Mexico earthquake: 7.2 magnitude tremor rocks capital and revives memories of September tragedy
A powerful earthquake shook south and central Mexico on Friday, causing people to flee buildings and office towers in the country's capital.
Crowds of people streamed out on to the streets of Mexico City as the ground shook as well as on streets in Oaxaca state's capital, nearer the quake's epicenter.
"It was awful," said Mercedes Rojas Huerta, 57, who was sitting on a bench outside her home in Mexico City's trendy Condesa district, too frightened to go back inside. "It started to shake; the cars were going here and there. What do I do?"
She said she was still scared thinking of the September 19 earthquake that left 228 people dead in the capital and 369 across the region. Many buildings in Mexico City are still damaged from that quake.
The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's preliminary magnitude at 7.2 and said its epicenter was 33 miles northeast of Pinotepa in Oaxaca state. It had a depth of 15 miles.
The epicenter is a rural area of western Oaxaca state near the Pacific coast and the border with Guerrero state.
Mexican Civil Protection chief Luis Felipe Fuente tweeted that there were no immediate reports of damages from Friday's quake.
In the Condesa neighbourhood, which was hit hard on September 19, frightened residents flooded into the streets, including one woman wrapped in just a towel, but there were no immediate signs of damage.
"I'm scared," Rojas Huerta said. "The house is old."
Debris from buildings in the streets
The first signs of damage is emerging, but the scale of it is far from clear. These images were posted in Oaxaca, the state where the epicentre is located.
Primeras imágenes de daños por #Sismo de 7.2 en Oaxaca pic.twitter.com/JsjzEo2iKT
— Paco Cobos (@cobostv) February 17, 2018
People flee buildings
The quake sent people in the capital fleeing to the streets for fear the buildings might collapse.
A tsunami is not expected
Tsunami Info Stmt: M7.5 in Oaxaca, Mexico
1540PST Feb 16: Tsunami NOT expected; CA,OR,WA,BC,and AK
#NTWC— NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) February 16, 2018
Location of the quake
The earthquake struck 221 miles away from Mexico City.
Video of building shaking in the capital
Footage from the 38th floor of a building in Mexico City has emerged showing the structure swaying.
Piso 38 en Reforma. #CDMX#Sismopic.twitter.com/iIXToUZYv6
— Gustavo Serrano (@gooz25) February 16, 2018