Mexico struck by another earthquake
Magnitude 6.1 temblor hits nation still reeling from two previous quakes
MEXICO CITY— A strong new earthquake shook Mexico on Saturday, killing at least one person, toppling already damaged homes and a highway bridge, and causing new alarm in a country reeling from two even more powerful quakes that together have killed more than 400 people.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the new, magnitude 6.1 temblor was centred about 18 kilometres 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.
The temblor 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 96 people.
The government of Oaxaca state reported that some homes collapsed and one woman died under a wall in her house in Asuncion Ixtaltepec.
Four people were injured in Juchitan and three in Tlacotepec, but none of their lives were in danger. Another person suffered a broken clavicle in the town of Xadani.
Three hotels and two churches were damaged and a highway bridge collapsed. The Federal Police agency said the bridge was already closed because of damage after the Sept. 7 quake.
Bettina Cruz, a resident of Juchitan, Oaxaca, said by phone, 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 when the shaking began, she was riding in a truck carrying supplies to victims of the earlier quake.
Nataniel Hernandez said by phone from Tonala, in the southern state of Chiapas, which was also hit hard by the earlier quake, that it was one of the strongest aftershocks he has felt.
“Since Sept. 7 it has not stopped shaking,” Hernandez said.
U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Paul Caruso said the new temblor was an aftershock of the 8.1 quake. After a jolt of that size, even buildings left standing can be more vulnerable.
“So a smaller earthquake can cause the damaged buildings to fail,” Caruso said.
Jaime Hernandez, director of the Federal Electrical Commission, said the quake knocked out power to 327,000 homes and businesses in Oaxaca but service had been restored to 72 per cent of customers within a few hours.
Buildings swayed in Mexico City, where nerves are still raw from Tuesday’s magnitude 7.1 temblor.