Earthquake in Mexico on September 19, 2017

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Earthquake in Puebla
Earthquake in Mexico on September 19, 2017 (Mexico)
Bullseye1.svg
Coordinates 18 ° 33 ′ 0 ″  N , 98 ° 29 ′ 20 ″  W Coordinates: 18 ° 33 ′ 0 ″  N , 98 ° 29 ′ 20 ″  W
date 19th September 2017
Time 18:14:40 UTC
intensity VIII  on the MM scale
Magnitude 7.1  M W
depth 48 km
epicenter in Ayutla
country Mexico
dead 369
Surface intensity

The earthquake in Mexico on September 19, 2017 shook the country at 1:14 p.m. local time with a magnitude of 7.1 and had its center in the state of Puebla about 120 kilometers southeast of Mexico City . It occurred on the anniversary of the great 1985 earthquake and has been the most deadly quake in Mexico since then.

Tectonic background

Mexico is located in a seismically very active region, as here in the Central American Trench the coconut plate pushes under the North American plate , which makes up the largest part of the land mass of Mexico, at a speed of about 7.6 cm per year . Since this undercutting of the coconut plate is initially very shallow when viewed from the Pacific, so-called intraplate quakes often occur, i.e. quakes within the coconut plate. One such was the earthquake on September 19, which explains why its epicenter was not on the edge of the plate, but in the center of Mexico. After the earthquake on September 8, 2017, it was the second strong earthquake in Mexico within only twelve days, but seismologists assume that it is not an aftershock. The hypocenters are too far apart at a distance of 640 kilometers. It is believed, however, that the voltage changes in the subsurface caused by the previous earthquake could have triggered the earthquake of September 19.

Course of the quake

According to the Mexican national earthquake service Servicio Sismológico Nacional (SSN), the quake was registered at 1:14:40 pm with a magnitude of 7.1. The epicenter was 12 kilometers southeast of the city of Axochiapan and the hypocenter at a depth of 57 kilometers. The US agency USGS has located the center about 10 kilometers to the northeast and at a depth of 51 kilometers. In the valley of Mexico one was at a measuring station peak ground acceleration of 112 cm / sec 2 measured.

The world's first earthquake early warning system , the Sistema de Alerta Sísmica Mexicano ( SASMEX ), has been developed in Mexico since 1985 . This triggered an earthquake alarm in the capital 20 seconds before the first S-waves . This alarm and the warning time probably saved the lives of thousands of people. More than eleven aftershocks had been registered by September 21, the strongest of which reached a magnitude of 4.9.

Damage and sacrifice

State dead source
Mexico city 228
Morelos 74
Puebla 45
State of Mexico 15th
Guerrero 6th
Oaxaca 1
Partially collapsed building in Mexico City
Cleanup in Mexico City

To mark the 32nd anniversary of the great 1985 earthquake, numerous civil protection exercises took place around the country about two hours before the earthquake.

Dozens of houses collapsed, at least 40 in Mexico City alone, including a school. Many of the collapsed buildings date from before 1985, as stricter regulations for earthquake-proof construction have been issued since then. Rescue teams searched for survivors through the night, the military supported the search and rescue operations with over 3,000 soldiers. As in 1985, there was great solidarity among the population, civilians supported the rescue teams and donated clothing, food, medicine and drinking water. In the first 72 hours after the quake, around 50 people were rescued from collapsed buildings in Mexico City.

Air traffic at the airport was temporarily suspended and its buildings were examined for damage. Damaged hospitals have been evacuated. The classes in schools and at the university were temporarily canceled. According to Comisión Federal de Electricidad , around 4.8 million people were temporarily without power, and 95% of these failures could be rectified within two days.

Several countries sent teams and specialists - some with search dogs - to support the rescue work as well as medical personnel, including the USA, Japan, Israel, Germany, Switzerland, and some Latin American countries. The EU, the Vatican and individual countries donated money or donations in kind.

Luis Felipe Puente, the head of the Mexican civil defense, announced on October 4th that 369 people had been victims of the earthquake and that no more people had been reported missing. According to the Mexican Interior Ministry, over 8,000 people injured by the earthquake were treated in health facilities. Over 5000 people who had become homeless were accommodated in 84 temporary emergency shelters. A total of 69 people were saved alive from the rubble.

