MASSIVE 7.1 quake in Mexico on the heels of of Hurricane Maria hitting Dominica - huge damage

This is the brief version. More details as they become available. It is clear there is going to be a huge death toll.

Need I point out that this is the second major earthquake co-inciding with biblical hurricanes in the Caribbean.

At least 49 dead in Mexico 7.1 quake

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake has hit Mexico, killing more than 40 people and collapsing buildings in Mexico City

Radio NZ,

20 September, 2017

Fires have broken out in buildings in the capital and the mayor said people were trapped inside burning buildings.

The governor of Morelos said at least 42 people had died in the state, south of the capital. In its main city of Cuernavaca there were unconfirmed reports on local radio of people trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

At least five people were killed in Mexico state, its governor said. A civil protection official said at least two people were killed in Puebla's capital, near Mexico City, after a school collapsed.

The 7.1 quake hit 8km southeast of Atencingo in the central state of Puebla at a depth of 51km, the US Geological Survey said. It was initially measured as 7.4 but later downgraded.

Local TV reports showed a multi-storey building in the capital with a middle floor collapsed. Other video showed the side of a government building sheering off and falling into the street as bystanders screamed.

The quake hit only hours after many people participated in earthquake drills around the nation on the anniversary of the devastating quake that killed thousands in Mexico City in 1985.

It came after a powerful 8.1 quake hit the south of the country earlier this month, killing at least 90 people.

NBC DFW‏Verified account @NBCDFW

#BREAKING: Major earthquake shakes buildings in Mexico City http://on.nbcdfw.com/jssZzHz 

6:37 AM - 20 Sep 2017

David Prager‏Verified account @dlprager

Center of Mexico City right now after 7.4 earthquake. Scary. Hope folks are ok. Video shot by a friend in DF

6:44 AM - 20 Sep 2017 from San Francisco, CA

Gustavo Serrano  〽️‏ @gooz25

En el piso 38 en pleno Reforma.

6:21 AM - 20 Sep 2017

People in Mexico City fled into the street after the 7.1 magnitude quake. Photo: AFP

Many people fled into the streets, and electricity and phone lines were down in parts of the capital.

"We got out really fast, leaving everything as it was and just left," said Rosaura Suarez, as she stood with a crowd on the street.

President Enrique Pena was on a flight to Oaxaca, one of the hardest hit areas by that quake, and said via his Twitter account that he was immediately returning to the scene of the quake in Mexico City.

- RNZ / Reuters

Very good LIVE coverage from Right Side Broadcasting. Free from network hype.