Post by Gay Titan on Apr 5, 2010 13:33:15 GMT
TIJUANA, Mexico - Roads were torn up, buildings cracked and electricity posts toppled on Monday after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake shook cities in northern Mexico and Southern California, but few casualties were reported.
Mexican civil protection officials said at least one person died in a collapsed house in Mexicali, Mexico, a border city near the epicenter of Sunday's quake, and about 100 more were injured.
Another person was killed in a car accident on a darkened street in Mexicali, which was almost entirely without power.
The quake struck at 3:40 p.m. PT (6:40 p.m. ET), about 20 miles southeast of Mexicali, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Three aftershocks of magnitudes 5.1, 4.5 and 4.3 followed within the hour.
"It sounds like it's felt by at least 20 million people at this point," USGS seismologist Lucy Jones said. "Most of Southern California felt this earthquake."
Some buildings in Mexicali appeared to have structural damage and many had cracked floors, walls and broken windows, though no major buildings collapsed.
Residents gathered in the streets of the hard-hit U.S. town of Calexico, trading news of local damage that was extensive enough for police to close off the downtown.
Businesses in Calexico were guarded by police Sunday night after the quake damaged pre-war buildings not updated to handle strong quakes, Calexico police Lt. Gonzalo Gerardo said.
"Downtown is going to remain closed until further notice," he said.
Bricks had fallen from the one-story buildings and some windows were shattered.
"It felt like I was in a canoe in the middle of the ocean," Rosendo Garcia, 44, said of the temblor.
Garcia said that five homes at his trailer park were seriously damaged.
Mexican civil protection officials said at least one person died in a collapsed house in Mexicali, Mexico, a border city near the epicenter of Sunday's quake, and about 100 more were injured.
Another person was killed in a car accident on a darkened street in Mexicali, which was almost entirely without power.
The quake struck at 3:40 p.m. PT (6:40 p.m. ET), about 20 miles southeast of Mexicali, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Three aftershocks of magnitudes 5.1, 4.5 and 4.3 followed within the hour.
"It sounds like it's felt by at least 20 million people at this point," USGS seismologist Lucy Jones said. "Most of Southern California felt this earthquake."
Some buildings in Mexicali appeared to have structural damage and many had cracked floors, walls and broken windows, though no major buildings collapsed.
Residents gathered in the streets of the hard-hit U.S. town of Calexico, trading news of local damage that was extensive enough for police to close off the downtown.
Businesses in Calexico were guarded by police Sunday night after the quake damaged pre-war buildings not updated to handle strong quakes, Calexico police Lt. Gonzalo Gerardo said.
"Downtown is going to remain closed until further notice," he said.
Bricks had fallen from the one-story buildings and some windows were shattered.
"It felt like I was in a canoe in the middle of the ocean," Rosendo Garcia, 44, said of the temblor.
Garcia said that five homes at his trailer park were seriously damaged.
