At Least 248 Dead In Mexican Earthquake As New Zealand Also Struck By 6.1 Quake

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At least 248 people are confirmed dead in Mexico after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck while New Zealand has been hit by two massive earthquakes.

Tremors could be felt across the Kiwi islands as New Zealand was rocked first by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake which struck south-west of Invercargill, followed by a 5.1 magnitude earthquake which hit north-east of Seddon, according to USGS.

Authorities have issued a reminder to ‘drop, cover, and hold’ in the event of an earthquake, as Geonet reported the natural event caused ‘moderate shaking’.

Tremors may have been felt in Balclutha, Gore, Invercargill, Lumsden, Roxburgh, Te Anau and Tuatapere, while the Seddon quake was felt strongly in Wellington.

It was strong enough to shut down all Metlink trains in the nation’s capital of Wellington, on the afternoon of September 20, when both unrelated earthquakes hit.

The event originated in a seismically active area near a plate boundary called the Puysegur trench, which stretches for 800km between New Zealand’s South Island and a point in the Southern Ocean 400km west of the Auckland Islands.

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The earthquakes felt in New Zealand are said to have no connection to that felt in Mexico City, which has killed at least 248 people, leaving many trapped under collapsed buildings.

The city descended into a state of grief and chaos, as the epicentre of the 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck 2.8 miles east-north-east of San Juan Raboso and 34.1 miles south-southwest of the city of Puebla, in Puebla state, according to the US Geological Survey.

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Francesca Donovan

A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.