New earthquake, magnitude 6.1, shakes jittery Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A strong new earthquake shook Mexico on Saturday, toppling already damaged homes and a highway bridge and causing new alarm in a country reeling from two even more powerful quakes this month that together have killed nearly 400 people. The U.S. Geological Survey said the new, magnitude 6.1 temblor was centered about 11 miles (18 kilometers) south-southeast of Matias Romero in the state of Oaxaca, which was the region most battered by a magnitude 8.1 quake on Sept. 7. It was among thousands of aftershocks recorded in the wake of that earlier quake, which was the most powerful to hit Mexico in 32 years and killed at least 90 people. There were some early reports of damage in Oaxaca. The Federal Police agency posted images online showing a collapsed bridge that it said had already been closed due to damage after the Sept. 7 quake. Bettina Cruz, a resident of Juchitan, Oaxaca, said by phone with her voice still shaking that the new quake felt "horrible." "Homes that were still standing just fell down," Cruz said. "It's hard. We are all in the streets." Cruz belongs to a social collective and said that when the new shaking began, she was riding in a truck carrying supplies to victims of the earlier quake.

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Magnitude 8 1 Earthquake Strikes Southern Mexico and Central and Guatemala

Mexico has suffered its strongest earthquake in a century, leaving at least six people dead, sparking mass evacuations and prompting warnings of tsunamis across the region. The magnitude 8.2 quake occurred 165km west of the state of Chiapas just before midnight on Thursday local time. Initial waves 1m over tide level were recorded at the Mexican city of Salina Cruz by the Pacific tsunami warning centre. They predicted waves between 0.3 and 1 metres for the Cook Islands, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guatemala and Kiribati.

Continue ReadingMagnitude 8 1 Earthquake Strikes Southern Mexico and Central and Guatemala