Powerful 7.1 Earthquake Strikes Mexico Destroying Buildings And Wreaking Havoc

The U.S. Geological Survey stated that a magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck the central Mexican state of Puebla on Tuesday afternoon. Preliminary reports put the epicenter 2.8 miles east-northeast of San Juan Raboso and 34.1 miles south-southwest of the city of Puebla, according to the USGS.

At least five people were reportedly killed when the powerful earthquake hit southern Mexico, causing serious damage to buildings in the country’s capital on the anniversary of a 1985 quake that inflicted major damage to Mexico City.

During the quake, some facades and entire buildings in Mexico City fell, crushing cars and trapping some people inside.

One of the many buildings that collapsed in Mexico City due to the 7.1 quake that struck the city on September 19, same date as the 1985 one that shook the city to its core (photo: Getty Images).

More than 94 people are confirmed dead, and high-rise buildings have collapsed in plumes of dust as thousands fled into the streets in panic. The number of injuries is still unclear.

The count continues to rise rapidly, given as emergency crews and hundreds of volunteers were digging through the debris of at least 29 collapsed buildings looking for survivors and bodies.

Mexican media broadcast images of multiple downed buildings in densely populated parts of Mexico City and nearby Cuernavaca. A column of smoke rose from a structure in one central neighborhood in the capital.

The quake came less than two weeks after another one left 90 dead in south Mexico.

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto happened to be en route to Oaxaca where a deadly 8.1-magnitude quake struck a little more than one week ago. Peña Nieto immediately returned to Mexico City and urged residents to stay out of the streets to give access to first responders, and to shut off gas lines that before returning to their homes.

The mayor of Mexico City said there were reports of people trapped in collapsed buildings. Then airport in Mexico City announced a shutdown shortly after.

Schools were also canceled in Mexico City and the states of Puebla and Guerrero. Across social media, news outlets and citizens shared videos of buildings shaking or collapsing.

Throughout the city, rescue workers and residents dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings seeking survivors. At one site in the city’s Roma neighborhood, rescue workers cheered as they brought a woman alive from what remained of a toppled building. After cheering, the workers immediately called for quiet again so they could listen for the sound of survivors under the rubble.

In Mexico City’s Coyoacán neighborhood on Tuesday, walls of colonial-era buildings cracked and a few collapsed, with residents embracing and crying in the streets. At the Barricas Don Tiburcio shop, shelves bearing food crashed down and wine bottles shattered on the floors.

In Puebla, southeast of the capital, Gov. Tony Gali tweeted that an unspecified number of buildings were damaged, saying, “We deeply regret the loss of life following the #earthquake. My government is acting and providing all the necessary support.”

Panic spread through the city’s central core, where dozens of buildings collapsed. Rescue vehicles screamed toward damaged buildings, and neighbors took on heroic roles as rescuers (photo: Los Angeles Times).

Mexico City is prone to major damage in earthquakes because it sits on an old lake bed that amplifies the shaking.