Some slept through earthquake, others were on guard

The Hyatt Regency is evacuated after tremors shake one of Mérida’s tallest buildings. Photo: Facebook

Mérida, Yucatán — The Yucatecan capital dawned with relative calm after hotels were evacuated and residents reported tremors late Thursday night and early Friday morning.

The historic and deadly earthquake hundreds of miles away was powerful enough to be felt by many people in Mérida and the beach. Others said they slept through the whole thing.

The 911 emergency line was flooded with calls, and dispatchers spend an hour reassuring the public.

The quake, southwest of Chiapas, was felt in Mexico City and in more than a third of the country, according to Mexico’s National Seismological Service. At least 61 are reported dead.

While no major damage was reported locally, seismic movement recorded in Yucatán and Quintana Roo was up to 3 degrees on the Richter scale and up to 5 degrees in Campeche.

But residents’ eyewitness reports on social media varied widely, as if tremors played hopscotch from home to home.

“Up until after midnight… Didn’t notice anything,” posted an expat in Progreso.

Felt it big time at the beach, Chuburna Puerto,” countered another member of the same Facebook group for expats.

In Mérida, “our pool woke us up,” said a Canadian native, whose sleep was interrupted by sloshing water.

Dogs barked and beds shifted on the floor, according to several residents.

In Mérida there were two tremors, each lasting around 30 seconds, said the state Civil Protection director.

The newspaper Milenio Novedades reported hearing from readers in the Centro, San Antonio Cinta, Montes de Amé and Tixkokob.

Occupants at the Hyatt Regency, El Conquistador and Country Towers were evacuated, according to the newspaper.

In Progreso, residents gathered at the Malecon, eyeing the coastline fearing a tsunami although only the Pacific Coast was under an alert for such an aftereffect.

Source: Sipse

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