Mexico City Earthquake
Earlier this afternoon a large earthquake hit Mexico City, shaking tall towers in the nation’s capitol. Initial reports measured the quake to have a magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter scale, but according to the U.S. Geological Survey it was a 5.6. The epicenter of the earthquake was 25 miles deep and near the popular tourist destination Acapulco (around 360 km from Mexico City), but was apparently most heavily felt in Mexico City. This being due to the fact that Mexico City was built atop a lake, making it more susceptible to shakes and tremors.
This of course isn’t the only bad news to befall Mexico in recent days. Over the weekend the deadly swine flu epidemic broke out not to mention Mexico’s current problems with their drug cartels. It’s also worth noting that Mexico — along with the rest of the world — is currently in the midst of a devastating economic crisis.
Mexico’s last major earthquake was in 1985. That earthquake was had a 8.1 magnitude that devastated the area and resulted in over 10,000 deaths and major structural damage — amage that is still being worked on today.
Injuries have fortunately been low so far as Mexico’s schools and public sectors were already closed for the day due to the swine flu outbreak.
(Photo courtesy of Fox News)