Web links

Commons : Earthquake in Mexico on September 19, 2017  - Collection of images
 Wikinews: Severe earthquake hits central Mexico  - News

Remarks

  1. ↑ In detail: The UN , Argentina , Chile , Costa Rica , Germany , Ecuador , El Salvador , Honduras , Israel , Japan , Canada , Colombia , Cuba , Panama , Peru , Switzerland , Spain , USA and Venezuela .
  2. ↑ In detail: The European Union , the Holy See , Bolivia , China , Canada , Russia , South Korea and Turkey .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b BOLETÍN DEL SISTEMA DE ALERTA SÍSMICA MEXICANO (SASMEX®). Centro de Instrumentación y Registro Sísmico, AC, September 19, 2017, accessed September 22, 2017 (Spanish).
  2. ↑ a b At least 225 dead after powerful earthquake hits central Mexico. In: theguardian.com . September 20, 2017, accessed September 20, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Mexico shaken again by a severe earthquake. In: zamg.ac.at . September 20, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017 .
  4. ↑ a b c Jonathan Amos: Are Mexico's two September earthquakes connected? In: bbc.com . September 20, 2017, accessed September 20, 2017 .
  5. ^ Grupo de trabajo del Servicio Sismológico Nacional, UNAM .: Reporte Especial. (PDF; 1.2 MB) In: ssn.unam.mx. Servicio Sismológico Nacional, September 19, 2017, accessed September 22, 2017 (Spanish).
  6. ↑ M 7.1 - 1km ESE of Ayutla, Mexico. In: earthquake.usgs.gov. USGS, September 19, 2017, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Horst Rademacher: 20 seconds that save lives. Mexico is one of the few countries with a good early warning system. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of September 22, 2017, p. 8.
  8. ↑ a b More than 220 dead in a severe earthquake in Mexico. In: derstandard.at . September 20, 2017. Retrieved September 20, 2017 .
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g Luis Felipe Puente: Actualización. In: Twitter . October 4, 2017, Retrieved October 5, 2017 (Spanish).
  10. ↑ a b Almost 300 dead after the earthquake in Mexico. In: derstandard.at . September 22, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2017 .
  11. ↑ More than 220 dead in earthquake near Mexico City. In: tagesspiegel.de . September 20, 2017, accessed June 23, 2020.
  12. ↑ CFE restablece 95% del servicio eléctrico en zonas afectadas. In: publimetro.com.mx. September 21, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2017 (Spanish).
  13. ^ Max Jaeger: US workers arrive in Mexico to aid quake rescue effort. In: nypost.com . September 21, 2017, accessed September 25, 2017 .
  14. ↑ Japan sends relief team to help with Mexico quake search mission. In: efe.com. September 21, 2017, accessed September 25, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Peter Prengaman: Mexico Offered rescuers, little long-term aid after quake. In: washingtonpost.com . September 20, 2017, accessed September 25, 2017 .
  16. ^ Office for Foreign Affairs of Mexico City: Países que apoyaron a México con brigadistas en distintas especialidades tras es sismo del 19S *. In: Twitter . September 27, 2017, Retrieved September 28, 2017 (Spanish).
  17. ↑ Denise Ryan: Canadian disaster dogs arrive home after Mexican earthquake work. In: vancouversun.com. October 1, 2017, accessed October 5, 2017 .
  18. ^ Cuba Sends Doctors to Help Mexico's Earthquake Victims. In: telesurtv.net. September 29, 2017, accessed October 16, 2017 .
  19. ^ Office for Foreign Affairs of Mexico City: Países que realizaron donativos (monetarios y en especie) a México tras el sismo del 19S *. In: Twitter . September 27, 2017, Retrieved September 28, 2017 (Spanish).
  20. ↑ Bolivia Sends Humanitarian Aid to Mexico After Earthquake. In: telesurtv.net. September 28, 2017, accessed October 16, 2017 .
  21. ↑ a b Luis Felipe Puente: Se rescataron 69 personas con vida. In: Twitter . October 4, 2017, Retrieved October 5, 2017 (Spanish).
  22. ↑ Semantiene Comité Nacional de Emergencias en sesión permanente. In: gob.mx. Ministry of Interior of Mexico, September 29, 2017, accessed September 30, 2017 (Spanish).