>> it is 1:00 p.m. in paris, 6:00 a.m. in mexico city. welcome to our viewers from around the world. it's good to have you with us in the "france 24 newsroom." a powerful earthquake hits in southern mexico. at least 15 people are killed. the extent of the damage caused by the 8.1 magnitude quake remains unknown. hurricane irma wreaks havoc. it is now a category four storm,

but it remains a powerful one that is ravaging the atlantic. and a mass exodus in vermont -- burma. over 1/4 million rohingya muslims have fled to glencoe -- in the last -- have fled to bangladesh in the last two weeks alone. emergency efforts are underway in mexico city -- mexico this friday as an earthquake struck off the southern coast. houses were toppled and tsunami waves triggered as the 8.1 epicenter sent people running into the streets in panic. "france 24's" catherine clifford reports. catherine: emergency workers feared debris some 1000

kilometers away from the epicenter. in mexico city, the earthquake sent people running into this -- the streets in panic. >> i grabbed a friend and i cried. i cried because it scared me a lot. i had never lived through anything like that. i had experienced tremors before, but never heard the walls creek, the lights go out. >> the avenue was full of people coming out of buildings, everybody in their pajamas, getting their dogs out and everything. it was very strong. the mexican president said some 50 million people were likely to have felt the tremors. >> this is the earthquake with the biggest magnitude to be recorded in our country in at least the last 100 years. unfortunately, we have already received reports of loss of human life. material damage, we cannot yet quantify. we will do that in the coming hours and days and learn what

damage the earthquake has caused. catherine: the quake struck the country's southern coast, its epicenter some 90 kilometers southwest of a city in the state of chiapas.his -- over 60ident said aftershocks followed the quake and warned more strong shocks could follow. a tsunami warning had been sent with some small tsunami waves already recorded. >> for more on this, we can speak with a seismologist. thank you for joining us on the program. firstly, i would like to ask a bit more about the nature of this earthquake, in terms of its size and depth and magnitude. >> yeah, no, it was a pretty big event. at 70our report said, depth.ers

>> 70 kilometers in terms of depth, that's not very shallow, correct? >> it wasn't what we call an intermediate event. from the initial data, we think it occurred kind of within this beneath the north american plate. >> how much of a concern at this stage are aftershocks? >> that's obviously a concern when you have such a large earthquake. you tend to have more kind of aftershocks. i think the largest ones so far have been magnitude 5.7. they can cause more damage to buildings that were already quite unstable. >> what about this area it hit, just off the southern pacific coast? how prone is it to earthquakes? >> yeah, i mean, this area of the world is quite prone to

earthquakes. vein where you have one plate moving underneath the other. it's not unusual to have earthquakes in this area. it's just this one is particularly large. >> jennifer weston, thank you very much for joining us. next, we cross to the latest from hurricane irma. the storm continues to leave a traiail of devastation. the eye of the storm grazed turks and caicos islands on thursday. this after it ravaged a string of caribbean islands. as of now at least a dozen people have been confirmed dead. that number, unfortunately, is expected to rise. the storm has been downgraded to a category four. that means maximum sustained winds near 250 kilometers per hour. more on thehas hurricane that has become one of the most powerful atlantic storms in a century. >> a trail of devastation.

category five e hurricane irma s ,ummelining through the caribben moving n northwest, striking the islands in its path. a french and dutch island has been left unrecognizable. 95% of houses were damaged and 60% are uninhabitable, and the death toll is expected to rise. >> nothing could have prepared us for what we saw. course, up to the task at hand. we need to start with first aid, evacuations, food, water, and basic needs for the population. i have seen a lot of looting taking place. we must also respond to security needs, and then we must begin reconstruction. nearby, a total blackout in communications, plunging the island into isolation for over a day.

[translating] i just came home from a friend's house, and there is nothing left. when i say nothing i mean nothing,. local authorities are scrambled to provide electricity and drinking water to residents. [translating] power generators will arrive. stronger generators will be sent to st. maarten and st. barts. priority will be given to the hospital and the retirement home. reporter: after hitting the island with winds of 290 kilometers per hour, the eye of the storm then passed by turks and caicos. irma is making its way toward mainland u.s. category three josé is not far behind, bringing with it a second blow to the caribbean. where thehorities storm has already passed our accessing the -- are assessing the extent of the damage. more from the french territory

of waterloo -- guadalupe. >> many people are still without water supplies. it will take at least four days for basic service to be reestablished and months before life is back to normal on that front. that is amid the widespread damage to property. the situation on the french island of saint martin is even worse -- san maarten is even worse. the destruction is much greater. we understand things have been complicated there by people taking advantage of the situation by looting shops and businesses. the hub of the french relief operation is based here in waterloo -- in guadaloupe. 600 personnel were already on st. maarten. the scale of damage in the

french west indian islands alone stands at 200 million euros. as hurricane irma continues its path of destruction to the west of where i am, there is another storm, hurricane jose, now upgraded to category three, moving in from the east. the latest predictions suggest it will pass just to the north of st. maarten, nevertheless pretty extremely heavy winds and rain. the problem for people living on those islands affected by the first storm is, with communication down, they have heard rumors of another storm coming in, but they don't perhaps know the details, and that is adding to the sense of concern and panic. >> that was chris moore reporting. next, we will see the storm is on a path that continues to move forward. three people were killed in puerto rico and more than half of the population there has been left without electricity. the storm passed just to the north of the dominican republic and haiti, where it caused some

