the Guatemala border. Shortly after feeling the intense tremor, the woman, overwhelmed by fear, jumped from a height estimated between four and five meters in a building on Cuarta Sur street, in the Teófilo Acebo neighborhood.

Luis Demetrio Martínez López, Tapachula’s Municipal Civil Protection Secretary, explained in an interview with the Digital Platform for Alert and Integral Risk Management (SASSLA) that the building belongs to a company called Avícolas Cavazo. “The initial reports indicate that a female, apparently of Haitian nationality, jumped from a height of approximately four to five meters after feeling the strong tremor,” he said.

The woman sustained serious injuries, including a fractured right arm, facial wounds, knee and side injuries, hip pain, and a small head wound on the right side. She was promptly attended by Civil Protection personnel and paramedics before being transferred to Tapachula’s general hospital.

This distressing event highlights the vulnerability of migrant communities during natural disasters and underscores the importance of inclusive emergency preparedness and mental health support for all residents, especially those in mobility contexts.