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Strong Earthquake Shakes Mexico
A strong earthquake shook southern and central Mexico late Sunday, causing buildings to sway in Mexico City and panicked tourists in Acapulco to believe they were under terrorist attack. Damage appeared to be minor.
The quake was centered 25 miles north of Acapulco, seismologists said. Mexico's National Seismological Services put the magnitude as 6.1, while the U.S. Geological Survey said it measured at 5.5.
In Acapulco, tourists streamed from hotels and restaurants into the streets, where shouts of ``It's a bomb!'' rose from the crowds. Many Mexicans are nervous about bombs since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States and the U.S.-led bombing of Afghanistan, which began Sunday.
Gustavo Pina Lagunes, a civil protection official for Guerrero state, where Acapulco is located, said many transformers and power lines fell during the earthquake and power was out in several working-class neighborhoods in Acapulco and surrounding towns.
He said several water mains ruptured as well and telephones were out in parts of the city. But there were no reports of damage to the coastal tourist section of Acapulco, he said.
Isabel Zaragoza, a receptionist at the Acapulco Tortuga hotel, said tourists ran out of their rooms when the seven-story building began to sway, but there appeared to be little damage, ``aside from the scare.''
Police helicopters flew over Mexico City to survey damage, but reported finding none. The city, built on a lakebed, often feels quakes that are much stronger hundreds of miles away.
On Sept. 19, 1985, the city was hit by an 8.1-magnitude quake that destroyed 400 buildings and killed more than 9,500 people.
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