MEXICO CITY, Sep 20(ABC): A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck western Mexico on Monday on the anniversary of two devastating temblors, killing at least two people, damaging buildings, knocking out power and sending residents of Mexico City scrambling outside for safety.
Two died in the Pacific port of Manzanillo, authorities said, one 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.
Authorities also reported damage to several hospitals in the western state of Michoacan near the epicenter, which was in a sparsely populated part of Mexico. One person was injured by falling glass at one of the hospitals, the government said.
The quake hit shortly after 1pm (1800 GMT) near Mexico’s west coast and close to Michoacan’s border with the state of Colima – where major port Manzanillo is located, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
It was relatively shallow, at only 15 km (9 miles) deep, which would have amplified its impact.
The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for coastal areas, saying waves reaching 1 to 3 meters (3 to 9 feet) above the tide level were possible.
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said there were no immediate reports of major damage in the capital after the quake struck, which rumbled through Mexico on the same day as destructive earthquakes battered the country in 1985 and 2017.
“It seems like a curse,” Isa Montes, a 34-year-old graphic designer in the city’s central Roma neighborhood, said of the quake’s timing as helicopters flew overhead, surveying the city.