http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=5417362 7.2-magnitude quake shakes Mexico and US
April 06, 2010 Edition 1
TIJUANA: An earthquake caused buildings to sway from Los Angeles to Tijuana, killing two people in Mexico, blacking out cities and resulting in the evacuations of hospitals and nursing homes. One California city closed its city centre because of unstable buildings.
The 7.2-magnitude quake on Sunday afternoon, centred south of the US border near Mexicali, was one of the strongest in the region in decades.
"It sounds like it's felt by at least 20 million people," US Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones said. "Most of southern California felt this earthquake."
The quake hit hardest in Mexicali, a commerce centre along Mexico's border with California, where authorities said the quake was followed by at least 20 smaller aftershocks, including ones of magnitudes 5.1, 4.5 and 4.3. The initial quake had a shallow depth of 10km.
"It has not stopped trembling in Mexicali," said Baja California state civil protection director Alfredo Escobedo.
He said one man was killed when his home near Mexicali collapsed and another died when he ran into the street in panic and was struck by a car.
At least 100 people were injured in the city, most of them struck by falling objects. Power was out and the blackout lasted most of yesterday, Escobedo said.
He said 300 patients were evacuated from the Mexicali General Hospital to private clinics because the building had no electricity or water.
The parking garage at Mexicali's city hall collapsed, but no one was injured, Escobedo said.
Scientists said the main quake occurred on a fault that had not produced a major temblor in more than a century. Preliminary data suggested the quake occurred on the Laguna Salada fault, which last unleashed a similar-sized quake in 1892.
