At least two people have been killed by a powerful earthquake off the coast of Michoacán state in Mexico. The 7.6-magnitude quake struck on the exact same day as two previous quakes that caused massive damage and killed hundreds or thousands of people in 1985 and 2017. One of the victims died on Monday after being crushed by the facade of a department store in the Pacific port of Manzanillo, while another was found dead in a shopping mall. The earthquake passed without this level of tragedy, despite heightened nerves from an annual nationwide earthquake drill that occurred less than an hour earlier. The tsunami warning, which was issued immediately after the earthquake, was revised later in the day. Authorities said the tsunami threat had “largely passed”, with small sea fluctuations of up to 0.3 meters above and below normal high tide expected to continue for the next few hours.
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After earthquake, Mexico City warned of ash fall at Popocatépetl volcano
Authorities in Mexico City warned Monday of falling ash from the Popocatépetl volcano, which erupted twice on September 9. According to reports, people have been advised not to engage in outdoor activities and to keep pets indoors. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar20 September 2022 09:15 1663658040
ICYMI: Videos show tremors and destruction in western Mexico
Videos on social media showed Monday’s quake rocking trucks, shaking hotel rooms and scattering roof tiles to the floor in office buildings, my colleague Graig Graziosi reports. Read his full story to understand how the earthquake affected everyday Mexicans. Io Dodds20 September 2022 08:14 1663653804
Twenty hospitals were damaged in Michoacán
At least 20 hospitals in the state of Michoacán suffered structural damage from the earthquake, local authorities said. According to Mexico AS, the state health ministry reported that medical facilities in Uruapan, Apatzingán, Pátzcuaro and several other towns were affected by the earthquake, along with churches and a technical college in Coalcomán. A video posted on Twitter showed products strewn across the floor in aisle after aisle of a supermarket in Michoacán. The neighboring state of Jalisco also reported damage to religious buildings. Io Dodds20 September 2022 07:03 1663653763
The death toll is two
Two people were killed in the Pacific port of Manzanillo in the wake of a powerful earthquake that struck Mexico yesterday, authorities said. One of the victims died after being crushed by the facade of a department store while another was found dead in a shopping mall. Videos on social media showed the roof of the mall collapsing on the top floor, a gym, as people screamed for help. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar20 September 2022 07:02 1663652441
Church in Michoacán was damaged by a strong earthquake
The church of San Miguel Arcángel in Michoacán was damaged after a strong earthquake hit Mexico on Monday. A video recorded by locals showed debris falling from a hole in the church building caused by the tremor. Cracks were also found in one of the bell towers of the church. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar20 September 2022 06:40 1663650024
Another eerie coincidence
This earthquake occurred less than an hour after Mexico’s annual national earthquake drill, which was introduced in 1985 after the devastating earthquake in Mexico City. Across the country, around 14,000 loudspeakers issued a false warning to test people’s reactions, with millions of citizens evacuating their homes, schools and workplaces. Io Dodds20 September 2022 06:00 1663649014
The earthquake affects power supply to 1.2 million users
Nearly 1.2 million users were left without power after a powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico on Monday. According to the Federal Electricity Commission, by 3:30 p.m. local time power had been restored to 68 percent of affected users. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar20 September 2022 05:43 1663647255
The video shows the hotel room’s ceiling fan shaking during the earthquake
A video shared on Twitter shows a ceiling fan shaking violently in a hotel room in Puerto Vallarta after the 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Michoacán state in Mexico. According to local reports, several hotels in the resort town were damaged, with cracks appearing in ceilings and windows. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar20 September 2022 05:14 1663645889
Tsunami threat ‘passed’, authorities say
The tsunami warning issued immediately after the earthquake off the coast of Michoacán has been revised. According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the tsunami threat has “largely passed.” Earlier, waves of up to 3 meters were predicted to hit Mexico and along the coasts of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador and Guatemala among other countries, but recent measurements showed a relative reduction in wave heights. “Minor sea level fluctuations of up to 0.3 meters above and below normal high tide may continue in the coming hours,” it said. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar20 September 2022 04:51 1663645764
Nothing special about September 19, experts say
The fact that three different earthquakes all hit Mexico on September 19 is nothing more than a coincidence, according to seismologists. “This is a coincidence,” Paul Earle of the US Geological Survey (USGS) told The Associated Press. “There is no natural reason or statistical bias for earthquakes every month in Mexico… “We knew we were going to get this question as soon as it happened. Sometimes there are just coincidences.” José Luis Mateos, a physicist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), told AS Mexico that the probability of three earthquakes occurring on the same day in the same nation is 1 in 133,225. Globally, the USGS says there is no specific season for earthquakes and there is no such thing as “earthquake weather,” although one study found a correlation between earthquakes and the monsoon season in Taiwan specifically. Alisha Rahaman Sarkar20 September 2022 04:49
