A powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck southern Mexico's Pacific coast on Tuesday, killing at least four people and cutting off isolated villages, and causing tremors hundreds of miles away in the country's capital Mexico City.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake hit at 10:29 a.m. local time and registered the epicenter as the state of Oaxaca on the country's Pacific coast, with a depth of 26.25 kilometers.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said hazardous waves as high as three meters could strike anywhere within 1,000 km of the quake's epicenter, from 1616 GMT.

The dead included a worker from state oil company Pemex, who suffered a bad fall, Mexico's civil protection agency said. 

Two people were injured and more than 30 buildings in the capital suffered damage, officials said. 

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that key infrastructure, such as oil and electricity production centers, were not affected.

According to the National Civil Protection Coordination, the quake was felt across seven states. Buildings in Mexico City shook strongly and people ran out into the streets when an early warning seismic alarm sounded.  

Earthquakes of such size can have a devastating impact. A magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck central Mexico in 2017 killed 355 people in the capital and the surrounding states.

Situated at the intersection of three tectonic plates, Mexico is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. The capital is seen as particularly vulnerable due to its location on top of an ancient lake bed.