Powerful Earthquake Shakes Southern Mexico

 

One of the most powerful earthquakes ever to hit Mexico shook the southern part of the country Thursday night.

Mexican officials said Friday at least 32 people had died.

The 8.2-magnitude¹ earthquake was stronger than the 1985 quake that killed thousands and destroyed large parts of Mexico City.

Hundreds of buildings collapsed² or were damaged. Smaller quakes have followed. Officials closed schools Friday in at least 11 states to check them for safety.

The U.S. Geological³ Survey said the quake was centered in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chiapas state. It was near the point of collision⁴ between three tectonic plates, the Cocos, the Caribbean and the North American.?

The USGS said the quake struck at 11:49 p.m. local time Thursday.

Rodrigo Soberanes, who lives near San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, told the Associated Press that his "house moved like chewing gum⁵."

The quake caused buildings to move violently in Mexico’s capital more than 1,000 kilometers away.

In neighboring Guatemala, President Jimmy Morales spoke⁶ on national television to call for calm while emergency crews checked for damage.

“We have reports of some damage and the death of one person, even though we still don’t have details,” Morales said.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

magnitude - n. a number that shows the power of an earthquake

chewing gum - n. a type of soft candy that you chew on but do not swallow

collision - n. a crash in which two or more things or people hit each other

1 magnitude   

n.大小；重大；星等

参考例句：

• I want to know the magnitude of this equipment.我想知道这个设备的大小。
• I hadn't realized the magnitude of the problem.我没有认识到这个问题的重要性。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 geological   

adj.地质（学）的

参考例句：

• aeons of geological history 数以亿万年计的地质史
• The workers skirted the edge of the cliff on a geological survey. 工人们沿着崖壁作了一次地质勘察。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 collision   

n.碰撞；(利益，意见等的)冲突，抵触

参考例句：

• The car was wrecked by its collision with a big lorry.这辆小轿车是由于和大卡车相撞而碰毁的。
• This collision had a very unusual cause.这次冲突有着非同寻常的原因。

5 gum   

n.牙龈；口香糖；树胶

参考例句：

• We can stick these pictures into the book with gum.我们可用胶水把这几张画粘贴在书里。
• Americans like to chew gum.美国人喜欢嚼口香糖。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。