7.5 magnitude earthquake hits Mexico’s pacific coast
An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 struck the Michoacán region in Mexico on Tuesday, a day after two people were killed in another powerful quake.
Monday’s earthquake, measured at a magnitude of 7.6, struck on the anniversary of two previous earthquakes that caused enormous damage and killed hundreds or thousands of people in 1985 and 2017.
One of the victims died after being crushed by the facade of a department store in the Pacific port of Manzanillo, while another was found dead at a mall.
The tremor passed without that level of tragedy, despite heightened nerves from a nationwide annual earthquake drill that occurred less than an hour before.
The tsunami alert, which was issued immediately after the quake, was revised later in the day.
Authorities said the tsunami threat has “largely passed”, with minor sea fluctuations of up to 0.3 metres above and below the normal tide to continue for the next few hours.
VIDEO: Southern California man in Mexico feels massive earthquake
Southern California man in Mexico feels massive earthquake
Gustaf Kilander20 September 2022 17:30
Drill commemorating previous quakes confuses Mexico City residents when real quake hits
Some Mexico City residents were confused when the seismic alert sounded almost two minutes before the quake struck because the alarm had been heard earlier on Monday during a practice exercise in commemoration of the previous quakes that had taken place on the same date in previous years, Reuters noted.
Part of the Roma neighbourhood in Mexico City lost power as a result of the quake – 250 miles (400km) from the epicentre.
As many as 1.2 million users were struck by the outage, according to the national power utility.
Gustaf Kilander20 September 2022 17:02
WATCH: Deadly earthquake rattles Mexico’s Pacific Coast
Deadly earthquake rattles Mexico’s Pacific Coast
Gustaf Kilander20 September 2022 16:35
One of Mexico’s top universities attributes three earthquakes on same date to coincidence
The National Autonomous University of Mexico, one of the top universities in the country, announced that there was no scientific explanation for the three earthquakes taking place on the same date – 19 September – in 1985, 2017, and 2022.
The university said it was a coincidence, according to Reuters.
Gustaf Kilander20 September 2022 16:10
PHOTOS: Mexico City residents gather in the streets after quake felt in capital
Gustaf Kilander20 September 2022 15:45
Earthquake amplified by shallow depth
The earthquake may have been amplified by its shallow depth as it struck on Monday just nine miles (15km) below the surface.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center sent out an alert to areas along the coastline, noting that waves could reach between one and three metres (three to nine feet) over tide levels.
The mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, said there were no early reports of significant damage in the capital, Reuters reported.
Gustaf Kilander20 September 2022 15:15
Multiple hospitals damaged in Michoacan, person injured by falling glass
The Mexican authorities reported that numerous hospitals in Michoacan, a state in the west of the country, were damaged in Monday’s earthquake.
The government announced that one person was injured by falling glass at one of the hospitals, according to Reuters.
The earthquake struck not long after 1pm local time on Monday, close to the west coast and the border between the states of Michoacan and Colima, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).
Gustaf Kilander20 September 2022 14:50
PHOTOS: Rescue workers attend to the injured, and patients forced out of hospital by quake
Gustaf Kilander20 September 2022 14:25
‘The 19th is a day to be feared’
Thousands died in the earthquake on 19 September 1985. More than 350 were killed on the same date in 2017. On September 19, 2022, Western Mexico was yet again hit by an earthquake, killing at least two people.
“It seems like a curse,” Isa Montes, 34, told Reuters.
“It’s this date. There’s something about the 19th,” business owner Ernesto Lanzetta told the news agency. “The 19th is a day to be feared.”
Gustaf Kilander20 September 2022 14:00
VIDEO: Mexican president shares update after magnitude 7.7 earthquake near Coalcoman
The Mexican president shared an update after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck south of Coalcoman on Monday, 19 September.
Speaking in a video message shared on Twitter, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said officials were “starting to gather information” and “wish with all our hearts that nothing serious has happened.”
Mexican president shares first update after magnitude 7.7 earthquake near Coalcoman
Mexico’s seismological organisation confirmed the earthquake occurred at 1:05 pm local time, around 65 kilometres south of Coalcoman.
At least 168 aftershocks were sent through the region in the aftermath of the earthquake, according to officials.
Mary-Kate Findon20 September 2022 13:30