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Mexico: New earthquakes rise the death toll. Rescue efforts continue

A new temblor centered in the state of Oaxaca shook Mexico on Saturday as an aftershock from the magnitude 8.1 earthquake that struck on September 7. The latest quake’s magnitude was 6.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Centered about 11 miles south-southeast of Matias Romero, a town located about 275 miles southeast of Mexico City, the temblor caused damages to some highways, two churches, and three hotels. A bridge that had been closed due to its vulnerability after the Sept. quake collapsed, the Federal Police agency informed.

Image credit: AP Photo / Felix Marquez / The Sacramento Bee

A least four people were killed in addition to the more than 400 hundred deaths caused by the natural disasters since Sept. 7, when Mexicans witnessed the strongest earthquake in 32 years. Authorities in Oaxaca declared that collapsed homes killed a woman in the town of Asuncion Ixtaltepec and a man in San Blas Atempa as walls fell on them, Fox News reported.

In Juchitan and Tlacotepec, four people were injured, but their lives were not in danger. Mexico City saw the majority of the deaths – 167– from last Tuesday’s magnitude 7.1 quake, but no significant damage was reported on Saturday. Still, two people suffered from heart attacks and passed away.

As alarms sounded, authorities at Mexico City’s Xoco General Hospital urged visitors to leave the building, but some of them refused to leave their loved ones. At least 115 people have been rescued since last week’s earthquake, and many of them remain in hospitals, where they receive treatment in hopes of recovering from severe brain injuries, fractures, and bruises.

Rescue operations threatened by the latest earthquake

Rescuers at some of the buildings that collapsed from Tuesday’s disaster were interrupted in Mexico City on Saturday morning. CNN footage showed them walking to a more stable ground after warning sirens sounded. Luis Felipe Puente, Mexico’s civil protection coordinator, told CNN affiliate Foro TV that rescue operations will continue for at least a couple of weeks.

Image credit: Ronaldo Schemidt / AFP / Getty Images / The Telegraph

Numerous testimonies show the desperation survivors experience during the disasters and while waiting to be rescued. People tumble on each other, and some even cause severe fractures by falling on a person’s leg or arm. However, they do their best to support each other during such difficult moments.

Victims have told the media how it is like when rescuers yell and ask whether anyone is alive in there but they cannot hear survivors’ replies because of the rubble. The desperation also increases when they fear the air will run out.

President Enrique Pena Nieto keeps emphasizing government efforts to help survivors. During a visit to Jiquipilas in the Southern state of Chiapas, a poor area severely damaged by the first quake this month, he promised that the federal government would continue to support the Mexican families hit by the disasters and to help them rebuild their homes. However, an increasing number of citizens believe the recent earthquakes have become just one topic in the electoral agenda ahead of the 2018 elections.

Source: CNN

Categories: World
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