Earthquake Strikes Mexico City on Anniversary of 2 Deadly Quakes
© CLAUDIO CRUZ/AFP via Getty Images
People remain in the street after an earthquake in Mexico City on September 19, 2022. - A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck western Mexico on Monday, shaking buildings in Mexico City on the anniversary of two major tremors in 1985 and 2017, seismologists said.
At least one person was killed in a 7.6-magnitude earthquake that struck Monday in Mexico City, Mexico, on the anniversary of seismic events in 1985 and 2017, according to Mexico News Daily.
Following the country's commemoration of past earthquakes, a seismic alert was activated. Mexico's National Seismological Service said the quake occurred at about 1:05 p.m. local time about 37 kilometers (about 23 miles) southeast of Aquila near the border of Colima and Michoacan states, according to CBS News. The earthquake had a depth of about 15 kilometers, or nine miles.
Navy Secretary Admiral José Rafael Ojeda Durán told President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that one citizen died after a shopping mall fence in Manzanillo, Colima, fell over.
Mexico City Mayor Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum tweeted that she met with government representatives from different parts of the city.
"They report to me that there is no record of incidents in the city," she said, later adding that there was "no major damage."
Obrador tweeted that he has been in communication with Sheinbaum, as well as Colima Governor Indira Vizcaíno Silva and Michoacán Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla. Bedolla told Obrador of "only material damage" in Coalcomán.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said that tsunami waves reaching up to 3 meters could hit Mexico, CNN reported, adding that initial waves had likely already occurred in coastal locations such as Manzanillo and Acapulco. They still might hit the tourist hotspot of Puerto Vallarta.
Tsunami waves less than 0.3 meters might occur along the Pacific coasts of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru, according to the center.
The earthquake's after-effects were not expected to hit Hawaii, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, which was told by the PTWC that no tsunami threat exists, as waves "have been observed closer to the epicenter."
"There are no damages or relevant news at the moment," tweeted Omar Garcia Harfuch, secretary of citizen security in Mexico City, after 2 p.m. ET. Previously, he issued a warning that the earthquake was "not a drill" but "real."
Another Twitter used posted a video from Michoacán, about 103 kilometers (about 64 miles) from Colima, showing parked cars bouncing from side to side. Dogs were seen running to find refuge.
MEXICO.
An earthquake of magnitude 7.4 occurred in the west of the state of Michoacán. The source lay at a depth of 25 km. The epicenter was located 103 km from the city of Colima. pic.twitter.com/NB4r4E3nu0
— Asif Tintoiya (@TintoiyaAsif) September 19, 2022
Reforma reported that the quake interrupted a mass that was being held in front of the Rebsamen School to commemorate victims of the 2017 earthquake.
The 1985 earthquake caused major damage in Mexico City and resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, although numbers remain disputed according to Televisa News.
While official figures reported that the 8.0-magnitude quake killed 6,000 citizens and injured 10,000, unofficial data estimated more than 10,000 dead and over 30,000 injured. More than 50,000 families lost their homes.
The Guardian reported that the 2017 earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.1, killed at least 361 people.
Newsweek reached out to Mexican officials for comment.
Update 9/19/22, 5:12 p.m. ET: This story was been updated with additional information.
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