Shortly after an 8.1 magnitude earthquake hit the coast of southern Mexico earlier this month, another major earthquake rocked the country again Tuesday evening.
According to The New York Times, the 7.1 magnitude earthquake, which had an epicenter around 75 miles from Mexico City, has left 120 people dead already. In addition to Mexico City, deaths were reported in the Mexican states of Puebla, Morelos and Mexico. The number of deaths is only expected to rise as rescuers continue to search through the rubble.
Edificio derrumbado sobre Viaducto, entre Torreón y Gabriel Mancera pic.twitter.com/mQuEjIcBsS
— BuzzFeed News México (@BuzzFeedNewsMex) September 19, 2017
Red cross says there are several people trapped under the building. Some alive. Volunteers line up to carry away pieces of concrete. #sismo pic.twitter.com/HyKFT64oVS
— Rafa Fernandez (@rafafc91) September 19, 2017
More than 40 buildings in Mexico city have been reported to have collapsed, and CNN reports that an estimated 3.8 million people in Mexico have lost electricity.
Not only is Mexico still recovering from an equally deadly quake two weeks ago, but Tuesday’s earthquake happened on the 32nd anniversary of a 1985 earthquake that killed 10,000 people in Mexico City, only hours after many residents practiced earthquake drills to commemorate it.
“It fell straight down,” Moises Escobar, a Mexico City resident, told the Times, referring to his eight-story apartment building. “There was a lot of smoke and dust.”
Meanwhile, civilians were reportedly volunteering to jump in with rescue efforts immediately following the earthquake, carrying away debris and searching for trapped victims, and officials were asking residents for any shovels, pickaxes and buckets they were able to supply for rescue efforts. All private and public schools in Mexico City have been canceled until further notice, and many hospitals in the area were ordered to transfer patients to other medical units.