Following Earthquake, Water Recedes on Beaches As Mexico Fears Tsunami

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit Mexico‘s southern coast on Tuesday, killing at least one person, buckling paved roads and triggering a tsunami in coastal areas near the Pacific.

One person died in Oaxaca, local Governor Alejandro Murat reported, after the quake hit the Pacific coastal state mid-morning.

The Mexican seismological service said there is a tsunami underway off the coast of Oaxaca with sea levels rising 60 centimeters on Huatulco Beach, a popular destination for American and Canadian tourists.

Mexico’s civil protection agency recommended that residents move away from the coast. Videos on social media showed the ocean’s water receding in Oaxaca, a mountainous state home to coffee plantations and remnants of Spanish colonial architecture.

Miguel Candelaria, 30, was working on his computer at his family’s home in the city of Juchitán when the ground began to shake. He ran outside with his relatives, but they had to stop in the middle of the street as the pavement was rocking.

“We couldn’t walk. The street looked like chewing gum,” Candelaria said.

Neighbors screamed in terror while others shouted at people to run away from the light poles, which looked like they were about to collapse, said Candelaria, who works in telecommunications marketing.

Quakes of magnitude over seven are large earthquakes capable of causing widespread and massive damage. A 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit central Mexico in 2017 killed 355 people in Mexico City and neighboring states.

This Tuesday’s earthquake triggered a tsunami alert for the Pacific coast of Mexico and Central and South America. Waves of up to one meter high could break on the Mexican coast, warned the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Buildings shook in Mexico City, located hundreds of kilometers away.

Source: Exame