One day after suffering from a massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake, Mexico will have to brace for another natural disaster as Hurricane Katia comes barreling towards the Gulf Coast.
The US National Hurricane Center said the Category 2 hurricane was just over 120 miles southeast of Tampico, Mexico, and is estimated to reach the mainland on Saturday morning.
‘Maximum sustained winds are near 105 mph (165 km/h) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is expected prior to landfall, followed by rapid weakening thereafter,’ a 7pm advisory by the Center stated.
Mexico is also dealing with the aftermath of a powerful earthquake on Thursday night that registered a magnitude of 8.2 which left 61 people dead
The country will now have to brace for another natural disaster as Hurricane Katia comes barreling in towards the Gulf Coast
Officials say that Katia is expected to produce a ‘total rain accumulations of 10 to 15 inches over northern Veracruz, eastern Hidalgo, and Puebla.’
They added in a statement on Friday that the storm could cause landslides and flooding, and urged people living below hills and slopes to be prepared to evacuate.
Meanwhile, homes, schools and hospitals have been ruined and 61 are dead after the biggest Mexican earthquake for a century.
The earthquake was felt across Mexico, toppling houses, shaking buildings in the country’s capital and leaving a million without power amid reports tremors were detected as a far away as Austin, Texas – more than 1,300 miles from the epicentre.
Terrified residents in Mexico City ran out into the streets after the quake struck, witnesses said. Tremors were the strongest in a hundred years, according to President Enrique Pena Nieto – greater even than a devastating earthquake in 1985 that hit the capital flattening swathes of the city and killing thousands.
The quake struck at 11.49pm last night, 76 miles southwest of the town of Pijijiapan, at a depth of 43 mile.
View of damages pictured Friday caused by the earthquake, which mainly hit Mexico, in Tacana municipality overnight
Mexico was jolted overnight by an 8.2 magnitude earthquake -its most powerful in a century. Officials survey the damage Friday
Evacuated patients lie on their hospital beds shaded by a tree, in the aftermath of a massive earthquake, in Juchitan, Oaxaca state, Mexico Friday
A number of buildings were left in ruins in parts of southern Mexico. Some of the worst initial reports came from the town of Juchitan in Oaxaca state, where sections of the town hall, a hotel, a bar and other buildings were reduced to rubble.
Alejandro Murat, the state governor, said 23 deaths were registered in Oaxaca, 17 of them in Juchitan.
Authorities initially declared a tsunami alert stretching all the way south to Ecuador, but lifted it several hours later. Coastal Puerto Madero was earlier evacuated amid fears of a wave of up to 12ft.
Evacuated patients lie on their beds Friday outside the hospital in the aftermath of a massive earthquake, in Juchitan, Oaxaca state, Mexico
Residents on Friday stand on debris of a partially collapsed building felled by a massive earthquake in Juchitan, Oaxaca state, Mexico Thursday
Rescuers in southern Mexico were battling to remove rubble from collapsed buildings after the earthquake struck Thursday night
Preparations: A hospital evacuated its patients and staff in Puebla after the earthquake struck amid reports at least 35 people have been killed
A number of buildings have collapsed in southern Mexico and emergency crews have been working through the night after the 8.1 magnitude quake struck
Authorities initially declared a tsunami alert stretching all the way south to Ecuador, but lifted it several hours later. Coastal Puerto Madero (pictured) was earlier evacuated amid fears of a wave of up to 12ft
Juchitan in Oaxaca was particularly badly hit with 17 killed during the earthquake. This was the scene as one building collapsed on to its side in the town
Aftermath: This was the scene in a shopping centre in Juchitan, southern Mexico after it was violently shaken by the earthquake overnight. At least 17 have been killed in the town
A massive 8.1 earthquake has struck 60 miles off the coast of Mexico and was felt across the country
Items were thrown off supermarket shelves as buildings were rattled for more than a minute by the powerful earthquake
Authorities initially declared a tsunami alert stretching all the way south to Ecuador, but lifted it several hours later. The only tsunami detected so far, however had a largest wave measured at 3.3ft, experts said.
The death toll has already risen to at least 35 people, including two children in Tabasco state and 17 in the southern city of Juchitan.
Tabasco Gov. Arturo Nunez said that one of the children died when a wall collapsed, and the other was a baby who died in a children’s hospital that lost electricity, cutting off the supply to the infant’s ventilator.
