A strong earthquake jolted Mexico on Thursday, leaving two people dead as residents rushed out into the streets of the capital in the middle of the night days after another powerful tremor, IgbereTV reports
A woman died in Mexico City after falling down some stairs and hitting her head when the quake triggered early warning alarms, while the second victim suffered a heart attack, authorities said.
The epicenter of the 6.9-magnitude earthquake was near the Pacific coast, 84 kilometers (52 miles) south of Coalcoman in the western state of Michoacan, the national seismological agency reported.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated the magnitude at 6.8.
It was the strongest of more than 1,200 aftershocks from a magnitude 7.7 quake that struck the same area on Monday, the national seismological agency said.
That tremor left two people dead in western Mexico, damaged several thousand buildings and sparked panic more than 400 kilometers away in Mexico City.
The latest quake again triggered alarms in the capital shortly after 1:00 am (0600 GMT) and caused buildings to shake and sway.
Many people quickly evacuated their homes when the alarms sounded, some still dressed in pajamas and carrying their pet dogs.
“We had a 6.9 magnitude aftershock with an epicenter in Coalcoman,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Twitter.
“It was felt in Michoacan (and the other states of) Colima, Jalisco, Guerrero and Mexico City. So far there are no reports of damage,” he added.
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said official helicopters had flown over the city and that there were no initial reports of destruction.
“So far there is no damage in the city after the earthquake,” she tweeted.
The quake hit at a depth of 12 kilometers, according to the national seismological agency, while the USGS estimated the depth at 24 kilometers, located about 410 kilometers from Mexico City.
Traumatic anniversary
Monday’s tremor came less than an hour after millions of people in Mexico City participated in emergency drills on the anniversary of two deadly earthquakes in 1985 and 2017.
