Mexico earthquake latest: Colima volcano threat debunked as country reels from aftershocks of Michoacán quake

The National Autonomous University of Mexico, one of the top universities in the country, announced that there was no scientific explanation for the three earthquakes taking place on the same date – 19 September – in 1985, 2017, and 2022.

The university said it was a coincidence, according to Reuters.

Some Mexico City residents were confused when the seismic alert sounded almost two minutes before the quake struck because the alarm had been heard earlier on Monday during a practice exercise in commemoration of the previous quakes that had taken place on the same date in previous years, Reuters noted.

Part of the Roma neighbourhood in Mexico City lost power as a result of the quake – 250 miles (400km) from the epicentre.

As many as 1.2 million users were struck by the outage, according to the national power utility.

Residents in the Mexico City Roma neighbourhood entered the streets holding their pets and tourists guided through a local market were notably confused and upset as the earthquake was felt in the city on Monday.

Reuters reported that the traffic lights stopped working and people held onto their phones, trying to get through to others via texts and calls.

Bookshop owner Clara Ferri told the news agency that she urged a customer to leave the store when she noticed the windows shaking. After 16 years in the area, she said she was attuned to the sounds of an incoming quake.

“It was like the dentist’s drill for me,” she told Reuters.

As the rumbles became louder, Ms Ferri and her neighbours gathered at an intersection, seeing the eight-story building which holds her store swaying.

When she got back, more than a thousand books were on the floor as shelves had fallen over.

The pavement was closed off as it was covered in masonry from the building’s facade. Residents left with suitcases and pets, trying to find somewhere else to sleep that night.

Mexican authorities are urging calm following social media rumours concerning volcanic activity following Monday’s earthquake.

The centre monitoring the Colima volcano said in a statement on Twitter on Tuesday morning that the volcano “is calm” and urged people to “remember not to spread rumours and stay calm at all times. We live in a very tectonically active area and you always have to be prepared,” according to a translated tweet.

According to the site Volcano Discovery, the “Colima volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in North America and one of the potentially most dangerous ones. It has had more than 30 periods of eruptions since 1585, including several significant eruptions in the late 1990s”.

“Aftershocks continue to appear, this is because part of the plate is still in its accommodation process, the aftershocks will continue and perhaps some will be felt,” the Colima research centre said, citing a seismogram from one of the stations nearest the volcano.

Shortly after 10pm on Monday, the centre said that “no explosions or ash emissions have been observed so far. Do not listen to rumours and consult only official pages”.

Read more:

The Mexican National Center for Prevention of Disasters said in a summary of the activity at the Popocatépetl volcano in the central parts of the country that “45 exhalations were detected accompanied by water vapour, volcanic gases and light amounts of ash” at the volcano in the last 24 hours.

“During the morning and at the time of this report, it presents emission of water vapor, volcanic gases and light amounts of ash towards the west,” the national centre and the National Autonomous University of Mexico added.

The centre urged people not to approach the volcano because of the danger of falling fragments. In case of heavy rains, the centre warned of the flow of mud and debris.

Read more here