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Watch: Earthquake Collapses Mexico City Buildings, 225 Dead
At least 86 people died in Mexico City. Buildings collapsed or were badly damaged at 44 points throughout the city, officials said.
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO — A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck central Mexico on Tuesday, killing at least 225 people and collapsing buildings in heavily populated parts of Mexico City, Mexico's civil defense director said.
The quake was centered near the Puebla state town of Raboso, about 76 miles southeast of Mexico City, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Dozens of buildings collapsed or were damaged in densely populated parts of Mexico City and nearby states. A column of smoke rose from a structure in one central neighborhood in the capital.
Police, firefighters and civilians are digging frantically through the rubble of collapsed schools, homes and apartment buildings looking for survivors. This was Mexico's deadliest earthquake since 1985, which killed thousands. Seventy-one were reported killed in the state of Morelos. Jojutla appears to be the most damaged part of the state.
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Luis Felipe Puente, the head of Mexico's national Civil Defense Agency, posted tweeted Wednesday that 94 are known dead in Mexico City, 71 in Morelos state, 43 in Puebla, 12 in the State of Mexico, four in Guerrero and one in Oaxaca. (For more information on the Mexico earthquake and other Across America stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)
Watch: Death Toll From Mexico's 7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Keeps Rising
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Buildings collapsed or were badly damaged at 44 points throughout Mexico City, Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera told local media outlets.
Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said there were reports of people trapped in collapsed buildings in Mexico City. Between 50 and 60 people were rescued from rubble by citizens and rescue workers.
The quake came less than two weeks after another quake left 90 dead in the country's south.
Primer reporte preliminar personas fallecidas. Mi abrazo solidario a familiares. Estamos atendiendo a familias. Nuestra fortaleza unidos pic.twitter.com/fyBFLQEfaS
— Graco Ramírez (@gracoramirez) September 19, 2017
Devastating images from Mexico City. pic.twitter.com/RpF7sUq31s
— Jorge Guajardo (@jorge_guajardo) September 19, 2017
Mexico City's international airport has suspended operations. The airport said in a tweet personnel were checking the structures for damage. It's not immediately clear how many flights were affected.
Televisa broadcasted images of a plume of smoke rising from a large building. One of the collapsed buildings was a large parking garage alongside a hospital. There were no immediate reports on casualties.
Thousands panicked and streamed out of buildings on Mexico City's main boulevard into the streets, filling the plaza around the Independence Monument with a mass of people. Traffic came to a standstill, as masses of workers blocked streets. Clouds of dust rose from fallen pieces of facades and office workers hugged each other to calm themselves.
Center of Mexico City right now after 7.4 earthquake. Scary. Hope folks are ok. Video shot by a friend in DF pic.twitter.com/tlYtpEShcB
— David Prager (@dlprager) September 19, 2017
In the city's Roma neighborhood, small piles of stucco and brick fell from building facades and littered the streets. Two men calmed a woman, blood trickling from a small wound on her knee, sat on a stool in the street and told her to breathe deeply.
WATCH: Video shows shaking lights and restaurant tables in Mexico City as 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the area
(Via rramos1032/IG) pic.twitter.com/VEZiCRN0N7
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 19, 2017
At a nearby market, a worker in a hard hat walked around the outside of the building, warning people not to smoke as a smell of cooking gas filled the air. Market stall vendor Edith Lopez, 25, had been in a taxi a few blocks away when the quake struck. She said she saw glass bursting out of the windows of some buildings.
The towers of some churches have fallen in the city of Cholula, which is famous for its many churches, he said.
Puebla Gov. Tony Gali said on his official Twitter account that "we will continue reviewing" damages and urged people to follow emergency procedures.
"What we have reports of is material damage ... we have no reports of deaths so far," tweeted Puebla Interior Secretary Diodoro Carrasco.
Aquí el momento donde un edificio, al parecer en la Colonia Roma colapsa. pic.twitter.com/rAYKX0lJjm
— REFORMACOM (@Reforma) September 19, 2017
Terrible. #sismo pic.twitter.com/1cV4oNZ1A8
— Javier Lozano A (@JLozanoA) September 19, 2017
This tweet says two primary schools have collapsed in Mexico City and children are trapped inside. https://t.co/GBftbPvXR4
— David Luhnow (@davidluhnow) September 19, 2017
U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted:
"God bless the people of Mexico City. We are with you and will be there for you."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that his state will continue to offer "any support to aid Mexico in their time of need."
Photo credit: Rebecca Blackwell, Pablo Ramos, Marco Ugarte, Carlos Rodriguez, Carlos Cisneros, Miguel Tovar, Eduardo Verdugo, Gustavo Martinez Contreras/Associated Press
