Magnitude 4.8 earthquake triggers seismic warning in southern and central Mexico

Mexico City, 18 Mar An earthquake of magnitude 4.8 with an epicenter in the southern state of Guerrero, near Acapulco, triggered this Friday the seismic alert in several states of the country, being perceived very slightly in the capital, according to the National Seismological Service (SSN). “Earthquake magnitude 4.8. Located 6 kilometers southwest of Acapulco, Guerrero,” the agency reported on Twitter. The earthquake occurred at 13.53 local time (19.53 GMT) and triggered the seismic alert of the capital and much of the country, prompting thousands of people to temporarily evacuate the buildings. At the moment no material damage is reported, although the earthquake was noticeable in Acapulco. “There is an earthquake in Guerrero, we activated the care protocols and established communication with the municipal authorities to rule out damage. (...) Report incidents to 911,” said Guerrero Civil Protection on Twitter. “Earthquake. We started protocol by seismic alarm. So far without perception in the city. We continue to report,” said the head of government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, on the same social network. In Oaxaca, the governor, Alejandro Murat, explained in a brief message that “protocols were activated” in the face of the earthquake, in order to “evaluate” that there is no damage. Just last March 3, an earthquake of magnitude 6.2, with an epicenter in the eastern state of Veracruz, struck the east and center of the country, leaving no casualties or material damage. One of the most recent earthquakes was that of 7 September, which was magnitude 7.1 and with an epicenter very close to the Acapulco spa, in Guerrero, where it caused material damage. While in mid-2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, an earthquake of magnitude 7.4 left a dozen people dead and about twenty injured in the southern state of Oaxaca. In 2017, 471 people died in Mexico as a result of three earthquakes on September 7, 19 and 23, in the greatest natural tragedy in Mexico since the 1985 earthquake, which left thousands dead in the country's capital. The 8.2 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter in Chiapas on September 7 left 98 fatalities; 78 of them in Oaxaca, 16 in Chiapas and four in Tabasco. The one on September 19, of magnitude 7.1 and with an epicenter between Puebla and Morelos (center), left 369 dead, 228 of them in Mexico City. Four other people lost their lives on September 23, when a 6.1 earthquake in southern Mexico triggered the seismic alert in the capital. CHIEF mqb/jmrg/cfa (photo) (video)