2 people killed in a magnitude 8.1 earthquake in Mexico last night
Mexico was hit by an earthquake last night which has claimed the lives of two people.
The 8.1-magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of southern Mexico.
The quake was so strong that it reportedly caused buildings to sway as panicked residents fled.
M8.0 #earthquake (#sismo) strikes 200 km SW of Tuxtla Gutiérrez (#Mexico) 25 min ago. Updated map of its effects: pic.twitter.com/hKkngae5Yd
— EMSC (@LastQuake) September 8, 2017
The earthquake has caused a tsunami warning to be placed in effect.
'Off the west coast of Mexico is what's called the subduction zone, the Pacific Plate is moving under the Mexican peninsula,' Lucy Jones, a seismologist in California who works with the US Geological Survey told Breaking News.
'It's a very flat fault, so it's a place that has big earthquakes relatively often because of that.'
'There's likely to be a small tsunami going to the south-west.'
