Earthquake in Mexico: Powerful, destructive but not deadly (+video)
Earthquake in Mexico: The magnitude 7.4 quake was the biggest since 1986, when at least 10,000 died. But improved construction and where this earthquake hit, say officials, has left Mexico with limited damage, and no fatalities.
Residents point at a church dome damaged by an earthquake on Tuesday March 20, 2012, as they stand near debris from the damage, in Igualapa, Mexico. The quake hit hardest in the southwestern state of Guerrero, where around 800 houses were damaged, officials said.
REUTERS/Jacob Garcia
Mexico City
A powerful earthquake that shook Mexico from its massive capital to its resort-studded southern coast damaged hundreds of homes and sent thousands of panicked people fleeing from swaying office buildings, yet apparently didn't cause a single death.
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As of early Wednesday, there were still no reports of deaths from Tuesday's magnitude-7.4 quake centered near the border between the southern states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, even after 10 aftershocks. Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire said Tuesday night that nine people were injured in Oaxaca and two in Mexico City.
Seismologists and civil protection officials said where the earthquake hit and how it hit appear to have limited the damage, along with improved construction in the capital following a massive 1985 quake.
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There were reports of damaged buildings but none were reported to have collapsed on the Oaxaca side of the border, said civil protection spokeswoman Cynthia Tovar said. In Guerrero, home to Acapulco where little damage was reported, officials say about 800 homes were damaged and 60 collapsed.
Authorities said the absence of tall buildings in the mountainous rural area is one reason for the lack of casualties.
"Another factor to consider is how tested an area has been," said USGS seismologist Susan Hoover.
There have been 15 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or stronger since 1973 within 310 miles (500 kilometers) of Tuesday's quake. Weaker buildings collapse with each quake, leaving a cadre of stronger ones that can withstand the shaking.
The quake's epicenter was 200 miles (320 kilometers) south-southeast of Mexico City. Despite the distance, it was felt powerfully in the capital where office towers swayed violently and the streets filled with people fleeing buildings. Some people sat on curbs, head in their hands, to calm themselves.
Mexico City was badly damaged in 1985 when a magnitude-8.0 earthquake killed at least 10,000 people. But experts say Tuesday's quake was smaller and released far less energy.
Mexico City was built on an ancient lakebed and its spongy soil amplifies seismic waves, and the damage they cause. The 1985 quake destroyed 400 buildings and damaged thousands more.
The latest jolt "wouldn't have been nearly as effective at generating those deep bass tones" that caused the damage seen in 1985, USGS seismologist Susan Hough said in an email.
Victor Hugo Espindola Castro of Mexico's national seismological service said another factor was improved building standards following the 1985 quake.
"Many of the buildings that were damaged in 1985 were poorly constructed and from that came the new building regulations, so that now buildings are stronger," he said.
In Mexico City, telephone service was down and some neighborhoods were without power, according to Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, who set up a hotline for people to report damage.
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