Aftershock Rocks Mexico

MEXICO CITY — A strong earthquake struck central Mexico on Monday, swaying tall buildings in the capital and rattling nerves in a city already tense from a swine flu outbreak suspected of killing as many as 149 people nationwide.

Near the epicenter in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, two women aged 67 and 75 died of heart attacks shortly after the quake.

Four homes and a perimeter wall collapsed in and around the resort of Acapulco, police reported.


‘So much fear’
"I’m scared,” said Sarai Luna Pajas, a 22-year-old social services worker standing outside her Mexico City office building moments after the earthquake rattled the city.

"We Mexicans are not used to living with so much fear, but all that is happening — the economic crisis, the illnesses and now this — it feels like the Apocalypse.”

Co-worker Harold Gutierrez, 21, said the country was taking comfort from religious faith, but he too was gripped by the sensation that the world might be coming to an end.

"If it is, it is God’s plan,” Gutierrez said, speaking over a green mask he wore to ward off swine flu.

There were no reports of injuries or major damages in Mexico City.

The earthquake had a magnitude of 5.6 and was centered near Chilpancingo, about 130 miles southwest of Mexico City or 50 miles from Acapulco, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Tourists also streamed out of hotels in Acapulco and congregated on sidewalks and medians for several minutes. Local Civil Protection officer Silvia Rodriguez said there were no injuries there.

USGS earthquake analyst Don Blakeman said the quake was felt strongly in Mexico City because the epicenter was relatively shallow and the ground under the capital — which is built on a former lake bed — tends to intensify shock waves.

"Distant quakes are often felt” strongly in the city, Blakeman said.

by the associated press

Mob has stake from Quake

ROME — Even before all the debris from Italy’s latest devastating earthquake is cleaned up, investigators fear that organized crime is poised to profit from contracts worth billions of dollars to rebuild schools, hospitals and homes.

The crime clans have many connections to cement companies, debris-removal outfits and other businesses, which could infiltrate the reconstruction process if authorities aren’t vigilant, warned Franco Roberti, head of the Naples office of investigative magistrates.

The central Apeninne Abruzzo region was rocked by the 6.3-magnitude quake April 6.

"Keep the vigilance high against mafias in construction sites,” the Catholic daily L’Avvenire headlined Sunday, worried that mobsters will enrich themselves from some of the more than $16 billion in reconstruction money some government estimates say will be needed.

Italy’s anti-Mafia prosecutor, Piero Grasso, has announced he will set up a task force of experienced organized crime prosecutors to help L’Aquila authorities run background checks on bidders.

by the associated press

EarthQuake kills 21 Afghans

BHEZAD KHEIL, Afghanistan — Two earthquakes shook eastern Afghanistan early Friday, collapsing mud-brick homes on top of villagers while they slept. At least 21 people were killed, officials said.

The quakes hit four villages in the high mountains of the eastern province of Nangarhar, about 30 miles from its border with Pakistan.

Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush mountain range is hit by dozens of minor earthquakes each year. Many Afghan homes are made of dried mud, so even moderate earthquakes can cause many deaths and major damage. The poverty-stricken nation is also battling a strengthened Taliban insurgency.

The quakes destroyed or damaged an estimated 100 houses in the four villages in Sherzad district, about 50 miles east of Kabul, said governor’s spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai.

U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said a U.S. convoy of humanitarian supplies and medical responders was headed to the quake zone.

U.S. forces stationed in the region also were standing by to assist if the Afghan government requested help, Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said.

by the associated press