Alarms sounded in Mexico City as a new earthquake struck Saturday morning, prompting people with fresh memories of this week’s devastating tremor to flee homes and hotels.
The quake was much weaker than the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit on Tuesday, killing at least 295 people and knocking down buildings across the capital.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the new earthquake had a magnitude of 6.1 and was centred in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca. It initially calculated the magnitude as 6.2
The director of Mexico’s disaster agency said it was an aftershock of the 8.1 quake that hit on Sept. 7 off the country’s southern coast.
Volunteer rescue workers gather during the search for survivors and bodies in Mexico City on Thursday. International search teams have arrived to help, though some say co-ordination has been lacking. (Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images)
It was not immediately clear if there were any new injuries or damage from the latest tremor.
Alejandra Castellanos was on the second floor of a hotel in a central Mexico City neighbourhood and ran down the stairs and outside with her husband.
“I was frightened because I thought, not again!” she said.
At the site of an office that collapsed Tuesday, street signs swayed and rescuers briefly evacuated from atop the pile of rubble before returning to work.
Rescue workers climb up a building destroyed by the earthquake in Mexico City on Friday. Some worry lives are being lost because of delays searching through the rubble. (Alfredo Estrella/AFP/Getty Images)
Nataniel Hernandez, who lives in Tonala, one of the cities hardest hit by the powerful Sept. 7 quake, said the Saturday morning temblor was one of the strongest movements he has felt since then. But he added, “Since Sept. 7, it has not stopped shaking.”
The quake sent some buildings tumbling down, while others sustained massive damage. (Rocio VazquezAFP/Getty Images)
