A powerful 7.1 earthquake struck Mexico City on Tuesday.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the earthquake was centered 93 miles southeast of Mexico City, in the state of Puebla, but that it did seriously damage buildings and send people fleeing into the streets. The facades of some buildings collapsed, and some streets have become filled with rubble.
Today is the anniversary of another powerful earthquake that struck Mexico City in 1985. It is also just weeks after the most powerful earthquake in a century struck Mexico. Measuring 8.1 in magnitude, that earthquake was centered farther to the south, near Chiapas.
That earthquake killed at least 100 people in the southern states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco, and was also felt in Mexico City, where it shook the Angel of Independence monument. While the impact of the early September earthquake on Mexico’s southern states was severe, it left tourist destinations, including Puebla, Puerto Vallarta, Huatulco and Acapulco, still operational. The full extent of the damage from this latest earthquake is not yet clear.
The extent of the early September earthquake, as well as Hurricane Katia, prompted the Mexican Foreign Ministry to pull aid that had been slated for Hurricane Harvey victims in Texas, saying that it was not possible for the country to provide that aid and help its own victims at the same time.