Economic Calendar

Monday, December 12, 2011

Mexico City Shaken by Magnitude-6.5 Quake

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By Nacha Cattan and Ben Bain - Dec 11, 2011 12:54 PM GMT+0700

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake centered in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero shook the capital of Latin America’s second-biggest economy. Two people were killed in Guerrero, the country’s civil protection agency said.

The quake occurred at 7:47 p.m. local time and was centered 166 kilometers (103 miles) southwest of Mexico City, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“All services in Mexico City are functioning normally,” Mexican President Felipe Calderon said via the Twitter website at approximately 10 p.m. An 18-year old was killed in Iguala, Guerrero, when a restaurant roof collapsed, and a 25-year old was killed on the Chilpancingo-Acapulco highway, the civil protection agency said in an e-mailed statement.

Petroleos Mexicanos, the state-controlled oil company known as Pemex, said its infrastructure wasn’t damaged. Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said on Twitter that the capital’s airport, subway and the water systems are functioning normally.

The temblor left 30 neighborhoods in Mexico City without power, the Excelsior newspaper reported, citing the federal electricity commission. Police chief Manuel Mondragon y Kalb said in an interview with Foro TV two buildings in the city were reported to be damaged, including one that was leaning on another structure. He confirmed power outages in some parts of the city.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nacha Cattan in Mexico City at ncattan@bloomberg.net; Ben Bain in New York at bbain2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jim McDonald at jmcdonald8@bloomberg.net




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