ACT member Church World Service (CWS) reports that a major earthquake
shook Mexico at 20:06 on 21 January. The magnitude of the earthquake
was 7.6 on the Richter Scale and lasted about 50 seconds shaking west
and central Mexico. The epicenter was on the Pacific coast, near the
seaside resort of Manzanillo in the state of Colima, some 500 miles
from the Mexican capital.
The quake caused panic, power cuts, interruptions
in communications services, as well as the mobilization of civil protection
and emergency services in the states of Colima, Jalisco, Mexico City,
Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Guerrero,
Oaxaca Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas.
The assessment of damage has begun and the death toll currently stands
at 21: 19 in Colima and 2 in Jalisco. There are reports of missing
persons in the municipality of Tecomán, Jalisco.
ACT member in Mexico, Church World Service, CWS, is making
contact with local organizations in the States of Colima and Jalisco,
to compare the damages against local response capabilities and thus
better identify international aid needs, which will be communicated
to the ACT CO as soon as possible.
