Rescue professionals and thousands of volunteers have been working around the clock in a major search and rescue effort to find survivors from the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that wreaked havoc in Mexico City and surrounding states on Tuesday, September 19.
As of press time, the Mexican government put the death toll at 273, with 137 in Mexico City, 73 in the state of Morelos, 43 in Puebla, 13 in the State of Mexico, six in Guerrero and one in Oaxaca. According to Mexico City authorities, 52 people have been rescued alive from collapsed buildings in the capital.
On Wednesday evening, after declaring three days of national mourning, President Enrique Peñs Nieto prioritized the search for survivors and the medical needs of the injured. “Every minute counts,” he told the nation in a televised broadcast.
The quake occurred just 12 days after a stronger one, registering 8.1 on the Richter Scale, struck 54 miles off the coast of Chiapas on the night September 7 at a depth of 43 miles, resulting in about 100 deaths.
While weaker than its predecessor to the south, Tuesday’s quake struck 11 miles closer to the surface and toppled almost 100 buildings in Mexico City, a zone of notorious geological instability that sits on a massive dry lakebed.
The earthquake occurred on the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 quake that devastated the capital and claimed some 10,000 lives. Just two hours before the quake struck, thousands of citizens around the country had participated in emergency drills and evacuations of buildings in exercises that are traditionally carried out on this day of remembrance.
The quake’s epicenter was near the town of Raboso, Puebla about 122 kilometers southeast of Mexico City, at a depth of 51 kilometers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Mexico City residents said the earthquake shook the city for almost a minute, causing buildings to sway violently, walls to fissure and, in the worst cases, structures to collapse.
Among neighborhoods worst affected were the affluent Roma and Condesa colonias, where several buildings, including some apartment blocks, crumbled to the ground.
A massive civilian rescue and support effort ensued immediately after the quake struck.
As rescuers scrambled through the rubble of fallen buildings in a frantic search for survivors, neighbors pitched in, forming human chains to remove debris and keeping the workers supplied with water and nourishment.
In some instances, neighbors and volunteers sang traditional Mexican songs, such as “Cielito Lindo,” to boost the spirits of rescuers.
The size and passion of the citizen response astonished and pleased many observers.
“It’s a horrible situation, but the kind of solidarity we are seeing now is what this country needs in other walks of life,” commented Melanie Guerrero, a barista at a well-known cafe chain in Guadalajara.
The speed and fluidity of the official response has also been praised, with many lessons seemingly learned from 1985.
Emergency services in states throughout the country offered swift assistance, while thousands of elements from the Mexican Army and Navy were mobilized and were assisting with various tasks within hours of the catastrophe.
The international response has also been rapid. Several nations sent immediate assistance, including a 50-member team from the Israel Defense Forces Search and Rescue Unit, and a contingent of more than 60 firefighters and five highly trained dogs from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The quick acceptance of international aid was in complete contrast to 1985, when President Miguel de la Madrid initially rejected all help from abroad, declaring Mexico to be “self sufficient.”
Messages of support poured in from around the globe. U.S. President Donald Trump wasted no time to tweet his condolences and offers of help, as did Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II.
Pena Nieto, whose popularity rating is at a record low, has made efforts to be seen to be taking control of the situation. He was on his way to Oaxaca when the quake struck, and immediately ordered the presidential plane turned around to head back to the capital.
Only hours after landing, the president was out touring various rescue sites in the capital, offering his encouragement. On Wednesday, he visited Jojutla, one of the worst affected towns in Morelos.
In a televised address Wednesday evening, Peña Nieto reported that 1,900 people had been treated at Mexico City hospitals and clinics for various injuries, and that the “vast majority” have been discharged.
Power has been restored to 95 percent of Mexico City residents who were left without electricity following the quake, the president added.
Peña Nieto said the federal government has a three-stage action plan in the quake’s immediate aftermath that consists of: 1) providing shelter, food and supplies to all victims, and the restoration of basic public services 2) the elaboration of a “census of damages” that will be used as the basis for future reconstruction work and 3) the removal of debris and demolition of structures with irreparable damages.
In total, more than 2,000 schools have been affected by the September 7 and 19 earthquakes, according to Mexico’s education secretariat (SEP). An unspecified number sustained significant damage, it reported.