7.6 Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Mexico: Residents Highlight 'Sacred Date' September 19, University Says No Scientific Explanation

Illustration. (Unsplash/@jensaber)

JAKARTA - A massive earthquake rocked Mexico, with one person reported dead, as the public highlighted the earthquake on the same date while no scientific explanation could be given.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake rocked western Mexico on Monday, on the anniversary of two powerful quakes, killing at least one person.

The quake also damaged buildings, turned off the electricity, and sent Mexico City residents scrambling out for safety.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in a video speech that someone had died in the Pacific port of Manzanillo, after a wall collapsed in a shop.

Authorities also reported damage to two hospitals in the western state of Michoacan near the epicenter, which is in a sparsely populated part of Mexico.

The earthquake occurred shortly after 1 p.m. local time near the west coast and near Michoacan's border with Colima state, where Manzanillo is located, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The quake was relatively shallow, with a depth of only 15 km (9 miles), which would have amplified its impact.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning for parts of the Mexican coast, saying waves reaching 1 to 3 meters (3 to 9 feet) above high tide were possible.

Before announcing the deaths in Manzanillo, President Lopez Obrador said there was material damage near the epicenter. Images posted on social media show buildings badly damaged.

Mexican authorities said a seismic alert had been sounded nearly two minutes before the quake struck, giving residents time to evacuate their homes.

However, some in the capital struggled to understand it was a real earthquake, as the government had sounded the alarm earlier in the day as a rehearsal to commemorate the last earthquake on the same day.

Separately, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said there were no immediate reports of major damage in the capital after the quake.

This earthquake also caused a power outage. In parts of Rome in Mexico City, about 400 km (250 miles) from the epicenter, the national power utility said the outage reached 1.2 million users.

In the spotlight, the earthquake occurred on the same date, when two great earthquakes rocked Mexico in 1985 and 2017.

"It seems like a curse," Isa Montes, a 34-year-old graphic designer in Rome's downtown neighborhood.

Meanwhile, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), one of the country's most prestigious institutions of higher learning, said there was no scientific explanation for the three major earthquakes on the same day, and attributed it to mere coincidence.

But others couldn't fully believe it.

"Here's the date. There's something about the 19th," said Ernesto Lanzetta, a business owner in the Cuauhtemoc area of ​​the city. "The 19th is a day to be feared," he continued.

It is known, thousands of people died in the September 19, 1985 earthquake, while more than 350 people died in the September 19, 2017 earthquake.