March 20, 2012 - Mexico - Two powerful earthquakes struck southwestern Mexico today, the strongest measuring 7.4 magnitude at 12:02 PM local time (1:02 PM Chicago time). The epicenter is about 100 miles (162 km) west southwest of Oaxaca (16.662°N, 98.188°W), and 200 miles (322 km) south southeast of Mexico City. (
Details at USGS.)
There are no reports of major damage at this time.
At least three aftershocks measuring over 5.0 magnitude struck within an hour of the initial quake. Mexico's President Felipe Calderon said that no serious damage had been caused by the strong quake.
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| Malia Obama in Oaxaca: The girl is alright |
"The quake was felt strongly in southern Guerrero state," says the Houston Chronicle, "where the epicenter was located about 15 miles (25 km) from the city of Ometepec. Neighboring Oaxaca state also shook heavily, including with two aftershocks. Governors in both states reported on their Twitter accounts that there were not major reports of damage."
Barack Obama's oldest daughter Malia, 13, is vacationing in Oaxaca with a school group. The White House says that
Malia is safe and was not in any danger during the earthquake events. Agence France-Presse, it seems, has done more to
ruin Malia Obama's vacation that any earthquake could. The earthquake activity today also made stories such as "
Media scrubs Malia Obama vacation story" seem a bit overblown –
or justified. Perhaps God Himself didn't want that story to go away.
