A strong
earthquake shook southern and central Mexico Friday, causing panic less than
six months after two devastating quakes that killed hundreds of people.
No buildings
collapsed, according to early reports. But two towns near the epicenter, in the
southern state of Oaxaca, reported damage and state authorities said they had
opened emergency shelters.
Later in the
day, a helicopter en route to the scene carrying the country’s interior
minister and the governor of Oaxaca crash landed, killing two people on the
ground even as the passengers survived.
Both
Mexico’s National Seismological Service and the US Geological Survey put the
quake’s magnitude at 7.2.
It triggered
Mexico City’s alarm system and caused buildings to sway in the capital. It was
also felt in the states of Guerrero, Puebla and Michoacan.
Panicked
residents flooded into the streets, fearing a repeat of the two quakes last
September, which caused buildings to collapse and killed a total of 465 people.
“To be
honest, we’re all pretty upset. We start crying whenever the (earthquake) alarm
goes off,” 38-year-old publicist Kevin Valladolid told AFP through tears after
evacuating from his building in La Roma, in central Mexico City.
“We’re
stressed out, we have flashbacks. So we run out into the street. It’s all we
can do.”
On the north
side of the city, Julia Hernandez said she felt like she was “in a boat” as the
ground swayed beneath her feet.
“Is it ever
going to stop?” she said.
Standing in
the middle of the street, her eyes glued to her fifth-floor apartment, Graciela
Escalante, 72, could hardly speak.
“It was
terribly strong. We barely managed to get down the stairs. It was the longest
staircase in the world,” she told AFP.
“We thought
everything was going to collapse again.”
– ‘People
are afraid’ –
Officials in
affected states said they were inspecting buildings damaged by last year’s
quakes, which are especially vulnerable to collapse.
“Obviously
people are afraid,” said the emergency response chief for the city of Puebla,
Gustavo Ariza.
President
Enrique Pena Nieto tweeted that the National Emergency Committee had been
activated because of the magnitude of the quake.
Emergency
management authorities said there were no reports of major damage so far.
In Oaxaca,
where the epicenter was located, authorities reported some structural damage to
buildings in two towns, Pinotepa Nacional and Santiago Jamiltepec.
“Shelters
have already been opened for those affected,” the state government said on
Twitter.
Mexico City
Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera reported “very minor” damage in the capital.
That
included reports of a wall that collapsed in the upscale Condesa neighborhood,
which was hit hard by last year’s quakes.
A nearby
hospital evacuated patients into the street, some in wheelchairs or carting
their IV lines. Similar scenes played out in Veracruz.
Despite the
scare, the only reported casualties came from the helicopter accident.
Interior
Minister Alfonso Navarrete told the Televisa network the pilot of the military
helicopter lost control of the aircraft at a height of about 40 meters (130
feet) as it was coming in to land. He added that some passengers were hurt.
– Seismic
hotbed –
The quake
struck at a relatively deep 24.7 kilometers, said the US Geological Survey,
which put the epicenter 37 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of Pinotepa de Don
Luis, in Oaxaca.
A
5.9-magnitude aftershock hit nearly an hour later.
The latest
tremor comes less than six months after last year’s devastating earthquakes in
central and southern Mexico.
On September
7 last year, an 8.2-magnitude earthquake shook the nation and killed 96 people,
mostly in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas.
Then on
September 19 — the 32nd anniversary of a huge 1985 quake that killed 10,000
people — a 7.1-magnitude quake rocked the country, leaving 369 people dead.
Mexico sits
at a spot where five tectonic plates come together, making it particularly
vulnerable to earthquakes.
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