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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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.
ICYMI: Videos show shaking and destruction in western Mexico
Videos on social media showed Monday’s earthquake rocking trucks back and forth, shaking hotel rooms, and scattering ceiling tiles across the floor in office buildings, my colleague Graig Graziosi reports.
Read his full story to get a sense of how the quake affected everyday Mexicans.
After quake, Mexico city warned of Popocatépetl volcano ashfall
Authorities in Mexico City on Monday warned of ash fall from the Popocatépetl volcano, which erupted twice on 9 September.
According to reports, people have been advised to not engage in outdoor activities and keep pets inside the house.
Videos emerge of shaking and destruction after earthquake
Tourists and locals captured video of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck the central coast of Mexico, sharing scenes of rattling rooms and even teetering pickup trucks.
In a video shared by Diario de Morelos, a publication covering the region near the earthquake’s epicentre, a pair of trucks can be seen shaking violently as seismic activity rocks the region.
John-Carlos Estrada, a journalist at CBS Austin, shared several videos of the quake from people on the ground in Mexico. In one video street signs in Mexico City can be seen swaying due to the earthquake. Mexico City is about 485km (302 miles) from the earthquake’s epicentre.
Graig Graziosi has more.
Videos emerge of shaking and destruction after 7.6 magnitude earthquake hits Mexico
The quake, which occurred on the same date as two other major Mexican earthquakes, set off a wave of tsunami alerts around the Pacific
Another earthquake strikes Mexico
An earthquake of magnitude 5.8 struck the Michoacán region in Mexico on Tuesday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said.
The quake was at a depth of 93 km.
Video shows glass falling from building during earthquake
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.”
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.
‘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.”
PHOTOS: Rescue workers attend to the injured, and patients forced out of hospital by quake
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).
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.
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