| Situation Update No. 5 Ref.no.: EQ-20100405-25579-MEX
Situation Update No. 5
On 2010-04-06 at 03:05:53 [UTC]
Event: Earthquake
Location: Mexico State of Baja California 12 km NE Guadalupe Victoria
Number of Deads: 2 person(s)
Number of Injured: 100 person(s)
Number of Evacuated: 300 person(s)
Situation: A major earthquake with 7.2 magnitude hit the North American west coast, particularly the Mexican peninsula of Baja California on Saturday evening, killing two people. The earthquake was reportedly felt by 20 million people, even those as far away in Nevada. Aftershocks from this earthquake are expected to hit the area in the next few days. Of the two persons who died in the quake near Mexicali city, which has a population of 900,000 people, one's home reportedly collapsed on him, while the other was overrun by a car when he ran out of his home to safeguard himself from the quake. A state of emergency has been declared in Mexicali city even as many people are still trapped in their homes there. Rescue workers are cutrrently using digging equipment and searching sites with sniffer dogs around Mexicali, particularly Tijuna, for people who may still be stuck under the rubble. The earthquake which struck 10 km deep, 26 km from Guadalupe Victoria in Baja California at 3:40 PM local time, is claimed to be the worst in the area since 1992. In United States, the 7.2 magnitude earthquake caused power outages, while fire fighters quickly began inspecting power lines, bridges and roads to ensure that there were no damages. Many people got stuck in lifts post the quake, while Disneyland rides in California were shut down. An eyewitness from Los Angeles, Kyle Stockburger described feeling the quake as unreal. He said, "Everyone stopped talking in the restaurant and the overhead lights started swaying back and forth. It wasn't violent, just unreal. It felt like the whole earth was swaying.
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California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Monday after a powerful earthquake centered in Mexico left severe damage in southern California. A 7.2 magnitude earthquake centered in Baja California on Mexico's west coast Sunday killed two people and knocked out power and telephone services and damaged buildings there. The temblor also disrupted telephone communications, buckled roads, broke water mains and damaged critical water storage facilities across the border in Imperial County, Calif., Schwarzenegger said. The Mexican government-owned power company Comision Federal de Electricidad said it was restoring power to customers after the quake, although the utility didn't say how many were without electricity. Two transmission lines between Mexicali and Tijuana on the northern border suffered outages and there were problems at 27 substations, 11 of which have since been brought back online, according to the company. Mexico's biggest fixed-line telephone company, Telefonos de Mexico sent crews out to repair damaged fiber optic lines, although the company didn't say how many people were without phone service. State oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said gasoline supplies were flowing into Baja California after a temporary power outage at a distribution center, and that fuel supplies there were sufficient to meet demand. Sempra Energy (SRE), which owns power and natural gas facilities on both sides of the border, said none of its facilities in Mexico or southern California were seriously damaged. |
