Mexico City Earthquake · 10:03pm Sep 19th, 2017
As you know (or might not know, but now you do!) I grew up in Mexico City. I remember the big Earthquake that happened in 1985, on this date... and now the city has been hit by another one. 7.1 if reports are correct and already there are plenty of videos online and places destroyed and reports of deaths.
I've confirmed my immediate family is safe and I'm currently hearing from my friends slowly but surely... not all of them yet, but I hope soon. To all my Mexican friends and fellow site users here, stay strong, be safe and I hope the best for you and your families.
More info: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/19/mexico-city-earthquake-anniversary-1985
To help:
Red Cross Mexico: https://cruzrojadonaciones.org
and:
Zef: You can donate to Los Topos ("The Moles", as in, the animal). They're an organization of heroic, selfless rescue volunteers that dive into collapsed buildings and ruins to pull out victims, putting their own lives on the line. Their bank info and PayPal account are
Santander (Mexican, not US) acct # 92000709294 CLABE code: 014180920007092942
Paypal: donativos@brigada-rescate-topos.org
Website: www.topos.mx (it might not respond, it's getting hammered right now)Taken from https://twitter.com/topos/status/908000616575680512
Oh my, I hope people are alright over there, that's pretty bad.
This really has been an awful year for natural disasters. I've had friends who survived earthquakes, so I know how it feels. All I can say is I hope they're alright.
I've been calling friends and family all day, and the videos that keep circulating... It feels every video is worse than the last... I have a stomachache that's probably going to last a while.
Que horror.
Glad to know almost everyone is safe on your side, though...
I'm glad your family's alright, D. This is simply dreadful news.
My thoughts and prayers are with you, Zef, your families and friends.
Do you have any suggestions of charities that are helping in the recovery that might need donations?
I heard about it on CNN
4673045 At this time I'm not sure, Red Cross Mexico is one option, although at this time it appears to be of the general sort.
4672928 I checked on you a bit earlier, albeit indirectly. And yeah, the videos are awful!
4673038 Thanks bro, I've spoken with Zef as well, we're still pending on some friends checking in.
Didn't this happen a fortnight ago or something? Or is it another one?
4673087 this is another one, the last one was down south, this is central
4673088
Wow, y'all are copping it real sweet lately. This is terrible.
I don't remember the last time Australia felt anything more than a 5.0. There was one north of Indonesia a while ago that registered in Darwin as about 4.4. I was eating dinner and thought my brother was kicking my chair. Nothing even moved in the cupboards.
Looking at videos and other pics now. Looks brutal. I hope everyone gets all the aid they need, and pray the body count doesn't rise much more.
4673096 thankfully (?) thanks to the big one of 85 a lot of structures and procedures were improved over the years, in fact, today they had an anniversary emergency drill earlier in the day... if they hadn't learned from back then, it would have been much worse.
I'm okay, and it seems my family and friends here in Distrito Federal are equally fine.
My bosses are birthing chayotes and have reserved like 10% of the hotel for employee use, but we're... fine... so far.
4673111 Good to hear man, I've heard things are a bit crazy down there so here's hoping things keep getting better as things go by.
4673082
Is Mexico's Red Cross better than the American Red Cross?
4673128 If you're asking about where the donations would go, yes if you want to help the victims of the earthquake. They are currently focused on this and have been on the job all day.
On the bright side... Mexico City was much better prepared this time. The difference between "developing" and "developed" is made clear by an earthquake, and it looks like Mexico City is now the latter.
Back in the 1980s, Mexico City was the city people pointed to to prove that the world was going to end soon and we were all going to die in poverty strangling in our own shit and pollution because of corruption, over-population, and poor building codes. Projections looked very bad.
Mexico City today is much better than predicted. I haven't been there myself, but people aren't roaming the streets in hazmat suits killing and eating each other, which was basically the expectation in the 1980s.
I was hoping to write something inspiring here about the power of humans to overcome adversity, but in trying to find out why things improved, I came across a survey of poor indigenous households in Mexico City showing a distribution of arrival year among them which was flat back until 1985, then fell to nearly zero before that. That suggests that the city kicked out or relocated the homeless people after the earthquake, or that they left on their own.
This book says there were 242,000 homeless families in Mexico City in 1970, and that in 1975 there were 1.3 million squatters living in shantytowns on a dry lake bed on the edge of the city. That's the same area of unstable ground devastated by the 1985 earthquake.
The number of homeless in Mexico City today is only about 15,000-30,000.
So it might not have been human determination and ingenuity which prevented Mexico City from imploding, but the 1985 earthquake. Unless we count the human ingenuity to take advantage of the earthquake to get rid of the squatters.
Sorry. I'm just not meant to be an inspirational speaker.
:<
That's horrible.
I'm glad that the death toll is as low as it is, and feel bad for everyone who did lose someone today.
4673220 I just read that a school collapsed and they're reporting some deaths and several children trapped. It's like ice in my blood.
4673045
4673082
You can donate to Los Topos ("The Moles", as in, the animal). They're an organization of heroic, selfless rescue volunteers that dive into collapsed buildings and ruins to pull out victims, putting their own lives on the line. Their bank info and PayPal account are
Santander (Mexican, not US) acct # 92000709294 CLABE code: 014180920007092942
Paypal: donativos@brigada-rescate-topos.org
Website: www.topos.mx (it might not respond, it's getting hammered right now)
Taken from https://twitter.com/topos/status/908000616575680512
4673227
:x
That just made it ten times worse
I hope the authorities are able to help as many people as they can. May the citizens of Mexico get the full aid they need.
4673189 I still appreciate the thought that went into your post :)
2 fairly bad earthquakes and hurricanes... Christ man, stay strong.