On the morning of June 23, at 10:29 local time, a strong earthquake gripped communities across Mexico. The magnitude 7.4 temblor rippled from just south of the coastal town of Crucecita, in the southern state of Oaxaca, and sent a jolt through the earth that caused buildings hundreds of miles away to sway like grass in the wind. An estimated half a million people felt the ground convulse under their feet, the U.S. Geological Survey reports. At least four deaths have been recorded by nightfall, and the extent of the damage is still being evaluated.

Mexico is no stranger to strong earthquakes, with multiple powerful events striking the nation in the last century. However, Oaxaca seems to