6.1 earthquake spreads alarm in Mexico City

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook western Oaxaca , southern Mexico on Saturday, September 22 , and spread alarm in Mexico City , where rescuers temporarily suspended a search for survivors of a bigger tremor earlier this week out of fear of further building collapses.

Already shaken by the two recent earthquakes -an 8.2 magnitude earthquake on Thursday, September 7 , followed by a 7.1 quake on Tuesday, September 19 -that have killed at least 384 people in Mexico this month, thousands of people ran out onto the streets again in Oaxaca and Mexico City , many in pajamas, when seismic alarms sounded before the new tremor was felt shortly at 07:52 a.m.

This morning's 6.1 magnitude earthquake was mild in Mexico City. No new damage was immediately reported, but to keep workers safe, rescue efforts were suspended in areas affected by Tuesday’s quake, Luis Felipe Puente, the head of Mexico’s civil protection agency said.

When Tuesday’s 7.1 magnitude quake hit, Mexico was already reeling from the Sept. 7 earthquake that killed at least 98 people and was the strongest in the country in 85 years.

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