There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from the quake, which measured 7.2 in magnitude, according to Mexico’s National Seismological Service and the US Geological Survey. Panicked residents flooded into the street, fearing a repeat of two earthquakes last September that caused buildings to collapse and killed 465 people combined. “To be honest, we’re all pretty upset. We start crying whenever the (earthquake) alarm goes off. We’re stressed out, we have flashbacks. So we run out into the street. It’s all we can do,” 38-year-old publicist Kevin Valladolid said through tears after evacuating from his building in La Roma, in central Mexico City. On the north side of the city, Julia Hernandez said she felt like she was “in a boat” as the ground swayed beneath her feet. “Is it ever going to stop?” she said. “We live in constant fear, with the memory of what happened” in previous quakes, her daughter added. Officials in affected states said they were already inspecting buildings damaged by last year’s quakes, which are especially vulnerable to collapse. “Obviously people are afraid,” said the emergency response chief for the city of Puebla, Gustavo Ariza. The latest tremor comes less than six months after last year’s devastating earthquakes in central and southern Mexico. On September 7 last year, an 8.2 earthquake shook the nation and killed 96 people, mostly in the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. Then on September 19 — the 32nd anniversary of a huge 1985 quake that killed 10,000 people… [Read full story]
A powerful 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck near Chile's eastern port of Valparaiso early on Tuesday, shaking buildings as far away as the capital Santiago, but there were no reports of significant damage and the country's main copper mines were unaffected. One elderly man died as a result of a heart attack brought on by the quake, which struck 26 miles north-northeast of Valparaiso, and 69 miles northwest of the capital Santiago, but there were no other reports of injuries. State emergency office ONEMI said a stretch of coastline was being evacuated as a precaution, but there was no tsunami alert.…... [read more]
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck southwestern Mexico Monday, sending thousands of people into the streets of the capital in fear. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Residents said the quake rocked Mexico City, causing panicked people to flee houses and buildings in many areas of the capital. Thousands of people poured into the city's main downtown boulevard, Paseo de La Reforma. The Seismological Institute of Mexico reported the earthquake was centered in the city of Pinotepa Nacional in Oaxaca and followed by at least seven aftershocks in the next two hours. Mexico's interior secretary Alejandro Poire said on…... [read more]
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued and no damage was immediately reported Rabaul was the scene of destruction in 1994 when an erupting volcano caused a large number of buildings in the town to collapse, but seismologists said it was unlikely to have suffered any major damage this time. "It would certainly have given the area a good shake but Rabaul is on the edge of our damage radius," seismologist John Bathgate from Geoscience Australia told AFP. "There's potential for some damage, but expect it to…... [read more]
At least 149 people died when a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck central Mexico on Tuesday, toppling buildings in the heavily populated capital where rescuers scoured frantically under the rubble of ruins for survivors. Paramedics wait as rescue personnel search for people in the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake hit Mexico City, Mexico September 19, 2017. Thousands ran into the streets in panic, and millions lost electricity when the quake struck around lunchtime. Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said 44 buildings were severely damaged or destroyed. Several major gas leaks and fires occurred. Interior Secretary…... [read more]
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck southwest Mexico Tuesday, damaging hundreds of houses and sending people into the streets of the capital. But there were no immediate reports of casualties. People observe the damage at a building in Mexico City after a strong quake hit Mexico. The quake struck south of the Pacific resort of Acapulco, between the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, and was followed by a nearby aftershock of 5.1, the US Geological Survey said. Initially it had estimated the magnitude at 7.9. "There are no reports of serious damage by the quake," President Felipe Calderon wrote on…... [read more]