Magnitude 7.4 earthquake hits Mexico on anniversary of 1985 and 2017
Residents of Mexico City gathered outside after the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that shook the capital on September 19, 2022. AP - Fernando Llano
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The tremor took place at 1:05 p.m. local time.
First measured at 6.6 on the Richter scale, it was later reassessed at 7.4.
The tsunami risk has already been ruled out by the Ministry of the Navy.
Several states shook like the capital Mexico.
Advertising
Read more
With our correspondent in Mexico,
Gwendolina Duval
The earthquake was strongly felt in many neighborhoods of Mexico City.
Although for the moment no casualty or major damage has been identified according to the city authorities.
The epicenter of this earthquake is located on the coast of the State of Michoacan about forty kilometers from the city of Aquila.
There, the emergency services are still assessing the potential damage.
One person died in the west of the country, said President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
No major damage has so far been reported in the epicenter area near the Pacific (west) and in Mexico City, which has more than 20 million inhabitants with its megalopolis.
What strikes everyone in the Mexican capital is of course the coincidence of dates: this earthquake took place day for day and almost hour for hour at the same time as
that of 2017 which had caused around 370 victims
.
It was already an anniversary, because also on September 19, 1985, an earthquake had been deadly and destructive in Mexico City.
It is therefore the third time that the earth has shaken on this date in Mexico.
Another coincidence, less than an hour before the actual quake, the city had organized its annual simulation.
The loudspeakers had sounded the alarm and all the residents who took part had already taken to the streets for the exercise.
Hence everyone's disbelief when the episode happened again for real this time around.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Mexico
Natural disasters