Mexico Earthquake 2014: 6.4 Acapulco Shaker Felt As Far Away As Mexico City
The second strong earthquake of 2014 hit Mexico Thursday morning, centered about 60 miles northwest of Acapulco and felt 170 miles away in the country’s sprawling capital of Mexico City. The quake registered a 6.4 reading on the Richter scale, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
While initial reports said that the earthquake, which hit just three weeks after the first big 2014 Mexico quake, caused no significant damage or injuries, an unconfirmed report said that there were two fatalities in connection with the temblor which originated in the Mexican state of Guerrero.
Working to confirm reports of two killed in today’s 6.4-magnitude earthquake
— Rodrigo (@RodrigoEBR) May 8, 2014
The quake was centered at a depth of 15 miles, but while it caused only a mild tremor in the Acapulco resort area, in Mexico City the shock sent thousands of workers scurrying into the streets and toward designated areas believed safe from the danger of falling glass.
“I was working when I started to feel seasick and we left the office,” said Andres Alcocer, 34, a publicity agent who works in Mexico City.
“That was just too scary,” said businesswoman Carmen Lopez, who was just on her way out of an office tower when the swaying began.
At the National Palace, Mexico Finance Minister Luis Videgaray was delivering a speech when the earthquake shook that building.
“I think we’d better take a pause if you don’t mind,” he said, calmly vacating the podium.
The quake lasted about 40 seconds in Mexico City, an area vulnerable to earthquakes because it is built on a base of soft sand, which will be affected by shaking even a great distance away. Thursday’s earthquake, which hit at about noon Central Time, took 68 seconds to reach Mexico City, allowing at least some warning for people to evacuate unstable structures.
This second 2014 Mexico earthquake was centered just 4o miles from the first, which hit southern Mexico on April 18 and registered a dangerous 7.5 on the Richter scale. That quake also caused panic in Mexico City, but no major damage.
[Image Via Google]
