6.8-magnitude earthquake shakes Mexico

Two dead in aftershock of earlier quake

Residents stand outside their homes in Mexico City after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake rocked the country. AFP

A powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico early on Thursday, causing at least two deaths, damaging buildings and setting off landslides.

The earthquake struck near the epicentre of a 7.6-magnitude quake that hit three days earlier in the western state of Michoacan. It was also blamed for two deaths.

The US Geological Survey said Thursday’s earthquake was centred in a sparsely populated area 50 kilometres south-southwest of Aguililla, Michoacan, at a depth of 24.1km

Michoacan’s government said the quake was felt throughout the state. It reported damage to a building in the city of Uruapan and some landslides on motorways.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said via Twitter that it was an aftershock from Monday’s quake and that it was also felt in the states of Colima, Jalisco and Guerrero.

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said on Twitter that two people had died — a woman who fell down the stairs of her home and a man who had a heart attack. Residents huddled in the streets as seismic alarms blared.

It also knocked out power in some areas, though service was soon restored.

The earthquake rattled an already jittery country. Monday’s more powerful quake was the third major earthquake to strike on September 19 — in 1985, 2017 and now 2022.

The 2017 and 2022 September 19 quakes came shortly after the annual earthquake drill conducted every September 19 to commemorate the devastating 1985 quake that killed about 9,500 people.