Three deaths were in Chiapas state, in San Cristobal de las Casas, with two crushed when buildings collapsed on them.
The quake hit offshore in the Pacific, the US Geological Survey said, putting the magnitude at 8.1.
A monument surrounded by debris is cordoned off in the aftermath of an 8.1-magnitude earthquake in San Cristobal de Las Casas, in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, earlier today
Authorities staged a mass evacuation in the southern Puerto Madero amid fears of a tsunami hitting the coastline (pictured)
People stand in line to register in a shelter after they were evacuated from their coastal town after an earthquake struck off the southern coast, in Tapachula, Mexico
Emergency: This was the scene after patients and doctors fled from a hospital in Mexico City as the earthquake struck
The quake shook a large swath of the country and was felt as far north as Mexico City – hundreds of miles from the epicenter – where people ran from their homes as buildings trembled and swayed (pictured)
Entire buildings were reduced to rubble as the earthquake rattled southern Mexico. This was the seen in one of the worst-hit placed – Juchitan in Oaxaca
Mexico’s president Enrique Pena Nieto confirmed that major damage has been caused and that 1 million initially had been without power following the quake, but that electricity had been restored to 800,000 of them.
He said that there have been 62 aftershocks and it’s possible one as strong as 7.2 could hit.
Some of the worst initial reports came from Juchitan in Oaxaca state, where sections of the town hall, a hotel, a bar and other buildings were reduced to rubble.
Rescue workers laboured through the night in badly affected areas to check for people trapped in collapsed buildings.
Windows also shattered at Mexico City airport and power went out in several neighborhoods of the capital, affecting more than 1 million people. The cornice of a hotel came down in the southern tourist city of Oaxaca, a witness said.
Terrified residents fled into the streets amid chaotic scenes in the wake of the huge tremor.
Patients and doctors wait outside a hospital in Villahermosa, Mexico, after the earthquake shook the building overnight
Rescuers rushed to the scene of a collapsed building in Matias Romero, Oaxaca, Mexico in the aftermath of the quake
This was the scene after the earthquake damaged the entrance of Benito Juarez international airport in Mexico City
Tremors were stronger than a devastating earthquake in 1985 that hit the capital flattening swathes of the city and killing thousands
Members of the Mexican army were called out to examine damage caused by an earthquake in the Port of Veracuz last night
Damage: Buildings were rattled as far away as Mexico City. Picures have started to emerge of some of the damage caused in the city
Wreckage: Many buildings, including this one believed to be in southern Mexico, have been left in ruins after the earthquake struck
Bars and restaurants were emptied out after the earthquake struck. This was the scene outside a nightclub in downtown Mexico City
The earthquake was felt throughout the country’s capital of Mexico City and some reports indicate that it reached as far as Austin, Texas
‘The house moved like chewing gum and the light and internet went out momentarily,’ said Rodrigo Soberanes, who lives near San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, a poor, largely indigenous state popular with tourists.
Chiapas Gov. Manuel Velasco told television station Televisa the roofs of homes and a shopping centre had collapsed in San Cristobal.
‘There are damages in hospitals that have lost energy,’ he said. ‘Homes, schools and hospitals have been affected.’
Civil Defense in Chiapas said on its Twitter account that its personnel were in the streets aiding people and warned residents to prepare for aftershocks.
Buildings swayed strongly for more than one minute, loosening light fixtures from ceilings. Helicopters crisscrossed the sky above Mexico City with spotlights. Some neighborhoods kept electricity while others remained in darkness.
In neighboring Guatemala, President Jimmy Morales spoke on national television to call for calm while emergency crews checked for damage.
‘We have reports of some damage and the death of one person, even though we still don’t have details,’ Morales said. He said the unconfirmed death occurred in San Marcos state near the border with Mexico.
Lucy Jones, a seismologist in California who works with the U.S. Geological Survey, said such as quake was to be expected.
‘Off the west coast of Mexico is what’s called the subduction zone, the Pacific Plate is moving under the Mexican peninsula,’ she said. ‘It’s a very flat fault, so it’s a place that has big earthquakes relatively often because of that.’
