MEXICO CITY: Death toll from the 8.1 magnitude earthquake that hit Mexico has risen to 96 as more victims have been confirmed in hardest-hit southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas. Foreign Relations Department said 95 people had died nationwide in the quake last week. Chiapas state civil defence director Luis Manuel Garcia Moreno said the number of deaths there had risen from 15 to 16. Oaxaca Governor Alejandro Murat released a statement saying the toll in his state increased to 76, and officials have reported that four people were killed in the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco.
He said the natural disaster hit 41 municipalities and had likely affected around one in five of the state's 4 million-strong population. “We're talking about more than 800,000 people who potentially lost everything, and some their loved ones,” he said. Chiapas governor Manuel Velasco said approximately 41,000 houses were damaged in the region, estimating 1.5 million to be affected. In Juchitan, over 5,000 homes were destroyed.
Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans are currently left without electricity or water. Many in the south were evacuated from coastal dwellings when the quake sparked tsunami warnings. President Enrique Pena Nieto has declared a three day national mourning, pledging to rebuild shattered towns and villages.
