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29 March 2024

Two earthquakes shake border area between US, Mexico

Published
By Agencies

Two earthquakes several minutes apart rattled a desert area straddling the U.S.-Mexico border, causing dozens of Mexican schools to be evacuated as a precaution, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The first quake struck at 11.30am about 126km south of Mexicali, a Mexican border town, and had a magnitude of 4.8, said Nick Scheckel, a seismic analyst at the California Institute of Technology.

The second quake, a magnitude-4.4 temblor, hit about three minutes later and about eight kilometres farther south, Scheckel said.
 
Students were evacuated at 65 schools where minor cracks or other problems had been detected after a series of small temblors in the area that began earlier this month, said Alfredo Escobedo, the director of civil defense for the Mexican state of Baja California, which includes Mexicali.
 
The students were evacuated without incident, Escobedo said.
 
On Tuesday, a magnitude-5.0 quake hit an area about 34km southeast of Mexicali. No injuries were reported in that quake, which was followed by several smaller temblors throughout the week. (AP)