Quake strikes around Mexico-U.S. border

February 9, 2008

A moderate earthquake struck Baja California near the Mexico-United States Border at around 8:15 p.m.  February 8.

With a of 5.1, the quake's center was reported to have been between the towns of Mexicali and. No injuries or damage was reported.

Director of civil defense in Mexicali, Fire Capt. Rene Rosado, said several factories have been cleared of workers so that engineers might access possible damage to the structures. Another two bridges have been closed so that cracks could be examined. 400,000 people have been left without electricity, and 1.2 million are unable to use their cell phones.

The initial quake was followed by around 15 aftershocks and felt, "pretty widely in Southern California, southwestern Arizona and probably northern Mexico," said Jessica Sigala, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS).