Earthquake and floods leave several dead and thousands affected in Mexico

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Mexican authorities confirmed on Wednesday (8) one death and minor material damage caused by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that shook central and southern Mexico, in a tragic day for the death of at least 14 other people in floods.

“Fortunately, there is no major damage, so far one victim, a young man who was driving a motorcycle and lost his life, this in Guerrero,” said Wednesday the president of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, during his morning conference from the National Palace.

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“As of last night, we know that there was no serious damage in Puebla, Oaxaca, Tlaxcala, Morelos,” he said.

On Tuesday night, an earthquake with an epicenter eleven kilometers from the tourist city of Acapulco, in the southern state of Guerrero, shook several states of the country.

According to the National Seismological Service, the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.1.

This phenomenon recalled what happened exactly four years ago when an earthquake of magnitude 8.2 was registered with an epicenter in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, which affected mainly the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, where 98 people lost their lives.

REVISIONS ARE CARRIED OUT

After the earthquake this Wednesday, the National Coordination of Civil Protection confirmed that in Guerrero, there was one person dead, in addition to the activation of a temporary shelter and 35 people evacuated due to structural damages in hospitals and houses.

In addition, there was damage to a control tower at the Acapulco airport, which was closed at dawn, landslides on highways, and minor damage to facades and some gas leaks.

While in other states, there were some landslides and power outages.

The Federal Electricity Commission reported that at least 1.9 million users were without power in Oaxaca, Mexico State, Guerrero, Morelos, and Mexico City.

However, this Wednesday, the CFE stated that the supply had been restored to 100 % in those affected in Mexico City and 98 % in other places such as Mexico State, Guerrero, Morelos, and Oaxaca.

Claudia Sheinbaum, Head of Government of Mexico City, informed that no damages had been reported in schools in Mexico City due to the earthquake.

She detailed that Civil Protection will carry out prevention works in schools to rule out structural risks and said that revisions were made to line 2 of the subway, where the service was interrupted for some hours after the earthquake, but no damages were detected.

On the other hand, the director of Conagua, Germán Martínez Santoyo, referred that the protocol of attention to the hydraulic infrastructure was activated to verify that “there are no damages to the infrastructure of dams as a consequence of the earthquake”.

TRAGEDY IN TULA

Tuesday night’s earthquake added to the tragedy that occurred on Monday night due to the overflowing of the Tula river in the central state of Hidalgo, which left 14 dead, who was in a hospital of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), as well as thousands of victims.

According to the head of the IMSS, Zoé Robledo, the death toll has been adjusted from 17 to 14, and to these must be added two more people who had already lost their lives at the time of the floods were awaiting funeral services.

According to the Government of Hidalgo, it had been 40 years since such a tragic situation had been experienced due to rainfall.

Given the tragedy, López Obrador affirmed that the Federal Government would continue the relief work and direct support to the population affected by the floods.

“We are still attentive and recommending people to move to shelters and higher parts. We are acting and supporting the population from the first moments,” he stated.

ACAPULCO IN FEAR

After the earthquake, the beach resort of Acapulco dawned this Wednesday still with fearful citizens, after feeling more than 210 aftershocks throughout the night.

So far, state authorities have registered one death, as well as landslides, collapsed fences, rockslides on several highways, damage to house facades, establishments, and hospitals, mainly in Acapulco and Chilpancingo.