Mexico: A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the center of the country

An earthquake of magnitude 7.4 occurred in the first stage Mexico Officials said it commemorated two powerful earthquakes in 1985 and 2017 that killed thousands.

The quake was located 59km south of Colcomane in the state of Michoacán on the Pacific coast, the National Seismological Service said on Twitter. At first, the SSN put the magnitude at 6.8 and later revised it.

The reaction of the authorities in Mexico

In the first message from the National Palace, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said: “We are starting to gather information and we really believe that nothing serious has happened.

The event occurred less than an hour after a national macro exercise was organized at 12:19 pm (17:19 GMT) to commemorate the September 19, 1985 and 2017 earthquakes.

“Emergency protocols have been activated due to an earthquake recorded in Michoane this afternoon. Civil defense in Michoane remains on alert,” the epicenter state government wrote on Twitter.

Claudia Sheinbaum, head of the Mexico City government, reported that “so far there has been no damage in the city”, where “five condors from the Civil Protection Secretariat of Mexico City continue to fly”.

“Earthquake felt. Seismic alerts sounded. Condors flying overhead. We’re at C5. No damage yet. More info in a few minutes. Earthquake continues, stay calm,” the capital’s president tweeted.

Other centers in southern and Pacific regions of Mexico, such as Colima and Jalisco, also reported feeling the quake.

A date marked by national tragedy

A few hours earlier, President López Obrador presided over a ceremony commemorating the victims of the September 19, 1985 and 2017 tremors.

On September 19, 1985, an earthquake of magnitude 8.1 struck at 7:19 local time (12:19 GMT) and with its epicenter in Guerrero province in the south of the country, killed more than 20,000 people, most of them in the Mexican capital.

On the same date, 32 years later, on September 19, 2017, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck between Puebla and Morelos (the center of the country) killing nearly 370 people, 228 of whom were in Mexico City. EFE