Aftershocks rattle Mexico

People repair the roof of a house damaged by an earthquake in Ometepec, in the Mexican state of Guerrero.

People repair the roof of a house damaged by an earthquake in Ometepec, in the Mexican state of Guerrero.

Published Mar 22, 2012

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Mexico City - The ground continued to shake on Wednesday in Mexico, with 48 medium-intensity aftershocks following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake the day before.

“So far, there have been 48 aftershocks above 3.8 (magnitude),” Mexico's National Seismological Service said early on Wednesday.

Tuesday's earthquake - the epicentre was in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, near the Oaxaca state boundary - caused no deaths, but injured 11 people and damaged hundreds of buildings.

It was the largest earthquake in Mexico since the 8.1-magnitude temblor that claimed around 10 000 lives in September 1985.

Guerrero Governor Angel Aguirre said around 800 homes were damaged in that state, home to the resort city of Acapulco on the Pacific coast.

Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard estimated the damage at $3.6-million.

“It is not so much money, we have insurance to cover such things,” Ebrard told Mexican television.

However, about 300 000 people remained without water in the Mexico City districts of Iztapalapa and Tlahuac, due to damage caused by the earthquake on two aqueducts. A stretch of railway and two bridges also suffered damage.

In the capital, lessons were cancelled on Wednesday in 62 schools to allow for inspections for damage.

Other parts of the country also suffered the effects of the earthquake. - Sapa-dpa

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