damage in haiti, but did not make landfall. >> haiti, battered by hurricane irma. the island's north coast devastated by the hurricane. terrifyingeached speeds of over 200 kilometers per hour, but the eyewall of the storm did not hit the island. tian was -- cape hai flooded in its wake. translating] something must be done. we weren't ready for the hurricane. reporter: it was the same in the dominican republic. winds battling the popular tourist destination of punta cana. the hurricane also damaged the turks and caicos island before grazing the bahamas. lying on irma's path is cuba. the northern coast of the island should be hit on friday. the threat is not as high in havana, where residents are stocking up on vital goods such

as food and petrol. nslating] i think everyone needs to be prepared, just in case. reporter: hurricane irma has sustained a category five status for a record period of time. it's intensity should remain the same until saturday. it is expected to make landfall this weekend in florida. >> that was simon harding reporting. the hurricane is now currently a category four storm. this, as it is on path to hit the u.s. state of florida. gas shortages and gridlock has been reported as people leave the south of the state. the government has issued a mandatory evacuation for more than half a million people. "france 24's" gallagher fenwick has more. gallagher: the vast majority of residents in southern florida have heated -- heeded the call to leave or at least take shelter. hundreds of thousands took to the roads, especially those

coming from the southernmost parts of the state, namely the keys, which were one of the earliest places to receive mandatory evacuation orders. those were also handed out quite to where we are, namely in miami beach. interestingly enough, we were there just a few hours ago. there are still some folks who are choosing to stay behind. tourists, because this was part of a vacation they had planned a long time ago, and they consider they have at least 24 hours before irma makes landfall, and they want to take full advantage of those hours of sunshine that they think they have left to spend on the beaches. there, locals also saying they have no intention to leave, simply because they have seen hurricanes in the past. they don't think this one will be much different. they feel they can find enough safety inside their

hurricane-proof houses or rooms and they have stocked up on goods. so, contrasting attitudes, but that is a minority. a vast majority of folks are choosing to leave, especially now that authorities are widening the perimeter that they are handing out mandatory evacuation orders in. >> that was gallagher fenwick, reporting from miami. the storm expected to make landfall on sunday there in florida. next, a mass exodus in burma. the u.n. refugee agency says million rohingya muslims have fled to bangladesh in the past two weeks alone. the minority community faces deadly persecution. the de facto leader, aung san suu kyi, says her government is doing its best to protect everyone. her response has come under fierce criticism as rohingya who have fled the scene described large-scale violence perpetrated by government troops and

buddhist mobs. earlier, "france 24's" international affairs editor armen georgian joined me on set with more on the unfolding crisis. armen: the figures have just come through from the u.n. refugee agency. 270,000 people fleeing from burma into bangladesh in the last sheet of weeks. that is significantly up on the previous estimate, which was 164,000 in the last two weeks. that's obviously a huge increase on what was originally said. if we take this away from numbers and talk about the people, we've heard, for example, bangladeshi police describing bodies floating in the river which separates the two countries, speaking of the desperation of families and children whose bodies have been recovered as well. people getting onto boats that are obviously not fit for purpose and drowning. we heard also today human rights watch published a new press

research itiling has done with rohingya refugees, which talks about the continuing persecution, including rape, arson, and murder, by burmese security forces, according to these testimonies. this is not a completely black-and-white situation, because it is also well documented that other populations have fled, not only the rohingya muslims, but also buddhist populations who, like the rohingya, have deep historical roots in that region. but if we look at the sheer figures, then we have to say that the rohingya are the main targets. >> that was armen georgian. next to antigovernment protests in togo. security gas has been fired -- security forces have fired tear gas at large crowds. rule oft an end to the

the family who have led the country for some 50 years. our correspondents in togo sent us this report. >> the streets of the togolese capital were stormed by hundreds of thousands of supporters of the opposition. it was the largest protest in the capital in a decade. [translating] in the 90's, it was the father. today, we have the sun. the population can hardly handle the succession. we are calling today the most it's on mission departure -- the most astonishing departure. reporter: the power struggle between supporters and opponents of the president's is on the future of the head of state. has been inin power for 12 years be allowed to run for president again in 2020? the draft bill adopted yesterday does not mention whether the two-term limit will be retroactive. >> parliament's review of the

draft bill on constitutional reforms is coming too late. a genuine showdown has been on for a week in n the country between opponents and supporters of the president. [translating] the president is a citizen like any other. he has a right to be a candidate . the law does not prevent him from doing so. if we believe he is the best candidate for us, nothing can stop him from being candidate in 2020. reporter: the presidential party has the majority in parliament, so the vote should just be a formality. >> in other world news, pope francis is in colombia. this country is in fomenting a peace deal between the government and farc rebels. the pontiff urged them to forgo

vengeance. >> he arrived in the main square in bogotá on thursday. colombia is divided over the 2016 peace agreement that ended the decades long war between the government and farc. hopes that the country's reconciliation lay in part with the country's youth. >> [translating] it's remarkable to see how you don't allow yourselves to be weighed down by old narratives. you help us by leaving behind the things that once offenders us -- offended us. you make us see the world that lies ahead. >> earlier on thursday, the pope met colombian president juan manuel santos. the nobel peace prize last year for his part in the peace deal, santos hops to

