7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles Mexico City
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MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (CBSMiami) - A major 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Mexico City on Tuesday, killing over 100 people, according to government officials.
Buildings were seen collapsing following the earthquake which rattled the area around 2 p.m. People are believed to be trapped in some of the collapsed buildings.
The nationwide death toll rose to 139 on Tuesday evening, according to Mexico's head of Civil Defense, and the Mexican federal government declared a state of disaster in Mexico City which helps free up emergency funds.
Thousands of casualties are expected after the earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The epicenter of the earthquake was in Raboso which is about 76 miles away from Mexico City, USGS says.
Other areas near the epicenter include Puebla, Izúcar de Matamoros, Atencingo and Atlixco. They are all heavily populated with more than a million people. Mexico City has about 20 million.
Today marks the anniversary of a 1985 earthquake in Mexico that killed thousands and heavily damaged their capital.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto says he, along with their National Committee of Emergencies, are evaluating the situation. He has ordered all hospitals damaged in the earthquake to evacuate their patients.
Those in the area took to social media to show the scenes coming out of Mexico:
Se realiza sobrevuelo de supervisión con #Cóndores de la #PolicíaCDMX para descartar daños. pic.twitter.com/5poK7QrvtC
— Hiram Almeida E. (@hiramalmeidae) September 19, 2017
Oraciones para la Ciudad de México. ????#sismo #PrayForMexico pic.twitter.com/54H3WG6A4p
— Sr Limbo (@SrLimbo) September 19, 2017
Buildings collapsing in #MexicoCity Ciudad de México after a 7.1 earthquake hit #Mexico capital. Smoke columns are collapsed buildings. pic.twitter.com/r64oArg8rg
— Guido Mastrangelo (@GuidoGma) September 19, 2017
#México| Estos turistas filmaron el momento en que se produjo el sismo en la Ciudad de México mientras paseaban en bote por Xochimilco pic.twitter.com/hFA0SbKott
— Joaks Oficial TWEET (@juaquingerardo) September 19, 2017
Video del sismo ocurrido hace unos momentos, ese es el piso 38 de la Torre Reforma de Ciudad de México#Temblorpic.twitter.com/jBpMGwzXeR
— Mariana Ceruti C. (@MarianaCeruti) September 19, 2017
Tuesday's earthquake happened 12 days after an 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck offshore in southern Mexico - near Chiapas.
Mexico is a very seismically active area, according to USGS. Mexico is located near the Cocos and North America plates in the region. The area near the epicenter has experienced about 19 other earthquakes with at least a 6.5 magnitude.