Strongest Earthquake in a Century Strikes Mexico

The Mexico earthquake occurred where one of the slabs of Earth's crust is slowly diving beneath another near the Middle American Trench in the Pacific Ocean.

(Image credit: USGS)

This story was updated Sept. 8 at 12:56 p.m. EDT.

The strongest earthquake to hit Mexico in 100 years struck off the country's southern coast late Thursday night local time, officials report. So far, 32 people are reported dead from the magnitude-8.1 temblor, which was felt by 50 million people across Mexico, according to news reports.

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The earthquake occurred as a result of a process called subduction. In this case, a slab of Earth's crust called the Cocos plate is slowing diving beneath the North American plate; This movement is happening in the Pacific Ocean near the so-called Middle American Trench, which is beneath Central America, just over 62 miles (100 km) southwest of Friday's earthquake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Jeanna Bryner is managing editor of Scientific American. Previously she was editor in chief of Live Science and, prior to that, an editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Bryner has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species, including the gorgeous Florida Scrub Jay. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a firm believer that science is for everyone and that just about everything can be viewed through the lens of science.