Massive 7.7 Magnitude Quake Hits Mexico, 1 Dead
Mexico City, Sep 20: A massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake jolted west-central Mexico on a day when the country marked the anniversary of two major temblors that struck in 1985 and 2017.
One person was killed when a wall collapsed at a shopping centre in Manzanillo, a beach resort in western Colima state, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday evening, after receiving a report from the Naval Ministry.
The President was in contact with governors of states most affected by the quake that hit at 1.05 p.m. on Monday, notably Colima and Michoacan, though parts of the capital Mexico City also felt the tremor, reports Xinhua news agency.
According to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), 1.2 million people were left without power in Mexico City, the neighbouring State of Mexico, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco.
But electricity had already been restored to 68 per cent of those affected since.
The National Seismological Service (SSN) originally reported the quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4, but two hours later it was updated to 7.7.
According to the SSN, the epicentre was located 63 km south of Coalcoman, in Michoacan, with a depth of 15 km.
By 3.20 p.m., the seismological service had registered 168 aftershocks with the largest magnitude of 5.3.
The earthquake occurred shortly after an annual nationwide earthquake drill commemorating the devastating 1985 earthquake that claimed some 5,000 lives and toppled buildings throughout downtown Mexico City.
It was also a repeat of the temblor in 2017, when a strong quake hit just minutes after a scheduled drill, killing more than 350 people.
Millions of Mexicans across the country participated in the drills, evacuating high-rises in an orderly manner.
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said it a tweet that “fortunately there was no major damage” in the capital following Monday’s quake.
