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119 killed as powerful 7.1 magnitude quake hits Mexico (Third Lead)

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Mexico City, Sep 20 (IANS) At least 119 people were killed in a powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Mexico on Tuesday, officials said.

Mayor Miguel Angel Ancera said that 30 people died in the capital city, where 50,000 first responders were searching for people feared trapped amid the rubble of 44 buildings that were toppled by the temblor, Efe news reported.

The epicentre of the earthquake, was located 12 km southeast of Axochiapan, a city in the central state of Morelos, at a depth of 57 km.

Most of the confirmed fatalities — 54 — were in Morelos, while the government of neighbouring Mexico state reported eight persons killed and 22 others injured.

At least 26 people were killed in Puebla state, which also borders Morelos.

The state government secretary in Morelos, Matias Quiroz, told Milenio Television that the collapse of a bridge forced the shutdown of a stretch of the major highway linking Mexico City with the Pacific coast resort of Acapulco.

Schools in Morelos appeared to have escaped major damage and authorities were still in the process of evaluating the condition of the state’s hospitals, Quiroz said.

Television stations in Mexico City has broadcast images of partially destroyed buildings in the centrally located Condesa, Roma and Del Valle districts, as well as footage of fires burning around the capital.

The temblor sent frightened residents streaming out of buildings and into the streets on the 32nd anniversary of the quake that killed thousands of people in the capital.

“It was awful, I felt it much more than the one the other day (Sept. 7),” Ana Bofill, a Spanish citizen preparing to return home on Tuesday, told EFE.

Jonathan Barbosa, a Colombian living in Mexico City, said he was surprised by the temblor’s power.

“I have never experienced a quake like this, and I thought it was going to be quick and very smooth. The building rocked a lot, I thought it was going to collapse,” Barbosa told EFE.

President Enrique Pe�a Nieto said he was returning to Mexico City from Oaxaca state.

“PlanMX has been activated,” the President said in a Twitter post, adding that he was returning “immediately to Mexico City to deal with the situation caused by the earthquake.”

On September 7, a magnitude-8.2 earthquake affected 2.3 million people in Chiapas and Oaxaca states, killing at least 98 people.

The quake was the most powerful to hit Mexico since 1932.

Tuesday’s earthquake hit the capital as residents marked the 32nd anniversary of a powerful temblor that devastated Mexico City.

The magnitude-8.1 earthquake that hit Mexico City on September 19, 1985, was the most destructive to ever hit Mexico, killing some 10,000 people, injuring more than 40,000 others and leaving 80,000 people homeless.

In 2015, Mexico City’s government installed a warning system, which uses 8,200 loudspeakers located across the capital’s 16 boroughs, to alert residents to an earthquake.

The Seismic Warning System gives Mexico City residents a 50-second alert to prevent a repetition of the tragedy that occurred 32 years ago.

The warning is generated by sensors along the Pacific coast, located about 400 km from the capital, giving residents time to get out of buildings that could collapse in a temblor.

Mexico, one of the countries with the highest levels of seismic activity in the world, sits on the North American tectonic plate and is surrounded by three other plates in the Pacific: the Rivera microplate, at the mouth of the Gulf of California; the Pacific plate; and the Cocos plate.

The Cocos tectonic plate stretches from Colima state south and has the potential to cause the most damage since it affects Mexico City, which has a population of 20 million and was constructed over what was once Lake Texcoco.

–IANS
pgh/

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Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok

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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.

The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.

Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.

Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.

For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.

During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.

Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.

Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .

Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.

In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.

In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.

He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.

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