36 dead in Mexico quake; hazardous tsunami can hit in 3 hours

Patients and family members are seen outside the ISSSTE after an earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mexico late on Thursday, in Puebla (Reuters photo)

Mexico City: A strong earthquake with 8.1 magnitude struck southern Mexico on late Thursday. The tremors were felt as far as Mexico City. People were witnessed fleeing buildings. The quake triggered small tsunami waves and damaged buildings.

The massive tremor hit in the Pacific Ocean near the border of Mexico and Guatemala. According to eyewitnesses, the quake lasted as long as 90 seconds.

The epicentre was 123 km (76 miles) southwest of the town of Pijijiapan in the southern state of Chiapas, at a revised depth of 43 miles. 36 people were killed in the state, said Manuel Velasquez, the governor of Chiapas.

The quake triggered waves as high as 2.3 ft (0.7 m) in Mexico, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said. It said widespread, hazardous tsunami waves were possible within three hours.

Mexico's civil protection agency said it was the strongest earthquake to hit the country since a devastating 1985 tremor that toppled buildings and killed thousands.

People in Mexico City ran out into the streets in pyjamas and alarms sounded after the quake struck just before midnight, a Reuters witness said. Power went out in some neighbourhoods.

Helicopters hovered overhead a few minutes later, apparently looking for damage to buildings in the city, which is built on a spongy, drained lake bed.

In one central neighbourhood, dozens of people stood outside after the quake, some wrapped in blankets against the cool night air. Children were crying.

"I had never been anywhere where the earth moved so much. At first, I laughed, but when the lights went out I didn`t know what to do. I nearly fell over," said Luis Carlos Briceno, an architect, 31, who was visiting Mexico City.

The quake was stronger than a devastating 1985 tremor that flattened swathes of Mexico City and killed thousands.

Initial reports of damage in Mexico city were limited. 

As far as 14,000 km (8700 miles) away in the Philippines, the national disaster agency put the country’s entire eastern seaboard on alert for a possible tsunami. No forced evacuation was ordered, but residents were told to monitor emergency radio broadcasts.

In Mexico, some buildings were severely damaged in the south of the country. Windows were broken at Mexico City airport and the power went out in several neighbourhoods of the capital. The cornice of a hotel collapsed in the southern tourist city of Oaxaca, a witness said.

USGS reported six aftershocks, ranging in magnitude from 4.5 to 5.7.

(With inputs from Reuters)