Last Week's Earthquake Damages 19 Religious Sites in Southern Mexico EFE
go to original June 25, 2013

Photograph provided by the National Anthropology and History Institute, or INAH, showing damage caused to the interior of the Templo de Santa Prisca in Taxco de Alarcon by the magnitude-5.8 earthquake that rocked the southern Mexican state of Guerrero on June 16. (EFE/INAH)

MEXICO CITY - The magnitude-5.8 earthquake that rocked the southern Mexican state of Guerrero on June 16 damaged 19 religious sites, the National Anthropology and History Institute, or INAH, said.

A preliminary inspection turned up damage at the Templo de Santa Prisca in Taxco de Alarcon, the INAH said.

The INAH will secure and repair the federal historic sites, officials said.

The Templo de Santa Prisca's facade was damaged and the head of the sculpture at the Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepcion de Maria Church came loose, INAH architect Francisco Javier Garcia said.

Some houses from the 19th and early 20th centuries also sustained damage, the INAH said.

The institute's architects plan to hold a technical workshop on Thursday in Tlaxmalac, a town near the earthquake's epicenter, to discuss the restoration of the historic houses, the INAH said.

Officials plan to provide recommendations to residents on the use of traditional materials and construction techniques to repair the structures.

Many of the dwellings in Tlaxmalac were constructed with traditional materials that require special attention, the INAH said.

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