[34] People became trapped in stairwells, elevators and their apartments without any way to contact the outside world. 1,687 school buildings were damaged. [4], Another factor is that the old lakebed resonates with certain seismic waves and low frequency signals. [4] Each year more than 90 tremors above magnitude 4.0 are recorded in this zone. Constructed under the presidency of Adolfo López Mateos, it was considered the most important complex of its kind in the country. This revelation also caused many to consider why they needed a centralized state that so obviously could not care for its people. [4][16], Most of the earthquake damage was to buildings. The building that collapsed, as well as many others, were found to be decrepit. [31], There were two apartment complexes in the area of the city called Tlatelolco to the north of the historic center that became major scenes of disaster, the Conjunto Urbano Nonoalco Tlatelolco and the "Multifamiliares Juárez" near the Metro Centro Médico. Five people were reported killed, many were injured, and extensive damage occurred in the vicinity of Norcia. 1985 Mexico City earthquake was a Geography and places good articles nominee, but did not meet the good article criteria at the time. Considerable damage and injuries were reported in other parts of the Umbria region. The Mexico City earthquake was the most catastrophic in the country's history. [32] During these rescue efforts, a nearby building, called Oaxaca, began to creak noisily, causing everyone to run and abandon the site temporarily, but it did not collapse. [23], On Manuel José Othón Street, in the Colonia Obrera neighborhood, near Metro station San Antonio Abad, was one of the many garment factories located in the city center area. [20], In March, only weeks after taking office, Camacho Solís changed the charged atmosphere between SEDUE and the community groups. The greatest destruction occurred in an area where buildings were built on an old lakebed. [21], However, the most memorable story to come from this event was the rescue of nearly all the newborn babies that were in the nursery at the time. [24], The collapse of this factory exposed the deplorable conditions to which many of these women were subjected. Everyone ran from the studio but Llamas and Guerrero stayed, hiding under their anchor desks. These "soft" stories were particularly flexible and tended to collapse after prolonged shaking. [5], In the hours and days immediately after the first shock, there was an enormous response and solidarity among the city population of 18 million people. One interesting characteristic was that many buildings had their upper floors collapse, leaving the lower floors relatively undamaged. [19], In contrast, the network of twenty four community general hospitals with 1,600 beds belonging to the city (federal district) were not affected as these were spread out beyond the city center and the old lakebed. Camacho Solís continued to work to integrate and smooth relations between his agency and the community groups. [12] It is estimated the movement along the fault was about three metres (9.8 ft). "[29] Then the image disappeared. Those belonging to the party received preference and those considered opposition received the runaround. A second quake made rescue work slower, because of fear of further collapse. Centuries-old structures have been reinforced across the city and new construction must comply with very strict codes. One nine-story building, for example, overturned. Before the 1957 earthquake, there were no building codes with respect to earthquake resistance. Students at the Universidad de las Américas in nearby Puebla reported feeling as if the cafeteria had been lifted and rocked back and forth, shattering windows and injuring some people but mostly causing panic. In second place were buildings from before 1957, possibly because they were weakened by the earlier earthquakes. The damage was concentrated in a 25 km2 area of Mexico City, 350 km from the epicenter. [20] As most of the collapsed buildings were of recent construction and public works projects, the government was seen at fault due to mismanagement and corruption in these constructions. [41] Few countries sent rescue delegations to support these efforts. [19], One of the most visible government institutions to fall in the event was the tower of Hospital Juárez, one of the oldest hospital institutions in Mexico. This structure failed, causing the near total collapse of long distance communications between Mexico City and the rest of the world. Mexico City earthquake: Salma Hayek donates $100,000 to victims after revealing she lived through 1985 quake. These groups along with the Sindicato Nacional de Costureras united to form the Coordinadora Única de Damnificados (CUD). Around 240 people have been killed and 2,000 injured They have gained international fame as they have helped in disasters in San Salvador, Taiwan, in the countries of the rim of the Indian Ocean after the tsunami there in 2004,[45] and in the January 2010 Haiti earthquake. [42], The severe damage in so many buildings, including in many public works construction projects to house the rapidly growing population of Mexico City, was blamed on lax enforcement of building codes. [9], Mexico City is divided into boroughs. All of the closed stations were in the historic center area, with the exception of the stations of Line 2 south of Pino Suárez. Read more about the dangers of liquefaction in the next blog entry. In this particular area, 258 buildings completely crumbled, 143 partially collapsed and 181 were seriously damaged. "Mexico City earthquake" redirects here. A statue in Mexico City to Plácido Domingo as a recognition to his contributions to 1985 Mexico City earthquake victims and his artistic works. It had a magnitude of 8.1, and the number of people killed was around 10,000.. Related pages. It had its own cabaret, gourmet restaurant and a small but luxurious cinema with wide reclining armchairs. [27], In this school the classes normally started at 7 o'clock in the morning, so