Very strong dangerous earthquake in between Zihutanejo and Acapulco, Mexico (close to Tecpan)

 

Last update: May 8, 2014 at 7:58 pm by By Armand Vervaeck Earthquake-report.com – Update 19:50 UTC : n Morelos: a wall collapsed + a government building, a restaurant and a school were damaged Update 19:18 UTC : The seismogram from this earthquake (Courtesy Mexican agency SSN) Update 19:13 UTC : So far no reports of injuries but based on our experience it will take at least another 3 to 4 hours before a better picture of the situation can be made. The Mexican Civil Defense is very trained to cope with earthquakes. * A wall collapsed in the Miguel Hidalgo district of Mexico City. * The shaking video images below have been recorded in Mexico City, 300 km from the epicenter. Video 1 shows the shaking in the studios and shows the people going to the middle of the road Video 2 shows the shaking electricity poles which lasted very long, normally a bed sign for damage near the epicenter Update 18:26 UTC : * In Tecpan, Guerrero two platforms from a bridge collapsed * In Chilpancingo power went out for a few minutes also phone and Internet service were down Update 18:23 UTC : So far only scattered reports of slight damage + the logical “everybody in the streets” phenomenon (in cities is the Middle of the street indeed the best place to stand). The damage on the picture below was reported from the International Airport of Mexico City (image courtesy and copyright @AylenDelToro) Update 17:47 UTC : SSN Mexico reports a Magnitude of M6.6 at a depth of 17 km. The focal Mechanism of the earthquake shows mainly a typical subduction pattern (Oceanic plate dives below the North American Plate). The Mexican coast has an important “locking” factor which means the the plates do not gradually move but do hang here and there. When the pressure gets too big, the earthquake is triggered. Update 17:33 UTC : Max Wyss who specializes in theoretical calculation of injured / fatalities - ESTIMATE OF HUMAN LOSSES : Injured Exp. min/max: 40/400,  Fatalities Exp. min/max: 0/100 – We hope he is totally wrong with his Max. numbers. On the positive side, he used M6.7 as a base for his calculations and after revision the Magnitude has been set to 6.4 Update 17:30 UTC : Maximum shaking MMI VI or strong shaking Update 17:24 UTC : Good News : Magnitude has been decreased to M6.4 and the depth increased to 24 km. We love it ! But still some very strong shaking of course (in a narrow coastal radius) Update 17:19 UTC : Based on our experience with other similar strength earthquakes in Guerrero, we think that certainly damage will be inflicted but we expect only a limited number of injuries. Lets hope we are correct. Damage can be repaired but human lives is a different story. Update 17:07 UTC : Tsunami evaluation for the US West Coast : EVALUATION * THERE IS NO TSUNAMI DANGER FOR THE AREAS LISTED ABOVE. * THIS EVALUATION IS BASED ON EARTHQUAKE INFORMATION AND HISTORIC TSUNAMI RECORDS. HOWEVER – EARTHQUAKES OF THIS SIZE SOMETIMES GENERATE LOCAL  TSUNAMIS THAT CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS LOCATED WITHIN  A HUNDRED KILOMETERS OF THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES  IN THE REGION OF THE EPICENTER SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS  POSSIBILITY AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION. 13km (8mi) WSW of Tecpan de Galeana, Mexico 39km (24mi) W of Atoyac de Alvarez, Mexico 60km (37mi) SE of Petatlan, Mexico 80km (50mi) WNW of Coyuca de Benitez, Mexico 303km (188mi) SW of Mexico City, Mexico Click on the “I Felt It” button behind the corresponding earthquake. Your earthquake experience is not only important for science, but also for people in the area as well as our global readership.