Quake, floods strike in deadly day for Mexico

MEXICO CITY/TULA－Mexico has been hit by twin emergencies－a flash flood that caused deaths in a hospital and a powerful earthquake－in the space of a day.

Early on Tuesday, 17 patients died when the floodwaters struck the hospital, officials said. The patients, most of whom had COVID-19, were thought to have died due to a loss of oxygen as the power went out, the national Social Security Institute said.

In the emergency at the inundated hospital, a video posted on the Social Security Institute's social media feed said about 40 other patients survived as the waters rose swiftly in the city of Tula, about 100 kilometers north of Mexico City, and flooded the public hospital around 6 am.

"We have, unfortunately, 17 deaths," Governor of Hidalgo Omar Fayad said.

According to reports, 15 of the deceased had COVID-19 and died because "the hospital was flooded and was left without power, and unfortunately they were on respiratory support."

The other two victims arrived at the hospital without vital signs and they also had COVID-19, he said.

The hospital was one of the five hardest-hit buildings in Tula, where floodwaters reached as high as a meter.

Mexican Social Security Institute Director Zoe Robledo said the waters knocked out power to the area as well as the hospital's generators.

He said the hospital had been caring for 56 patients, about half of them suffering from COVID-19. Rescue teams of firefighters and soldiers steered boats through Tula's streets rescuing people from flooded homes.

Tula Mayor Manuel Hernandez Badillo said at a news conference that "the important thing is saving lives".

Second emergency

In the day's second emergency, the southern coastal city of Acapulco, in Guerrero state, was struck by the 7.1-magnitude earthquake at night. One person was known to have died.

The tremors were felt hundreds of kilometers away in the Mexican capital as buildings rocked and swayed in Mexico City.

The National Seismological Service reported via Twitter that the earthquake occurred at 8:47 pm local time, 11 km southwest of Acapulco, with a depth of 10 km.

A man was killed after a light pole fell on him in the municipality of Coyuca de Benitez, Guerrero State Governor Hector Astudillo Flores told local television.

The Civil Protection Agency of the state said the quake had led to rockfalls and landslides onto roads.

Authorities reported no major damage in Guerrero and the neighboring regions of Michoacan, Jalisco, Mexico City or other areas.

In Mexico City, people rushed to the streets as the quake was felt strongly, followed by power outages.

The city's mayor Claudia Sheinbaum on social media urged residents to stay calm.

"There have been three flyovers and no damage has been found. I just spoke with the president and gave him this information. We know that there are many places without electricity, I ask everyone to be very calm," she said.

Xinhua - Agencies