Destruction in Mexico after magnitude 7.1 quake documented on social media

A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck central Mexico on Tuesday, toppling buildings and leaving thousands scrambling for safety.

According to a report by Reuters, 138 people were reported dead.

The report additionally quoted Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera as saying that 44 buildings were severely damaged or destroyed. Major gas leaks and fires were also recorded.

People documented the destruction and shared the videos through Twitter.

Footage from the ground showed the quake rattling an office building, shaking fixtures loose from the ceiling.

Another video, captured from the street, shows entire buildings collapsing.

Terrifying video shows earthquake in Mexico pic.twitter.com/CPZStp0UQm

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 19, 2017

Mexico City Struck By 7.1 Earthquake pic.twitter.com/TRTDL5PjO4

— ASHWANI KR GUPTA (@ashwanikgupta1) September 20, 2017

Local media outfit Noticieros Televisa posted a video of an explosion, possibly from one of the reported gas leaks. US-based outfit ABC News, meanwhile, shared a drone footage of rescuers atop fallen buildings.

Tras sismo, captan explosión dentro de edificio en la Ciudad de México pic.twitter.com/s78hhlijy1

— Noticieros Televisa (@NTelevisa_com) September 19, 2017

Drone footage shows destruction in Mexico City caused by the 7.1-magnitude earthquake; at least 42 people killed. https://t.co/DcnljWzUDf pic.twitter.com/JYQZYiLKYF

— ABC News (@ABC) September 19, 2017

Former Mexican Ambassador to China Jorge Guajardo also took to Twitter to share videos of the devastation.

Devastating images from Mexico City. pic.twitter.com/RpF7sUq31s

— Jorge Guajardo (@jorge_guajardo) September 19, 2017

Panic and frustration after Mexico City earthquake. pic.twitter.com/R1ObVX7IN6

— Jorge Guajardo (@jorge_guajardo) September 19, 2017

Mexico City during the earthquake. pic.twitter.com/udERTj2Scs

— Jorge Guajardo (@jorge_guajardo) September 19, 2017

Video of a dog being rescued provided gentle cheer amid ruins.

Crowd cheers as a dog is rescued from the rubble following massive 7.1 M earthquake in Mexico Citypic.twitter.com/C1O0Sqvtvg

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 20, 2017

The temblor occurred on the 32nd anniversary of a devastating quake that killed thousands in Mexico City in 1985. Many Mexicans had taken part in earthquake drills on Tuesday as is customary every September 19.

A powerful quake in southern Mexico on Sepember 7 killed at least 138 people.

Among buildings that collapsed in the capital on Tuesday were apartment blocks, a school, a factory and a supermarket. The fashionable Roma district was hard hit, and a six-story apartment building was among several collapses reported.

Hundreds of volunteers and rescue workers dug through the rubble with picks, shovels and their bare hands.

The epicenter of Tuesday's quake was in Puebla, the U.S. Geological Survey said, and 41 deaths were reported there earlier. There was no explanation for the disparity with the figure Puente cited. — with a report by Anthony Esposito for Reuters / AT, GMA News