Two deaths were reported in Mexico City after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake occurred just after 1 a.m. Thursday, the largest aftershock of Monday’s powerful temblor.
The National Seismological Service (SSN) said the quake occurred at 1:16 a.m. and had an epicenter 84 kilometers south of Coalcomán, Michoacán. By 4 a.m. Thursday, there had been 1,295 aftershocks of the 7.7 magnitude quake that rocked central Mexico on Monday, the SSN said.
The Mexico City Security Ministry said that a woman died shortly after the earthquake alarm was activated when she fell on stairs in her home and hit her head. A man died of a heart attack after the quake struck.
President López Obrador told his regular press conference Thursday morning that there were no reports of major damage or deaths beyond those that occurred in the capital.
President Lopez Obrador conferring this morning by phone with Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval.Hablé con el general Luis Cresencio Sandoval, secretario de la Defensa Nacional y hasta ahora sin novedad; se está recabando información. pic.twitter.com/CqBBZjwHpY
— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) September 22, 2022
National Civil Protection authorities said that the quake was felt in 12 federal entities: Jalisco, Zacatecas, Guerrero, Colima, Michoacán, Guanajuato, México state, Mexico City, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla and Tlaxcala.
Power went out in parts of Mexico City and neighboring México state, but the Federal Electricity Commission reported just after 8 a.m. that service had been re-established.
Mexico City’s earthquake alarm roused slumbering chilangos, as residents of the capital are known, causing many to jump out of bed and evacuate their homes. Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said on Twitter that 98% of the loudspeakers that amplify the alarm functioned correctly.
Earthquake lights – a luminous phenomenon that appears in the sky after seismic activity – were visible in Mexico City. The Twitter account Webcams de México and numerous social media users posted footage of the blue lights that appeared to radiate upwards.
The epicenter of Thursday morning’s quake was very close to that of Monday’s temblor, with both centered in the Michoacán municipality of Coalcomán. The latter was the third major earthquake in 37 years to occur on September 19 and struck less than an hour after the commencement of the national earthquake drill.
Webcams de México captured views of the “earthquake lights” that occurred in Mexico City this morning.Así se vieron las luces en el cielo de Ciudad de México #CDMX durante el #sismo magnitud 6.9 de esta madrugada, 1:16 horas #22deSeptiembre2022 .
Vista Oriente desde @Miralto Torre Latino.
Para ver en vivo:https://t.co/Yctth8F3tS
Video pic.twitter.com/uDdP0TlVKn
— Webcams de México (@webcamsdemexico) September 22, 2022
It caused significant damage in parts of Michoacán and Colima, and claimed two lives in the port city of Manzanillo.
With reports from Milenio