-- hopes to count on the pope's popularity to overcome lingering divisions. >> [translating] we hope that your visit will -- reporter: thursday was the first full day of the pontiff's five-day visit to the mainly catholic country. he will visit two other cities before leaving for rome on sunday night. >> it's time now for a business up eightdat -- update. we are going to start off in greece, where president emmanuel macron is wrapping up his two-day visit. >> that's right. the president has called on european businesses to invest more in greece, so that it won't have to rely so much on countries outside the bloc, notably china. he spoke at a roundtable of business leaders earlier today. 40 top managers are accompanying him on the trip.

athens is forced to choose non-european investors because europeans have no faith in greece. after years of recession, greece's economy could finally be bouncing back. prime minister alexis tsipras said the country plans to exit its national bailout by august here -- international bailout by august next year. the most symbolic asset -- the ist, the country's largest, now 51% owned by a chinese company. >> [translating] this port is very significant geographically. it provides access to the balkans. it is hugely important. privatization has been a key part of the bailout deals even to greece since the beginning of the crisis. in its selling stakes

ports, airports, hotels, and other vital infrastructure, the country has only managed to raise 3.4 billion euros so far, a far cry from the initial 50 billion target. >> the state isn't capitalizing on its public assets. it is selling them for cheap to people who don't have good projects are the future of greece. reporter: on a visit to greece, emmanuel macron renewed calls for tighter scrutiny of foreign investment in the eu. the french president has encouraged more european investors to support the greek recovery and decided to lead by example, bringing almost 40 executives from major french companies with him. here inerstand back france we have some positive new data. country'scompany -- production increased by 0.5% in the month. the year on year growth rate is 3.1%, the highest level since november, 2015.

european shares are trading down this friday on worries over hurricane damage, but also because of a stronger euro. the u.s. dollar fell to a 32-month low against the single currency earlier today. and the cac 4000 are negative. more business headlines. 143 millionsome americans have been affected by an attack on equifax. the firm is one of three major u.s. credit bureaus and has come under even more pressure. it sold millions in stocks just days before the hack was discovered. berge, aday -- pierre

cofounder of yves saint laurent, has died following a long illness. patron and wasts politically active. he was among the first to support the candidacy of emmanuel macron. the race is on for amazon hq 2. cities across the united states thecanada are vying for company's second headquarters in north america. it wants a metropolitan area of more than one billion people with an international airport, good education, and mass transit. the $5 billion project could bring 50,000 jobs. >> we are going to continue back with hurricane irma. the $5the storm is continuing is path, but it has left a trail of devastation in the caribbean. i understand we are starting to see some estimates of the costs of the damage. will the overall estimate

take some time to come out, but france's public insurance group says damage caused by irma on french islands will cost morore than 200 billion euros. cost is higher than typical hurricane damamage because of irma's strength and size. however, it is far too early to give any precise figure. the hurricane is yet to reach the united states. but florida is bracing for the worst. many homes uninsured against flooding. the senate has improved a massive aid package for victims of the early hurricane harvey -- earlier hurricane, harvey. the house is set to vote on the bill today. >> the disaster aid package is almost twice the amount requested by donald trump, but with hurricane irma threatening

florida hot on the heels of harvey, congress expects more funds will soon be needed. >>, this is a down payment unfortunately on what will be additional costs that congress will have to vote on. matter of fact, after hurricane katrina, congress voted on seven separate supplemental appropriations before the job was done. reporter: the full extent of the destruction has yet to be assessed, but the combined cost of the teat ofof hurricanes s is likely to eclipse the $110 billion -- of the two hurricanes is likely to eclipse the $110 billion of hurricane katrina. the combined residential values of miami-dade, broward, and palm beach, the three florida counties expected to bear the brunt of hurricane irma, is billion, but$666 experts say most of the infrastructure is not designed

to withstand tropical storms. millionion, of the 2.5 florida homes in hazard prone areas, only 42% are insured against flooding. one of the last great storms to hit florida, hurricane andrew, caused over $26 billion worth of damage in 1992. according to a recent study, if the stain -- same storm hit today, it would cost between $50 billion and $60 billion. >> before you go, as the storm is approaching florida, we did see a rocket launch just before. yuka: spacex launched a mini space shuttle from cape canaveral on thursday, while the sky was still blue. the unmanned rocket was carrying a supersecret mission for the u.s. air force. it can stay several years in space. it is the fifth flight for these shuttlestles -- mini in the first time spacex has provided the launch. officials won't say what the

drones are doing up there. spacex stopped providing any information related to the launch a few minutes into the lift off. >> we are going to take a quick break.

♪ ♪ >> in this episode, a look at personal archives of california history. collection of california orange ephemera. it became a symbol. it c