’Quakes in Mexico kill six

Press, 1 December 1978, Page 6

’Quakes in Mexico kill six

NZPA-Reuter Mexico City At least six persons were feared dead yesterday after four powerful earthquakes struck Mexico City and much of central and southern Mexico. The police put the known death toll in the capital at four after the string of earthquakes, which had a [maximum intensity of 7.9 on [the Richter scale. Reports from other parts of the country spoke of little damage with only a few scattered injuries. All the earthquakes occurred within about three hours. The first, was the strongest and lasted about 70 seconds. Swaying tower blocks in the capital banged : together, sending glass and [ masonry cascading into the I streets. Thousands of panic-strick-;en office workers fled from [buildings. An independent television ■ station reported that one man had died jumping from ! a tall building, two had been trampled to death in the rush to evacuate offices, and three had been crushed by falling debris. Mexico city, which has: nearly 14 million inhabitants, was lucky to escape a major disaster. First reports spoke of buildings collapsing in the city centre with many dead and injured in the rubbish. But the Red Cross later announced that only about 50 people had suffered slight injuries. There was no sign of flattened buildings. The earthquakes were centred under the Pacific Ocean off the south-western state of Oaxaca. Estimates of the initial: shock varied. Observatories in the United States measured it at nearly 8.8 on the Richter scale and described it as a major eqrthquake.