Environment/Science
Environment/Science
Mexico: At least 248 people die as 7.1 M quake strikes country

Just Earth News | @justearthnews | 20 Sep 2017, 07:04 am Print

Mexico City, Sep 20 (JEN): At least 248 people died as a powerful earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter Scale struck Mexico on Tuesday, reports said.

The quake left central mexico devastated, damaging building and roads as people fled their homes for safety.

The Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said that at least 20 children had died and 30 were missing after a school collapsed.

The calamity comes less than two weeks after a similar incident battered the North American nation.

The quake struck Mexico on the anniversary of the 1985 earthquake, which accounted for at least thousand deaths.

According to US Geological Survey, the epicentre of the quake was determined to be near Atencingo in Puebla state, about 120km (75 miles) from Mexico City, with a depth of 51km.

The calamity also left a part of the country without electricity.

The death toll is expected to rise. 

Death toll as confirmed by officials:

Morelos state: 72 dead

Puebla state: 43 dead

Mexico City: 117 dead

Mexico State: 12 dead

Guerrero: 3 dead

Oaxaca: 1 dead