Magnitude 7.2 Earthquake hits Baja California, Mexico - 2010

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck northwest Mexico's Baja California on Sunday, rattling Arizona and southern California, and leaving at least two dead and 100 injured in Mexico, authorities said. At least one person was killed in a building collapse in Mexicali, Mexico, according to the assistant director of civil protection in Tijuana. The other victim died when he ran from his residence into the street and was hit by a car, said Alfredo Escobedo, Mexico's director of civil protection. All 100 injuries are concentrated in Mexicali, Escobedo said. In California and Arizona, there were no immediate reports of injuries and only limited reports of damages. The quake struck at 3:40 p.m. (6:40 p.m. ET) about 110 miles east-southeast of Tijuana, Mexico, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Pictures from Mexicali, a major metropolitan area and the capital of Mexico's Baja California state, showed sides ripped off buildings, telephone poles toppled, roads cracked and supermarket aisles strewn with food that had fallen off shelves. The entire city has lost power, according to Alan Sandoval, Tijuana's assistant director of civil protection.

A magnitude-7.2 earthquake shook Baja California. It was felt from San Diego to Mexicali to Phoenix. There was some damage, but thankfully, casualties were low. We turned to Twitter for a closer look at the earthquake’s impact on the communities along the Pacific. These photos of the damage in Mexicali and other locales were shared via Twitter and TwitPic this afternoon by people who experienced the earthquake first-hand. We saw it (perhaps more aptly) after the Chile earthquake, too: Social media can make personal experiences universal. Twitter advocates like to talk about how much more quickly news and images can get out through the service, but that’s not the only thing that’s changed in today’s world as a result of social media.