Mexico earthquake latest: Colima volcano threat debunked as country reels from aftershocks of Michoacán quake
Monday’s powerful quake occurred on the anniversary of two previous disasters that killed thousands of people in 1985 and 2017
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Your support makes all the difference.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.
Videos emerge of shaking and destruction after 7.6 magnitude earthquake hits Mexico
Scientists say three earthquakes on same date years apart is ‘coincidence’
Mexico's earthquake coincidence drives anxiety for many- Mexican authorities deny Colima volcano threat after earthquake: ‘Do not listen to rumors’
‘The roof boomed and fell to the ground'
A resident of Michoacán state has described the impact of the earthquake on areas close to its epicentre.
Carla Cárdenas, from the town of Coalcomán, told The Associated Press that she had run out of her family's hotel when the rumbling began and waited in the street with their neighbours.
"In the hotel, the roof of the parking area boomed and fell to the ground, and there are cracks in the walls on the second floor," she said.
She added that the damage to her town's hospital was more serious, but that she had not yet heard of anyone being injured.
Landslides, power cuts, and 'nervous breakdowns'
We're now seeing more detailed reports of how the earthquake impacted various regions of Mexico.
The country’s National Seismological Service said there had been 314 aftershocks as of late afternoon, the largest of which was a 5.3 magnitude tremor with its epicentre in Colima.
In that state, doctors and nurses took their patients out into the streets on stretchers in case their hospitals became unsafe, while drivers reported landslides on highways that impeded traffic.
Authorities in Mexico City said they had received more than 102 emergency calls, many of which involved "nervous breakdowns". Others were related to the power outages that affected several states.
A bridge in Mexico state showed cracks and had to be closed. The Chamber of Deputies suspended all sessions, as did the Mexico City court system.
Nothing special about 19 September, say experts
The fact that three different earthquakes have all hit Mexico on 19 September is nothing more than random chance, according seismologists.
"This is a coincidence," Paul Earle of the US Geological Survey (USGS) told The Associated Press. "There's no physical reason or statistical bias toward earthquakes in any given month in Mexico...
"We knew we'd get this question as soon as it happened. Sometimes there are just coincidences."
José Luis Mateos, a physicist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), told AS Mexico that the probability of three quakes happening on the same day in the same nation is 1 in 133,225.
Tsunami threat has 'passed', say authorities
The tsunami warning which was issued immediately after the earthquake off the coast of Michoacán state has been revised.
According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, the tsunami threat has “largely passed”.
Earlier, waves reaching up to 3 metres were earlier predicted to hit Mexico and along the coast of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala among other countries, but recent readings have shown a relative decrease in wave heights.
“Minor sea level fluctuations of up to 0.3 metres above and below the normal tide may continue over the next few hours,” it said.
Video shows hotel room ceiling fan shaking during earthquake
A video shared on Twitter showed a ceiling fan violently shaking in a hotel room in Puerto Vallarta when the 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Michoacán state in Mexico.
According to local reports, several hotels in the resort town suffered damage, with cracks emerging on ceilings and windows.
Earthquake affects power supply to 1.2 million users
Nearly 1.2 million users were left without electricity after the powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico on Monday.
According to the federal electricity commission, until 3.30pm local time the reinstallation of power supply was achieved for 68 per cent of the affected users.
Another eerie coincidence
This earthquake happened less than an hour after Mexico's annual nationwide earthquake drill, which was introduced in 1985 after the devastating quake in Mexico City.
Across the country, about 14,000 loudspeakers issued a fake warning in order to test people's responses, with millions of civilians evacuating their homes, schools, and workplaces.
Church in Michoacán damaged in powerful quake
The church of San Miguel Arcángel in Michoacán was damaged after a powerful earthquake struck Mexico on Monday.
A video captured by locals showed debris falling out of a hole from the church building that was caused by the jolt. Cracks were also spotted on one of the bell towers of the church.
Death toll rises to two
Two people were killed in the Pacific port of Manzanillo in the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that jolted Mexico yesterday, authorities said.
One of the victims died after being crushed by the facade of a department store while another was found dead at a mall.
Videos on social media showed the roof of the mall collapsed into the top floor, a gym, as people yelled for help.
Twenty hospitals damaged in Michoacán
At least 20 hospitals in the state of Michoacán have suffered structural damage from the earthquake, local authorities say.
According to Mexico AS, the state health ministry reported that medical facilities in Uruapan, Apatzingán, Pátzcuaro, and many other towns had been hit by the tremor, along with churches and a technical college in Coalcomán.
A video posted on Twitter showed products strewn across the floor in aisle after aisle of a Michoacán supermarket. Neighbouring Jalisco state also reported damage to religious buildings.
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