Shortly after 1:00 p.m. local time, the 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck near the coast in the border area of Michoacán and Colima states at a depth of about 15 kilometers, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said there were no immediate reports of damage in the capital after the quakes, which hit Mexico on the same day as major quakes that hit the country in 1985 and 2017. “It’s that date, there’s something about the 19th,” said Ernesto Lanzetta, a business owner in the city’s Cuautemoc district. “The 19th is a day to fear.” Power was cut in parts of the capital’s central Roma area, hundreds of kilometers northeast of the epicenter. Local residents carrying pets stood in the street, while tourists visiting a local market with a local guide were visibly confused and upset. Traffic lights stopped working and people clutched their phones, sending text messages or waiting for calls to go through. Thousands of people were killed in the September 19, 1985 earthquake and more than 350 died in the September 19, 2017 earthquake. The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for parts of the Mexican coast, saying waves reaching one to three meters above the high tide level were possible. Alerts for the new quake came less than an hour after earthquake alarms were sounded in a national earthquake simulation.
