Third earthquake rocks Mexico

Fear grips residents of battered city as 6.1 magnitude temblor hits

MEXICO CITY: A strong new earthquake shook Mexico causing new alarm in a country reeling from two yet-more-powerful quakes this month that have killed nearly 400 people.

The US Geological Survey said the new, magnitude 6.1 temblor yesterday was centred about 18km 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, the most powerful to hit Mexico in 32 years, which killed at least 90 people.

There were some early reports of damage in Oaxaca. Milenio TV broadcast images of a bridge that partially collapsed.

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.

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 movements he has felt since then.

“Since Sept 7 it has not stopped shaking,” Hernandez.

US Geological Survey geophysicist Paul Caruso said the new temblor was an aftershock of the 8.1 quake and 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.

Buildings and street signs swayed and seismic alarms sounded in Mexico City, prompting people with fresh memories of Tuesday’s magnitude 7.1 temblor that has killed at least 295 across the region to flee homes and hotels. Some were in tears.

Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera told Milenio TV there were “no new developments” due to the quake, though he acknowledged that it provoked “some crises of nerves” among capital residents.

At the site of an office building that collapsed and where an around-the-clock search for survivors was still ongoing, rescuers briefly evacuated from atop the pile of rubble before returning to work.

As rescue operations stretched into Day 5, residents have held out hope that dozens still missing might be found alive.

Families have been sleeping in tents, accepting food and coffee from strangers, people have organised to present a united front to authorities, who they pressed ceaselessly for information. — AP