Strongest earthquake since 1985 hits off Mexican coast; 36 killed

Thirty six persons were killed after a powerful 8.1-magnitude earthquake strikes off the Pacific coast of Mexico, rattling buildings in the capital on Friday. The city witnessed one of the strongest quake, after a devastating 1985 earthquake which caused widespread damage to the city.

The epicenter of the quake was estimated offshore about 60 miles southwest of Pijijiapan, just north of the Mexico-Guatemala border.

A tsunami has been confirmed in Mexico, with one wave coming in at 2.3 feet (0.7 meters), according to a tweet from the National Weather Service's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center's verified account.

Both Mexico's National Seismological Service and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center put the preliminary magnitude of the earthquake at 8.0.

Meanwhile, authorities in New Zealand are assessing whether the powerful quake could generate a tsunami along their coastline. The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management and GNS Science said that If a tsunami had been generated it was not likely to arrive in New Zealand for at least 12 hours.

Several powerful aftershocks also appeared to hit the area.

Mexico sits on the so-called 'Pacific Ring of Fire', an arc of fault lines circling the Pacific Basin which is prone to frequent and large earthquakes.

OneIndia News