Earthquake destroys highway near US-Mexico border

December 31, 2013 – MEXICO - An unusually large number of high-profile earthquakes sprung up across the globe over the weekend, causing extensive damage to a roadway in Mexico and leaving residents shaken in southern Europe, Egypt and the U.S. Saturday, an earthquake near the Mexico – U.S. border collapsed chunks of this 300-yard stretch of highway. “The road is about 60 miles south of Tijuana. It passes over geological fault. The earthquake ranged in magnitude from 1.3 to 4.3.” There were surprisingly no injuries, but one truck driver hauling 36 tons of cement had to wait hours before being pulled to safety. Also Saturday, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake reportedly hit the Mediterranean Sea, shaking nearby Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt. That was followed by a 4.9 magnitude earthquake nearly 1,500 miles away around Naples, Italy early Sunday morning. Residents reportedly slept in their cars in fear of aftershocks that might damage buildings. In the U.S., Oklahoma dealt with several earthquakes over the last week with more striking over the weekend. Most were reported as minor between 2.0 magnitude and 4.9., but the Midwestern state has rarely dealt with earthquakes, until recent years. “We’ve had tornadoes and hail storms and those types of things, but never earthquakes. Great. So now Oklahoma has to be worried about the sky falling AND the ground dropping out? Well, not quite — at least not to a very high degree. According to the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, magnitude 2 and smaller earthquakes general happen several times around the world daily, while bigger ones are more rare. A magnitude 8 or higher usually only happens about once a year. Many of these reported earthquakes were between 2.0 magnitude a 4.9. No extensive damage was reported in the ones in Turkey, Italy and Oklahoma and no injuries were reported in any of them. -AJC