The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Death toll hits 58 after quake rocks Mexico
destruction: Hundreds of buildings collapse and power is cut off
One of the most powerful earthquakes ever to strike Mexico has killed at least 58 people, toppling houses and businesses and sending panicked people into the streets 650 miles away.
Oaxaca state governor Alejandro Murat told local media that at least 45 people in his state died, and civil defence officials said at least 10 died in the state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, while three died in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake hit off southern Chiapas state near the Guatemalan border with a magnitude of 8.1.
Hundreds of buildings collapsed or were damaged, power was cut to more than 1.8 million people and authorities closed schools in at least 11 states for safety checks.
The US Geological Survey recorded at least 20 aftershocks of magnitude 4.0 or greater within about five hours, and the president warned that a major aftershock as large as magnitude 7.2 could occur.
The USGS said the quake struck at 11.49pm on Thursday and its epicentre was 102 miles west of Tapachula in Chiapas. It had a depth of 43.3 miles.
The quake caused buildings to sway violently in Mexico’s capital more than 650 miles away, and people still wearing nightclothes fled into the streets, gathering in frightened groups.
Chiapas governor Manuel Velasco said three people were killed in San Cristobal, including two women who died when a house and a wall collapsed.
He called on people living near the coast to leave their houses as a protective measure.
“There is damage to hospitals that have lost energy,” he said. “Homes, schools and hospitals have been damaged.”
Tabasco governor Arturo Nunez said two children died in his Gulf coast state. One of them was killed when a wall collapsed, and the other was a baby who died in a children’s hospital that lost electricity, cutting off the infant’s ventilator.
The quake hit as emergency agencies were bracing for another crisis on the other side of the country.
The US National Hurricane Centre said Hurricane Katia is likely to strike the Gulf coast in the state of Veracruz early today as a category two storm which could bring life-threatening floods.