Quake Hits US-Mexico

An earthquake measuring 7.2 on Richter scale hit northern Mexico and Southern California in the morning, tearing up roads, cracking buildings and toppling electricity posts, though only few casualties were reported, reported Reuters.

The quake was centred in a lightly populated area in northeastern Baja California and a series of aftershocks rocked the area around the epicenter for many hours, said report.

The US Geological Survey measured the quake at 7.2, a magnitude that can cause serious damage to urban areas, report said.

After the quake, telephone and electricity crews struggled to restore service in Mexicali and the surrounding area, which is home to more than one million people and is a prosperous center for food processing and assembly for exports, said report.

Border Patrol agents helping police have closed off eight downtown blocks across the border in the US town of Calexico to secure the area against looters, report said.

Mexican civil protection authorities said that at least one man was killed when a house collapsed and nearly 100 others injured in the quake, said report.

Another person was killed in a car accident on a darkened street in Mexicali, a border city near the epicenter of the quake, which was almost entirely without power, report said.

Report said that many Mexican families roamed the streets with suitcases in hand to spend night with relatives on the US side of the border.

Some buildings in Mexicali suffered structural damage, while many others had cracked floors and walls, and broken windows, however, no big building collapsed, report said.

According to a witness, a major highway that connects Mexicali with Tijuana on the Pacific coast had a crack at least one meter deep, said report.

Report said that vacationers on their way back from Easter holidays found themselves caught in big traffic jams and a large number of motorists even faced difficulty finding fuel.