México Earthquake
Preliminary information reports there was a 7.1 earthquake in México. GettyImages

Mexico just experienced another major earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Mexico's seismological agency set the magnitude at 6.8 and said its center was east of the city in the state of Puebla.

National Civil Protection chief Luis Felipe Puente tweeted that there were no reports of damage so far, but thousands of people fled office buildings along the central Reforma Avenue as alarms blared, and traffic stopped around the Angel of Independence monument.

The tremor comes on the day Mexico City commemorates the 32nd anniversary of the most destructive shake that the city experienced in the 80s with preparation drills held earlier in the day in buildings across the city. The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent).

The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico City area and the deaths of at least 5,000 people. The sequence of events included a foreshock of magnitude 5.2 that occurred the prior May, the mainshock on September 19, and two large aftershocks. The first of these occurred on September 20 with a magnitude of 7.5 and the second occurred seven months later on April 30, 1986 with a magnitude of 7.0.

The event caused between three and four billion USD in damage as 412 buildings collapsed and another 3,124 were seriously damaged in the city.

Although there's not a lot of information about this earthquake yet, there are images of buildings collapsing. Check out the tweets below to see how citizens and celebrities are reacting.

© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.