5.5 magnitude earthquake ‘surprises’ Chiapas and Oaxaca this Monday

A 5.5 magnitude earthquake occurred in Chiapas and was felt in nearby areas such as Oaxaca and Veracruz on Monday.

The National Seismological Service reported preliminarily that the quake had its epicenter 36 kilometers northwest of Arriaga, in Chiapas, at 1:02 p.m. The agency updated the information shortly after, highlighting that it was 5.5 magnitude and the epicenter was west of Cintalapa.

So far, no damage has been reported in the states where the earthquake was felt, the National Civil Protection Coordination reported at 1:25 p.m.

Luis Manuel Gracias Moreno, Secretary of Civil Protection in Chiapas said on Monday that the aircraft of the Government of Chiapas were activated to fly over the different regions to identify any anomaly from the air.

He said that evacuation protocols were activated in public buildings, hospitals, businesses and some schools that have already returned from school recess.

It should be remembered that Chiapas is a highly seismic entity, so far this year there have been 2,112 earthquakes, of the 17,000 recorded nationwide, said the state official.

For this reason, he asked the population to carry out recurrent simulations with earthquake hypotheses to safeguard physical integrity and reduce risks in homes or workplaces.

In Tabasco, so far, no damage has been reported. Workers in government offices and companies left the offices after hearing the seismic alert.

The tremor was also noticeable in Oaxaca. In the state capital, state government buildings and homes were evacuated, as well as shopping centers.

According to information from the SkyAlert platform, this tremor occurred at a depth of 127 kilometers; “The greater the depth, the less intense” the earthquakes are, he stressed.

Seismic alert was activated by mistake in CDMX

On Friday, August 2, the seismic alert was activated in Mexico City and the State of Mexico, but it was activated by mistake, according to the authorities.

This happened after Civil Protection reported that the alert tests would begin that same day, as part of the preparations for the 2024 National Drill that will take place on September 19.

When the seismic alert sounded, security protocols were activated, so in CDMX the buildings were evacuated and people went out into the streets. Transportation services, such as the Metrobús, the Cablebús and the capital Metro, also temporarily stopped operations.

Source: elfinanciero