Death toll from Mexican quake rises to 10 as residents clear rubble

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that struck southern Mexico on Tuesday has risen to 10 people, authorities said on Wednesday, as locals began clearing the rubble and assessing the damage from the temblor.

The area surrounding the popular Huatulco beach resort in the southern state of Oaxaca was hardest hit by the 7.4 magnitude quake, but the shaking could be felt as far away as Mexico City, where tall buildings swayed and thousands of people raced into the streets.

Roughly 30 buildings in the capital were damaged, and in a northern neighborhood that was hard hit by a 2017 earthquake, some residents had to evacuate their homes.

“This apartment has always been my home. It’s where I was born, where I grew up, where I have all my memories,” Aura Preisser told Reuters while removing her belongings from the building, which was cordoned off by authorities. “If I lost it, I would lose not only my home, but a large part of my heart.”

In Oaxaca, crews of workers cleared the roads cluttered with debris from the earthquake, while residents of humble communities searched for their belongings among the rubble.

“Everything was damaged, the whole house was taken away. Everything we have done in our lives is gone,” said Vicente Romero in the town of La Crucecita, on the Pacific coast, showing the damage to his home as neighbors cleared debris.

Educational centers and historical sites, including four archaeological zones, suffered damage, according to a statement from the Oaxaca state government, which put the death toll at 10 people.

In a post on Twitter, Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat said 117 municipalities and more than 5,000 homes had been affected by the earthquake.