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Strong 7.2 quake jolts Mexico-California border
Source: Agencies |
April 5, 2010, Monday
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A major 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near Mexico's border with California yesterday, rocking buildings and panicking residents as far away as Tijuana and Los Angeles but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Some people were reported trapped in elevators, retaining walls had collapsed in some places and electricity was out in several parts of Baja California state, Alfredo Escobedo, the director of emergency services in the state, said.
The relatively shallow quake was centered in a lightly populated area in northeastern Baja California near the city of Mexicali on the US border and largely cut off telephone communications with the area.
A series of aftershocks rocked the area around the epicenter, 30 miles (50 km) to the southeast of Mexicali and close to the town of Guadalupe Victoria.
"It's still shaking," said Nadia Camacho, a receptionist at a Mexicali hotel which suffered cracks to its floor and walls.
"We are all on alert. Nobody is inside the hotel, everybody's outside."
The US Geological Survey, or USGS, originally measured the quake as 6.9 but later raised it to 7.2, a magnitude that can cause serious damage to urban areas. It also revised the depth of the quake to 6.2 miles (10 km) from 20 miles.
Mexicali, home to nearly a million people, is a prosperous city and a busy border crossing with the United States. Local industry is mainly agriculture and food processing plants.
Some buildings in Tijuana, about 135 miles (200 km) away from the epicenter, were badly damaged. A Reuters witness said the quake visibly jolted cars in a parking lot outside a building and shook a computer on her desk.
The quake was felt about 200 miles (320 km) northwest in Los Angeles, witnesses said.
"I'm shaking like a leaf ... the pool water was just going everywhere," said Jean Nelson in Indio, California, outside of Palm Springs, about 120 miles (190 km) from the epicenter.
"Here it was just swinging nicely," said Nathalie Ruiz, a resident of a high-rise building in west Los Angeles. "It was not strong shaking, but it was very scary of course."
The quake struck at 3:40 p.m. Pacific time (2240 GMT).
Some people were reported trapped in elevators, retaining walls had collapsed in some places and electricity was out in several parts of Baja California state, Alfredo Escobedo, the director of emergency services in the state, said.
The relatively shallow quake was centered in a lightly populated area in northeastern Baja California near the city of Mexicali on the US border and largely cut off telephone communications with the area.
A series of aftershocks rocked the area around the epicenter, 30 miles (50 km) to the southeast of Mexicali and close to the town of Guadalupe Victoria.
"It's still shaking," said Nadia Camacho, a receptionist at a Mexicali hotel which suffered cracks to its floor and walls.
"We are all on alert. Nobody is inside the hotel, everybody's outside."
The US Geological Survey, or USGS, originally measured the quake as 6.9 but later raised it to 7.2, a magnitude that can cause serious damage to urban areas. It also revised the depth of the quake to 6.2 miles (10 km) from 20 miles.
Mexicali, home to nearly a million people, is a prosperous city and a busy border crossing with the United States. Local industry is mainly agriculture and food processing plants.
Some buildings in Tijuana, about 135 miles (200 km) away from the epicenter, were badly damaged. A Reuters witness said the quake visibly jolted cars in a parking lot outside a building and shook a computer on her desk.
The quake was felt about 200 miles (320 km) northwest in Los Angeles, witnesses said.
"I'm shaking like a leaf ... the pool water was just going everywhere," said Jean Nelson in Indio, California, outside of Palm Springs, about 120 miles (190 km) from the epicenter.
"Here it was just swinging nicely," said Nathalie Ruiz, a resident of a high-rise building in west Los Angeles. "It was not strong shaking, but it was very scary of course."
The quake struck at 3:40 p.m. Pacific time (2240 GMT).
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