A massive earthquake has shaken the central Pacific coast of Mexico. The US agency USGS gave the strength at 7.6 and the Mexican Seismological Institute at 7.7. The center of the earthquake was therefore southeast of the city of Aquila in the state of Michoacán on the Mexican Pacific coast.
One person was killed by falling parts in the port city of Manzanillo in the state of Colima, the Mexican government said. Another person was injured by glass in a hospital in Michoacán. Millions of people in the country of 126 million people felt the earthquake. Many gathered in the open air.
September 19 is a sad date in Mexico. On this day 37 years ago, an earthquake struck Mexico City, killing thousands of people. On September 19, 2017, the ground shook again in Mexico – 369 people died, 228 of them in Mexico City.
Hundreds of aftershocks
In the hours following Monday’s quake, there were more than 200 aftershocks, the most severe measuring 5.3. The US weather agency NOAA issued a tsunami warning. Dangerous tsunami waves are possible. The Mexican civil defense also warned of a tsunami, but put it into perspective that a significant rise in sea level was not expected.
There was damage to homes and some power outages. Engineers and technical teams in the most affected areas, the states of Colima and Michoacán, are examining the detailed condition of buildings and infrastructure, the Mexican government said. According to the Mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, no serious damage was initially reported there.
Media such as the broadcaster Televisa and the newspaper “El Universal” reported damage elsewhere. A hospital in the Maruata community of Michoacán was badly damaged and patients were evacuated. School classes were initially suspended in several states in the afternoon.
Earthquake alert in Mexico City
An earthquake alarm was triggered in Mexico City – shortly after a civil protection exercise had taken place nationwide in the afternoon on the anniversary of the severe earthquake of 2017, as the newspaper “El Universal” further reported.
The entire west coast of South, Central and North America lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire. This is the most geologically active region in the world. 90 percent of all earthquakes worldwide occur there. “The coincidence of the September 19 earthquakes deserves to open new lines of scientific research,” the National Autonomous University of Mexico tweeted. This must be done with seriousness and methodology.
