Powerful earthquake struck the Pacific Coast of Mexico, resulting in the death of at least five people
Worried residents were sent fleeing into the streets by a quake that had a preliminary magnitude of 8.1, according to the United States Geological Survey. It struck about 60 miles southwest of Pijijiapan, off the coast of Chiapas State, near the border with Guatemala.
The powerful quake was felt in Mexico City, which is more than 450 miles from the epicentre.
The alarm in Mexico City was turned on, which immediately sent people running into the streets, many of them in their nightclothes. Shaking trees and buildings were everything that residents could see, installing a state of panic and fear.
Zhaira Franco, aged 35, works for Facebook in social programming and said that she heard an alarm 30 seconds before the earthquake hit her building in Mexico City. She mentioned that the building shook so much that it hit the adjacent building.
Moreover, the quake also rocked the city’s landmark Angel of Independence monument, which was a shocking image to see.
At Mexico City’s main airport, a glass door shattered and there were plenty of reports of tumbling walls. To assess damage, helicopters flew over the city; however, there were no immediate reports of casualties.
After about an hour from the initial quake, five aftershocks with a magnitude of 4.9 hit. More than that, a tsunami with the largest wave measuring less than four feet was recorded on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
Chiapas’ governor, Manuel Velaso said that two women had been killed due to collapsing houses.
Source: nytimes.com
