First modification: Last modification:
Mexico was shaken by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake on Monday, leaving at least one person dead. The phenomenon occurred an hour after the commemorations to remember the victims of the earthquakes of September 19, 1987 and 2017. The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned of waves of up to 3 meters on the coast Mexican Pacific.
An earthquake of magnitude 7.4 shook western and central Mexico on Monday, September 19.
The National Seismological Service (SSN) of the Aztec country indicated that the earthquake occurred at 1:05 p.m. local time.
Since then, more than 70 aftershocks were registered, until 2:00 p.m., with the largest magnitude of 7.1, according to the National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC).
Although the epicenter was located 63 kilometers south of Coalcomán, in the state of Michoacán, western Mexico, the earthquake spread to locations in southern and Pacific Mexico, such as Colima and Jalisco, and to states in the center and east of the country, such as Morelos, San Luis Potosí and Veracruz, in the Gulf of Mexico.
Initially, the SSN had reported a magnitude of 6.8, but later adjusted the figure to 7.4. For its part, the CNPC estimated the telluric movement at 7.7.
The phenomenon left one person dead in a shopping center in Manzanillo, in the Pacific.
After engaging in a telephone conversation with the Secretary of the Navy, José Rafael Ojeda, the Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, indicated that the fatality suffered a blow from a wall that fell after the movement.
For her part, the head of the Government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on her Twitter account that “so far no damage has been reported in the City.”
Even so, he called for the evacuation of several old buildings in the center of the Mexican capital, while “five condors from the Secretariat of Citizen Security of Mexico City continue to fly over” for security reasons, he said.
In addition, there were more than 40 reports of nervous breakdowns in the 911 emergency number in the capital.
Mexico had carried out a national drill an hour before the earthquake
At 12:19 p.m. this Monday, almost an hour before the earthquake occurred, the Mexican government led a national drill, which has been carried out every year since the 1985 earthquake.
Millions of civilians, in addition to more than 16,000 police officers and hundreds of official vehicles participated in the exercise. They evacuated buildings, homes, schools, and workplaces to raise awareness and prepare for future such natural disasters.
During the drill, around 14,000 loudspeakers sounded to give notice of the supposed earthquake that just minutes later became a reality, according to the capital authorities.
The earthquake alarms also sounded this Thursday two minutes before the magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurred this day, however, many people thought that it was one more component of the national drill.
Hours earlier, López Obrador had led a ceremony to remember the victims of the tremors of September 19, 1985 and 2017, considered the two most destructive in the nation’s recent history.
with EFE
Add Comment