Major earthquake of 7.7 magnitude strikes Mexico's Pacific coast; one dead

Mexico earthquake: As many as 1.2 million people were left without power in Mexico City, the neighbouring State of Mexico, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco, according to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), which later informed that electricity was restored to 68 per cent of those affected.

Image courtesy: Reuters

A massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake jolted west-central Mexico on a day when the country marked the anniversary of two major temblors that struck in 1985 and 2017. One person was killed when a wall collapsed at a shopping centre in Manzanillo, a beach resort in western Colima state, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday evening, after receiving a report from the Naval Ministry. Mexican President was in contact with governors of states most affected by the quake. Parts of the capital Mexico City also felt the tremor, reports Xinhua news agency. 

As many as 1.2 million people were left without power in Mexico City, the neighbouring State of Mexico, Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco, according to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), which later informed that electricity was restored to 68 per cent of those affected.

The National Seismological Service (SSN) originally reported the quake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4, but two hours later it was updated to 7.7. The earthquake hit at 1:05 pm local time, according to the US Geologic Survey, which had initially put the magnitude at 7.5.

It further said that the quake was centred 37 km (23 miles) southeast of Aquila near the boundary of Colima and Michoacan states and at a depth of 15.1 km (9.4 miles). Michoacan's Public Security Department said there were no immediate reports of significant damage in that state beyond some cracks in buildings in the town of Coalcoman.

Mexico's National Civil Defence agency said that the navy's tsunami centre had not issued an alert because due to the epicentre's location, no variation in sea levels was expected. However, that contradicted an alert from the US Tsunami Warning Centre. It said hazardous tsunami waves were possible for coasts within 186 miles (300 km) of the epicentre.

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum also tweeted that there were no reports of damage in the capital. Alarms for the new quake came less than an hour after a quake alarm warbled in a nationwide earthquake simulation marking major, deadly quakes that struck on the same date in 1985 and 2017.

Humberto Garza stood outside a restaurant in Mexico City's Roma neighborhood holding his 3-year son. Like many milling about outside after the earthquake, Garza said that the earthquake alarm sounded so soon after the annual simulation that he was not sure it was real. "I heard the alarm, but it sounded really far away," he said. Outside the city's environmental ombudsman's office, dozens of employees waited. Some appeared visibly shaken. Power was out in parts of the city, including stoplights, snarling the capital's already notorious traffic.

(With IANS/AP Inputs)