Easter quake severely damages 80% of historic downtown area

CALIFORNIA

Quake damages 80% of historic downtown

Inspectors red-tagged nearly 80 percent of the historic downtown area Monday in Calexico, Calif., where roofs were caved in, windows smashed and inventory strewn about after a deadly Easter earthquake in nearby Mexico.

Damage included three huge tanks that hold the city's water supply, the city manager said.

City officials asked residents to limit water use.

Two people were killed and at least 100 injured near the epicenter of the magnitude-7.2 quake in Mexicali, just south of the border.

There were no injuries reported in Calexico, the U.S. city hardest hit by the quake.

Scientists measured about 100 aftershocks early Monday, said seismologist Kate Hutton at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

-- Associated Press

Discovery heads to space station: The space shuttle Discovery and seven astronauts rocketed into orbit before dawn Monday on one of NASA's final stockpiling missions to the international space station. The launch helped set a record for the most women in space at the same time: Three are aboard Discovery, and another is already at the station. Only three shuttle missions remain. NASA intends to retire its fleet in September.