Dozens dead in Mexico earthquake
- 7 years ago
Mexico’s most powerful earthquake in over 80 years has killed at least 34 people and left devastation in its wake.
Homes, businesses and government buildings have been destroyed, mass evacuations have taken place and alerts triggered as far away as Southeast Asia.
The 8.1 magnitude tremor struck off the southern coast late on Thursday, hitting the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca particularly hard. Rescue workers laboured tirelessly through the night in the worst-hit areas, searching for people who could be trapped in collapsed buildings.
While stronger than the 1985 quake that flattened huge areas of Mexico City, this time the damage in the capital was limited.
Nevertheless, residents the country over are being asked to remain on high alert.
“We have asked the population to be on alert by checking the media or taking note of any information sent by civil protection,” President Enrique Peña Nieto advised.
The epicentre was in the Pacific, the US Geological Society said, and tsunami warnings were issued in both South America and the Philippines.
Homes, businesses and government buildings have been destroyed, mass evacuations have taken place and alerts triggered as far away as Southeast Asia.
The 8.1 magnitude tremor struck off the southern coast late on Thursday, hitting the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca particularly hard. Rescue workers laboured tirelessly through the night in the worst-hit areas, searching for people who could be trapped in collapsed buildings.
While stronger than the 1985 quake that flattened huge areas of Mexico City, this time the damage in the capital was limited.
Nevertheless, residents the country over are being asked to remain on high alert.
“We have asked the population to be on alert by checking the media or taking note of any information sent by civil protection,” President Enrique Peña Nieto advised.
The epicentre was in the Pacific, the US Geological Society said, and tsunami warnings were issued in both South America and the Philippines.