Mexico trembles again; magnitude 6.9 earthquake leaves two dead

An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 was recorded in the early hours of this Thursday in Mexico, with a balance of two deaths, authorities reported, unleashing panic in the capital and other areas of the country.This is the strongest aftershock of the 7.7 tremor recorded last Monday, with a balance of two deaths and more than 3,000 damaged buildings, according to the National Seismological Service. So far there have been 1,229 aftershocks of that event.

Two people died in Mexico City: a man from a heart attack and a woman who hit her head when she fell from the stairs of her home, after activating the seismic alert, the local mayor’s office reported. With a thunderous sound, this alarm travels faster than seismic waves and warns of a major telluric movement one minute on average before it occurs, allowing homes to be evacuated or a safe area to be found.

The movement surprised the inhabitants of Mexico City when they were already asleep. Many of them ran away when they heard the alert wearing their pajamas and some carrying their dogs, which did not stop barking. The epicenter was located 84 km from Coalcomán, in the state of Michoacán (west), where the main event originated. Initially, the Seismological Service had estimated a magnitude of 6.5 for the movement on Thursday.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the quake was felt in Mexico City and in the states of Michoacán, Colima, Jalisco and Guerrero, all with Pacific coasts.“So far there is no report of damage,” said the president in a video recorded in his office while speaking with the mayor of the capital, Claudia Sheinbaum, and broadcast on Twitter. The earthquake was strongly felt in several areas of Mexico City and its metropolitan area, located about 400 km from the epicenter and home to some 22 million people.

After the tremor, Sheinbaum reported that official helicopters were flying over the city and that there were no reports of damage.“So far there is no damage in the city after the earthquake. I’m still waiting, reporting,” Sheinbaum said on Twitter.