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.
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’
VIDEO: Earthquake rocks house
Videos emerge of shaking and destruction after 7.6 magnitude earthquake hits Mexico
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.
On Monday a 7.6 earthquake hit the central coast of Mexico just a half an hour after the nation concluded its annual earthquake drill. Major earthquakes that killed hundreds and thousands hit on the same date in 2017 and 1985, respectively.
On Twitter, a user going by the name Jon posted a video from a hotel room in Puerto Vallarta, about 400km north of the earthquake’s epicentre.
The clip shows his room shaking and a fan swinging wildly from the ceiling.
“Earthquake hit off the coast of Mexico and our hotel room in Puerto Vallarta shook hard,” he wrote in a Twitter post alongside the video.
Read 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
Video shows truck rocking back and forth as quake strikes
Residents hold their pets in the street as earthquake felt in Mexico City neighbourhood
Residents in the Mexico City Roma neighbourhood entered the streets holding their pets and tourists guided through a local market were notably confused and upset as the earthquake was felt in the city on Monday.
Reuters reported that the traffic lights stopped working and people held onto their phones, trying to get through to others via texts and calls.
Bookshop owner Clara Ferri told the news agency that she urged a customer to leave the store when she noticed the windows shaking. After 16 years in the area, she said she was attuned to the sounds of an incoming quake.
“It was like the dentist’s drill for me,” she told Reuters.
As the rumbles became louder, Ms Ferri and her neighbours gathered at an intersection, seeing the eight-story building which holds her store swaying.
When she got back, more than a thousand books were on the floor as shelves had fallen over.
The pavement was closed off as it was covered in masonry from the building’s facade. Residents left with suitcases and pets, trying to find somewhere else to sleep that night.
Scientists say three earthquakes on same date years apart is ‘coincidence’
Scientists say three earthquakes on same date years apart is ‘coincidence’
Scientists have said that three earthquakes occurring on the same date in Mexico years and decades apart is a coincidence.
The alerts for Monday’s incoming earthquake came within the hour of the warning systems being used in a drill to commemorate the previous earthquakes on 19 September in 1985 and 2017.
In 1985, an 8.0 quake struck near the coast of the state of Guerrero, killing at least 9,500 people, according to the Associated Press. In 2017, more than 360 people died in a 7.1 earthquake and on Monday, 19 September 2022, a quake killed at least two people.
US Geological Survey seismologist Paul Earle told the AP that “this is a coincidence”.
“There’s no physical reason or statistical bias toward earthquakes in any given month in Mexico,” he added.
Photos show people gathering outside following Monday’s earthquake
VIDEO: Mexican dogs graduate from rescue school, ready for future earthquakes
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