Big Earthquake Hits Mexico, No Major Damage Reported

Big Earthquake Hits Mexico, No Major Damage Reported

A major earthquake hit Mexico on Tuesday, resulting to panic as it damaged a lot of buildings and caused homes in the capital to bounce like "trampolines".

Office workers fled into the street when the 7.4-magnitude quake shook Mexico City for more than a minute. Phone lines went down, buildings were evacuated, traffics worsen and the stock exchange had to suspend trading early.

Angel Aguirre, southwestern state of Guerrero governor, said he received reports of 500 homes damaged, with some of them knocked down, but gave no more details.

The earthquake was one of the strongest since the devastating 8.1-magnitude 1985 earthquake, which killed thousands in Mexico City.

Luckily, no deaths were reported and the quake caused no major disruptions to air travel, but it definitely scared many residents.

Martha Suarez, an Argentine living in the capital's Roma neighborhood said she had never experienced anything like it. "My TV set fell over; the building felt like it was on a trampoline. This one was like no other I have felt before," she said, holding her puppy close.

Emergency services found 150 houses damaged in Ometepec near the epicenter of the quake in Guerrero state, which is home of popular Pacific beach resort Acapulco.

In the neighboring state of Oaxaca, 68 houses were damaged and five people were injured, one of them seriously, in the hardest struck area around the town of Pinotepa Nacional near the Pacific coast, local emergency services said.

Television footages showed part of a bridge collapsed onto a vehicle on the outskirts of Mexico City.  Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said, however, no major damage was reported in the capital.

More than two hours after the quake, some residents of the capital, were still too terrified to return to their homes, fearing powerful aftershocks.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday March 21 2012, 4:30 AM EDT. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0