A second strong earthquake to strike western Mexico in the space of nine hours has caused no casualties or serious damage, according to initial reports from authorities.
The magnitude 6.9 quake off the Baja California peninsula in northwest Mexico struck early on Thursday morning in a sparsely populated region, and Alfredo Escobedo, head of emergency services in Baja California state, said no damage was reported.
A similar quake in the same area in 2008 did not cause any serious problems either, Escobedo added.
The quake hit about 8-1/2 hours after another tremor struck western Mexico, shaking buildings as far away as the capital and sending people rushing out of offices onto the streets. Authorities said no serious damage was reported and there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the Thursday morning quake was some 215 km (133 miles) west of Hermosillo in the state of Sonora, which lies across the Sea of Cortes from Baja California. A spokesman for emergency services in Hermosillo said there had been no reports of damage.
Four big earthquakes have hit Mexico in less than a month. A 7.4 magnitude quake struck on March 20, damaging hundreds of buildings in the southwest. Dozens of aftershocks followed.
On Wednesday an 8.7 magnitude earthquake struck off Indonesia, raising fears of a huge tsunami like the one that battered the Indian Ocean rim in 2004, but authorities said there were no reports suggesting a major threat.
(Reuters)
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