People ran into the street in the Tlatelolco neigbourhood of Mexico City as the powerful 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck
The tremors were felt far and wide, including in the southern Port of Veracruz, where this building lay in tatters
Two women try to make phone calls as people gather on a street after an earthquake jolted Mexico City
The earthquake was felt across Mexico, shaking buildings in the country’s capital amid reports tremors were detected as a far away as Austin, Texas – more than 1,300 miles from the epicentre. This was the scene in downtown Mexico City late last night
Residents ran into the streets in the country’s capital, one of the biggest cities in the world, after the earthquake struck
In one central neighbourhood of Mexico City, dozens of people stood outside after the quake, some wrapped in blankets against the cool night air
People ran from their homes after the huge earthquake rattled houses and caused buildings to collapse in the south
There were chaotic scenes as people ran out into the streets in southern Mexico after the tremor rattled buildings at 11.49pm
MAJOR EARTHQUAKES OF THE PAST 30 YEARS
An 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck southern Mexico late Thursday and was felt as far away as Mexico City, the US Geological Survey said.
It hit offshore 75 miles southwest of the town of Tres Picos in the state of Chiapas and sparked warnings of tsunami waves across Central America.
There were no immediate reports of fatalities, but quakes of this size have caused massive destruction in the past.
Here are some of the most powerful earthquakes of the last 30 years:
August 8, 2017: A relatively shallow 6.3-magnitude earthquake rattles northwest China, followed by two smaller aftershocks. Twenty-four people killed.
August 24, 2016: A quake with a magnitude of up to 6.2 hits villages in central Italy, killing nearly 300 people. The tremor was felt in Rome, 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the epicentre near Amatrice.
April 16, 2016: A 7.8-magnitude quake strikes Ecuador, killing 673 people and levelling thousands of buildings up and down the coast.
February, 2016: A 6.4 magnitude quake hit Taiwan’s Tainan. More than 100 people are killed after a building collapses.
It is the strongest to hit quake-prone Mexico at least since 1985, when an 8.1-magnitude earthquake in Mexico City killed more than 10,000 people. The authorities have since instituted a stricter building code and developed an earthquake alert system using sensors placed on the coasts
October 26, 2015: A powerful 7.5 magnitude quake strikes Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region and is felt throughout much of South Asia.
April 25, 2015: A 7.8 magnitude quake in Nepal kills almost 8,900 people and destroys about half a million homes. A massive aftershock with a magnitude of 7.3 follows in May, killing dozens more.
August 11, 2012: Twin earthquakes with a magnitude 6.3 and 6.4 leave 306 dead and more than 3,000 injured near the Iranian city of Tabriz.
March 11, 2011: Nearly 18,900 are killed when a tsunami triggered by a massive magnitude 9.0 undersea quake slams into the northeast coast of Japan, triggering a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic plant.
October 23, 2011: An earthquake of 7.2 magnitude rocks eastern Turkey, leaving more than 600 dead and at least 4,150 injured.
January 12, 2010: Magnitude 7.0 quake hits Haiti, leaving between 250,000 and 300,000 dead.
April 14, 2010: A 6.9-magnitude quake hits Yushu county in northwest China’s Qinghai province leaving 3,000 people dead and missing.
May 12, 2008: A quake measuring 8.0 hits China’s southwest province of Sichuan, leaving more than 87,000 people dead or missing.
May 27, 2006: A powerful quake in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta region kills 6,000 and leaves 1.5 million homeless.
October 8, 2005: An earthquake of 7.6 magnitude kills more than 75,000 people, the vast majority of them in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province and the Pakistani-administered zone of Kashmir state. Some 3.5 million are displaced.
March 28, 2005: An earthquake on Indonesia’s Nias island off Sumatra leaves 900 dead.
December 26, 2004: A magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggers a tsunami that kills 220,000 in countries around the Indian Ocean, including 168,000 in Indonesia.
December 26, 2003: A quake measuring 6.7 hits the Iranian city of Bam, killing at least 31,884 people and injuring 18,000.
January 26, 2001: A massive 7.7 earthquake hits the western Indian state of Gujarat, killing 25,000 people and injuring 166,000.
September 30, 1993: A 6.3-magnitude quake hits the western Indian state of Maharashtra, killing 7,601.
October 20, 1991: A quake measuring 6.6 hits the Himalayan foothills of Uttar Pradesh state in India, killing 768.
August 20, 1988: A magnitude 6.8 quake hits eastern Nepal, killing 721 people in Nepal and at least 277 in the neighbouring Indian state of Bihar.