A powerful earthquake that shook Mexico from its massive capital to its resort-studded southern coast damaged hundreds of homes and sent thousands of panicked people fleeing from swaying office buildings, yet apparently didn’t cause a single death.
As of early Wednesday, there were still no reports of deaths from Tuesday’s magnitude-7.4 quake centered near the border between the southern states of Oaxaca and Guerrero, even after 10 aftershocks.
Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said Wednesday about 300,000 people in the south side of the capital were without water after the quake damaged two aqueducts. He said two people were reported injured, including the driver of an empty bus crashed under a collapsed pedestrian bridge.
Bess Farrell and Brenda Welling, missionaries to Mexico with Encompass World Partners, posted an update on Facebook about how they are doing in the aftermath of the earthquake:
“Brenda and I are fine. We were on the roof of our building with a small group of women when the temblor hit. We simply began to pray. It was powerful to say the least, the temblor and the prayer!!! We don’t know if everyone else is ok because we have no electricity, no internet in the house and no phone, house or cell. We are in a restaurant now getting something to eat and using the internet. Scary times these earthquakes. Thanks for praying for us.”
The quake’s epicenter was 200 miles (320 kilometers) south-southeast of Mexico City. Despite the distance, it was felt powerfully in the capital where office towers swayed violently and the streets filled with people fleeing buildings.