MEXICO CITY: The most powerful earthquake to hit Mexico in 100 years struck off the nation’s Pacific Coast late Thursday, rattling millions of residents in Mexico City with its violent tremors, killing at least 32 people and leveling some areas in the southern part of the country, closer to the quake’s epicenter.
About 50 million people across Mexico felt the earthquake, which had a magnitude of 8.2, the government said.
In the capital, the force of the temblor sent residents of the megacity fleeing into the streets at midnight, shaken by alarms blaring over loudspeakers and a full minute of tremors. Windows broke, walls collapsed, and the city seemed to convulse in terrifying waves; the quake even rocked the city’s Angel of Independence monument.
According to President Enrique Pena Nieto, the earthquake turned out to be the strongest one of the century than the one recorded in 1985, with 50 millions that felt the shake among population of 120 millions.
The jolt struck a depth of 67.9 kilometers, the USGS reported, the jolt trembled buildings and monuments, urging mass migration throughout the affected land.
Prolonged with several aftershocks, but no tsunami recorded, the officials added.
Mexican officials ordered schools to remain closed in Mexico city and 11 more states, to examine further causalities and damage. Mexico, connecting with the Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, is prone to hurricanes.
The quake epicenter was recorded 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the coastal town of Tonala, hit overnight at 11:49 pm Thursday (0449 GMT Friday), Mexico’s seismologic service said.
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