Massive 6.4 magnitude earthquake jolts coast of Chiapas, Mexico

There have been no immediate reports of material damage or casualties

By Web Desk
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July 14, 2023
This representational picture shows an illustration of a seismograph and the Earth. — Pixabay/File

A massive earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude hit the coast of Chiapas, Mexico, on Friday, according to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), although no casualties have been reported.

The organisation also stated that the quake was at a depth of 10 km (6.21 miles).

Presently, there have been no immediate reports of material damage, injuries, or casualties, according to Mexican civil protection.

A deadly 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck western Mexico last year, killing at least two people, damaging buildings, cutting off power, and sending residents of Mexico City running for cover.

Authorities had reported two deaths in the Pacific port of Manzanillo at the time, one of whom was found dead at a mall and the other of whom was crushed by a department store's facade.

Authorities also reported damage to a number of hospitals in the western state of Michoacan, which was close to the epicentre and located in an area of Mexico with a low population. According to the government, glass that fell at one of the hospitals injured one person.

Its impact would have been amplified because it was relatively shallow, only 15 km (9 miles) below the surface.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a tsunami alert for coastal areas, stating that waves up to three metres (nine feet) in height above mean low tide were possible.

There were no immediate reports of significant damage in the nation's capital, according to Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, following the quake that rattled through Mexico on the same day as destructive quakes that struck the nation in 1985 and 2017.

"It seems like a curse," Isa Montes, a 34-year-old graphic designer in the city's central Roma neighbourhood, said of the quake's timing as helicopters flew overhead, surveying the city.

Three significant earthquakes occurring on the same day have no known scientific explanation, according to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), one of the most esteemed institutions of higher learning in the nation.