A strong 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit southern Mexico on Tuesday, damaging some 800 homes near the epicentre and swaying tall buildings and spreading fear and panic hundreds of miles away in the capital of Mexico City. One of the strongest to shake Mexico since the deadly 1985 temblor that killed thousands in Mexico City, Tuesday's earthquake hit hardest in border area of southern Oaxaca and Guerrero states. In Guerrero, some 800 homes had been damaged, with another 60 having collapsed.
“It was very strong, very substantial,” said an official in Ometepec, about 25 km from the epicentre.
Guerrero Governor Angel Aguirre was headed there to survey the damage and ordered emergency crews and civil protection to the area to help with the damage. The state did not say how many were displaced.
In Mexico City, frightened workers and residents poured into the streets of the capital. Telephone service was down in the city and throughout the area where the quake was felt and some neighbourhoods were without power, according to Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, who set up a hotline for people to report damage. A pedestrian bridge collapsed on an empty transit bus. Mexico City, built on a lake bed, was badly damaged in 1985 when an 8.1 earthquake killed at least 10,000 people. In past years, Guerrero has suffered several severe earthquakes, including a 7.9 in 1957 which killed an estimated 68 people, and a 7.4 in 1995 which left three dead.
Tuesday's quake was the strongest shaking felt in the capital since a magnitude-6.5 earthquake struck also in Guerrero in December. Officials said at least three people died in Guerrero, but there were no reports of widespread damage.
In Huajuapan, Guerrero, near the epicentre, a hotel manager also reported shaken-up guests but no major damage. He said it was longest and strongest he ever felt. People ran out of their homes and cars.
There were reports of damaged buildings but none collapsed on the Oaxaca side of the border, said an official. Authorities believed that the absence of tall buildings in the area is one reason.
