/ 13 April 2007

Two strong quakes shake Mexico

Two strong earthquakes shook Mexico early on Friday, sparking gas fires in Mexico City and sending residents into the streets around the sprawling capital and in the southern city of Acapulco. The first quake, which lasted less than a minute, was of 6,2 magnitude and struck at 12.41am local time, according to authorities.

Two strong earthquakes shook Mexico early on Friday, sparking gas fires in Mexico City and sending residents into the streets around the sprawling capital and in the southern city of Acapulco.

The first quake, which lasted less than a minute, was of 6,2 magnitude and struck at 12.41am local time, according to authorities. The second hit two hours later, at 3.43am, registering a 5,4 magnitude.

Both quakes were centred in Guerrero state, just off the Pacific coast.

The shaking sent residents and tourists running into the streets in the coastal tourist enclave of Acapulco and in various neighbourhoods of Mexico City. Both cities experienced blackouts, and temporary losses of cellphone and land-line phone service.

Civil Protection forces were patrolling parts of the capital, which was hit hard by a 1985 quake that left 35 000 dead.

Two buildings, one of the under construction, were damaged, authorities said. The quake triggered two gas fires that were quickly extinguished, authorities said.

”The city is calm after the two quakes while we continue to survey buildings and, with the light of day, learn if there is damage,” a spokesperson for the city’s public safety department said.

”Year after year we repeat it. We have to get used to the fact that we live in a seismic zone. Fortunately, from these quakes, were have no dead to mourn,” he said.

In 1985, in addition to those killed, more than a million people were left without electricity for more than three days and 32 subway stations were severely damaged. — Sapa-AFP