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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | July 2007 
Strong Quake Hits Southern Mexico
 Agence France Presse
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| | Map locating the epicentre of a 6.1-magnitude quake that hit southern Mexico Thursday, according to the US Geological Survey. (AFP/Graphic) |
Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico - A strong earthquake shook southernmost Mexico late Thursday, knocking out power to large parts of Chiapas state and causing panic among residents, according to seismologists.
People rushed from their homes in fear in several areas of southern Mexico, but no injuries were reported and Chiapas public security secretary Daniel Rogue told AFP that there was only "light damage to some buildings" in the state.
In Tuxtla Gutierrez, the state capital, power went off, ceilings fell and windows broke in the commercial district, where dozens of people fled terrified into the street in search of safety.
Electricity services also shut down in Oaxaca, according to reports.
Seismologists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico said it was a 6.2 quake and the US Geological Survey measured the quake at 6.1 in magnitude, indicating a strong earthquake apt to cause damage and injuries.
The magnitude reading was based on the Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released.
The quake hit at 8:09 pm Thursday (0109 GMT Friday), at a depth of 125 kilometers (78 miles) 40 kilometers (25 miles) west and southwest of Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico and 390 kilometers (240 miles) northwest of Guatemala City.
Jesus Duran, a spokesman for the state oil company Pemex, told Reforma newspaper there was no damage reported at the company's refinery in Salina Cruz.
"All of the plants are normal .... there are no problems," he said.
Authorities in three states ordered evacuations of buildings and businesses.
On April 13, a quake of 6.2 magnitude hit Mexico without causing major damage. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the southern state of Guerrero near the Pacific coast. |
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