Mexico and Guatemala Rocked by Multiple Earthquakes
Several earthquakes and aftershocks have been recorded throughout southern Mexico and Guatemala, especially in the areas around the two countries' shared border. These happened around Sunday morning, with the strongest being a magnitude of 6.4, with its epicenter in southern Mexico, near the border with Guatemala.
According to the US Geological Survey, one of the strongest recorded in the series of quakes had a magnitude of 4.9. It struck about 9 kilometers north-northwest of Delta, Baja California, Mexico, around 11:22 in the morning. The tremors were felt all the way to the United States.
NBC 7 San Diego reported that the tremors were felt as far north as San Diego County in California, including in its Rancho Santa Fe, Lakeside, Spring Valley, El Cajon, Chula Vista, Bonita, Imperial Beach, and Campo areas.
The tremors were also felt in Arizona, including Fortuna Foothills, Mesa, and Yuma, as well as San Luis Rio Colorado in Sonora state. However, these tremors were just felt as very weak to light shaking.
Baja California, Mexico Earthquake Was Shallow, Mexico-Guatemala Earthquake Was Stronger
Meanwhile, Volcano Discovery reported that the Baja California earthquake was relatively weak and only had a very shallow depth of 9.6 km, even though it was felt all the way to Arizona. No damages have been reported yet.
While the shaking was very weak to light for the Baja California quake, the tremblor that struck near the Mexico-Guatemala border was much stronger as the US Geological Survey measured it at magnitude 6.4 with a depth of 75 Kilometers or around 47 miles. The two quakes, which happened just hours apart, do not appear to be connected.
The earthquake's epicenter was located near the Mexican border town of Suchiate. The shaking happened just before 6 AM, waking many residents on either side of the Mexico-Guatemala border.
While no immediate damage was recorded in Mexico for this stronger quake, it was noted that it affected several mountainous areas prone to landslides. As for Guatemala, some minor damage and landslides were recorded in relation to the earthquake.
Guatemala's national disaster prevention agency revealed images of several landslides that happened around the Quetzaltenango region, located next to the border with Mexico. A hospital in San Marcos also had several cracks, but so far, there were no reported deaths.
Mexico Earthquake Frightened and Woke Up People
Across the border in Mexico, people woke up to quite the scare. The Associated Press talked to several people about their experience with the border earthquake.
"Here we got up because we have the seismic alert service," San Cristobal resident Joaquin Morales told the AP. "The alert woke me up because it comes 30 seconds before (the quake)."
Meanwhile, Maria Guzmán, a teacher, told the AP, "It was horrible, it felt strong. It was a real scare."
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Rick Martin
WATCH: Just now! A 6.4 magnitude earthquake shakes Mexico and Guatemala at dawn! - Forces Of Nature
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