Two strong earthquakes hit Mexico hard within half a month. Will global seismic activity levels increase?

According to a comprehensive report on September 21, at 13:14 local time on the 19th, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake occurred in central Mexico. So far, more than 200 people have been killed.

This earthquake occurred on the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 earthquake in Mexico. It was the second strong earthquake to occur in Mexico in less than half a month. Although the magnitude was smaller than the 8.2-magnitude earthquake on September 7, the casualties far exceeded the former, once again disturbing the global nerves.

In the Condesa district of Mexico City, a man came out of a building. Outside the door was the rubble of houses on the ground, and the building was in ruins.

“The trembling of the earth is frightening”

The earthquake occurred in the state of Morelos in central Mexico, with the epicenter located 12 kilometers southwest of the city of Axochapan Kilometers away, many nearby places were affected, including the capital, Mexico City.

The earthquake was strongly felt in the capital, Mexico City. Many roads in the city center were broken, and at least 40 buildings were seriously damaged or collapsed. Multiple fires and gas leaks occurred throughout the city. About 3.8 million users in central Mexico were cut off from power. .

According to a Mexico City resident who was trapped in the subway for 40 minutes, "No one felt the earthquake at first. It was not until the subway stopped at the platform that the tremors of the earth were frightening, and everyone rushed out." It is reported that , some subways in Mexico City were suspended, and the airport was closed for a time and did not reopen until evening.

The school building of Enrique Rebsámen Elementary School in southern Mexico City collapsed during the earthquake. According to the Mexican Ministry of Education, 25 people have been confirmed killed at the school, 21 of whom were children. Volunteers, police and firefighters used search and rescue dogs to use their hands to search through the rubble of the school building, while parents waited anxiously.

In addition, an office building located on Bolivar Street in the center of Mexico City collapsed during the earthquake that day. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that the earthquake trapped at least some Taiwanese compatriots and injured one Taiwanese compatriot. The Chinese Embassy and Consulates in Mexico have immediately activated the emergency consular protection mechanism. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassy and consulates in Mexico will continue to closely track the disaster situation and provide timely assistance to Chinese citizens.

After the strong earthquake, more than 11 aftershocks have occurred, with the strongest magnitude reaching 4. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the economic impact of the earthquake to be between $1 billion and $10 billion.

Search and rescue personnel rescued an old man from the rubble.

People are digging through the rubble with their bare hands to rescue survivors

At present, post-disaster rescue work is still ongoing in various places. Previously, the Mexican military has sent more than 3,400 soldiers to participate in disaster relief; more than a dozen hospitals in Mexico City have also temporarily organized centralized rescue areas to receive the injured in open areas such as hospital terraces.

Local people also spontaneously participated in rescue operations, rescued survivors, and cheered and comforted each other with other victims. In areas where large machinery was not yet in place, people began digging with their bare hands. Someone could also be seen at the scene holding a "Quiet" sign so that searchers and rescuers could hear the voices of survivors.

When the earthquake occurred, Mexican President Pe?a Nieto had flown to Oaxaca to inspect the progress of earthquake relief on September 7. But after hearing the news about the earthquake, he immediately returned to Mexico City. He also reminded the public on the social networking site "Twitter" to keep the main roads open to facilitate the passage of rescue vehicles.

After the earthquake, U.S. President Trump posted on social networking sites, "We are with you and we will be there to assist you." In addition, leaders of the United Kingdom, Canada, Peru and other countries Expressed condolences and offered support to Mexico.

Next to the ruins of a collapsed building in Mexico City, volunteers removed stones with their bare hands to facilitate rescue operations.

Strong earthquakes occur frequently, and Mexico is hit hard again

This is the second strong earthquake that Mexico has suffered in less than half a month. On the evening of the 7th local time, an 8.2-magnitude earthquake occurred in the southern waters of Mexico. According to statistics, nearly 100 people were killed and 2.5 million people were affected.

This time we suffered another strong earthquake, which can be described as "making matters worse".

What is even more coincidental is that on the same day 32 years ago, a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 occurred in Mexico City, killing tens of thousands of people. Just two hours before the earthquake occurred, Mexico City organized a nationwide earthquake preparedness drill to commemorate the 1985 earthquake.

Mexico City resident Adriana, who quickly ran to safety during the earthquake, said, "Thanks to today's drill, I became familiar with the evacuation routes."

Although local governments have promoted earthquake prevention culture and strengthened building codes since 1985, the earthquake in Mexico City still caused heavy losses.

According to the analysis of Leon, an architect from the National Institute of General Studies in Mexico, the lack of planning and management in the cities affected by the earthquake is an important reason for the heavy losses in Mexico City - buildings were built that were not suitable for building houses; people built illegally without permission The construction is serious; dilapidated old buildings have not been demolished in time; there are problems with the structure and quantity of new buildings, and earthquake prevention factors have not been fully considered.

Patients in hospitals in the disaster area were forced to move to the sidewalk.

Global seismic activity levels are likely to increase in the coming months

Mexico is located in the eastern part of the Pacific Rim Seismic Belt and at the intersection of the Pacific, North American, Caribbean and other plates. It is one of the most important places in the world. One of the earthquake-prone areas.

According to statistics, in the past ten years, more than 80 earthquakes with magnitudes above 5 have occurred in Mexico. On the day of the earthquake in Mexico, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 also occurred in Peru. New Zealand, which is also on the Pacific Rim Seismic Belt, also experienced two earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 or above.

Sun Shihong, a researcher at the China Seismological Network Center, analyzed in an interview with a reporter from China News Service that the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that occurred this time was not an aftershock of the previous 8.2-magnitude earthquake in terms of location. However, as the world enters a period of active seismicity, these two strong earthquakes are related, which may mean that the level of seismic activity in Mexico is increasing.

Sun Shihong said that since the 9.3 magnitude earthquake occurred in the waters near Indonesia in 2004, the world has entered a period of active seismicity. However, the level of seismic activity in the second half of last year and the first half of this year was significantly low. He said that if a state of low activity occurs at this stage, it can be judged as an anomaly. It can be considered that the level of global seismic activity may increase in the next few months.

In the face of natural disasters such as earthquakes, we can only take passive precautions and respond to changes with stability.