the students were already in class. The next seriously affected area was Venustiano Carranza where 83 buildings collapsed, 128 partially collapsed and 2,000 structures were seriously damaged. [7], One of the most spectacular building collapses was that of the Conjunto Pino Suárez, which was a complex of five steel-frame buildings. The old lava flows have little water content or movement in comparison and are therefore more stable. Line 4 continued to operate normally. [9][10], The earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of the Mexican state of Michoacán, a distance of more than 350 km (220 mi) from the city, in the Cocos Plate subduction zone, specifically in a section of the fault line known as the Michoacán seismic gap. The majority who were rescued were found in the first five days. When the buildings were built seemed to have an effect as well. from the epicenter. Most of the destroyed structures were between 8 and 18 stories high. These consisted of families from the "Multifamiliar Juárez" housing project, which completely collapsed and the combined colonias (neighborhoods) of Centro, Morelos, Guerrero, Doctores, Obrera, Peralvillo, Asturias, Nicolás Bravo among others which housed the working and lower classes. 266 were hospital workers and 44 were medical residents. The city was originally built on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, and Aztec rulers built dikes to prevent flooding[6] while Spanish colonial rulers later drained the lakes in a massive hydraulic project (known as the Desagüe) in response to major periodic flooding. [19] Reports have numbered the dead anywhere from 5,000 to 30,000 (claimed by a number of citizens' groups)[5] to 45,000 claimed by the National Seismological Service. One out of every four then-available beds were lost. Interruption of classes, either to the lack of facilities and/or the need to help with rescue efforts, affected over 1.5 million students. [23], The military was deployed to patrol streets to prevent looting after a curfew was imposed,[39] as well as rescue, sanitary efforts and other, with 1,836 soldiers initially sent in and another 1,500 conscripts sent later. [18], Nonoalco Tlatelolco was located on Paseo de la Reforma Norte #668,[32] covering an area of about two km2 (0.77 sq mi). What happened 23 years ago in Mexico is comparable to a temblor occurring along the San Andreas Fault near San Francisco leaving Bakersfield in ruins. 7th Sep, 2015. [19], Although much closer to the epicenter, the states of Jalisco, Colima, Guerrero and Michoacán suffered only mild to moderate damage. It had to be evacuated because all of its 25 buildings suffered severe damage. Ground shaking lasted more than five minutes in places along the coast and parts of Mexico City shook for three minutes,[4] with an average shaking time of 3–4 minutes. Much of the community organizing focused on helping those left homeless by the earthquake. The three newscasters were María Victoria Llamas (substituting for Guillermo Ochoa), Lourdes Guerrero and Juan Dosal. https://www.livescience.com/30791-deadly-1985-mexico-city-earthquake.html The magazine Proceso reported that by the time rescue workers reached the building, the owners were already in a hurry to demolish it, without trying to rescue or recover the workers trapped inside. All that remains of the factory is a small empty lot with a bronze statue of a woman sewing. September 19 Earthquake shakes Mexico City On September 19, 1985, a powerful earthquake strikes Mexico City and leaves 10,000 people dead, 30,000 injured and thousands more homeless. The old lakebed, with its high water content, is easily moved or compressed. 2017 Puebla earthquake At the time of the earthquake, the hospital was 80% full, and it was shift change time for nurses, doctors and residents. Categories:   9,600 injured people received treatment, including 1,879 who needed hospitalization. In the video, movement can be seen, especially in the lights above the newscasters. Most of the seriously damaged buildings were built between 1957 and 1976, when the city was starting to build upwards, in the six-to-fifteen floor range. This is the same "pitch" as a number of shallow earthquake waves. [44] Affiliated with the Civil Protection Committee is the "Brigada de Topos de Tlatelolco" (Mole Brigade of Tlatelolco). Mexico City Earthquake 19 September 1985 The epicentre of the earthquake was at the border between the states of Michoacán and Guerrero more than 300 kilometres away, yet Mexico City suffered the most damage. The low-frequency waves of an earthquake are amplified by the mud of the lakebed, which in turn, is amplified by the building itself. ↵ Daniel Hernandez, “The 1985 Mexico City Earthquake, Remembered,” Los Angeles Times, September 20, 2010. [24], The Conalep SPP was a building located between the streets of Iturbide and Humboldt, in the Historic Center of Mexico City, which succumbed to the Richter-scale 8.1-degree earthquake on 19 September 1985. “Earthquake of 1985,” by Marvin Alisky. The lessons learned from the Mexico Earthquake through the site investigation, are summarized as follows. [34] At the time, the Metro had 101 stations, with 32 closed to the public in the weeks after the event. [4] The Cocos Plate pushes against and slides under the North American Plate, primarily along the coasts of the states of Michoacán and Guerrero in Mexico. Landslides caused damage at Atenquique, Jalisco, and near Jala, Nayarit. In 1325 the Aztecs, one of the high civilisations of Mesoamerica, founded their capital Tenochtitlan. The old lakeshore area also has a fairly high water content, allowing movement, though not as much as the lakebed. There was no historic record of such a strong quake in Mexico. Two reasons are the resonance in the lakebed sediments and the long duration of the shaking. About 5,000 bodies were recovered from the debris and represent the total of legally certified deaths but does not include those who were missing and never recovered. The 1985 Mexico City earthquake caused major damage to buildings, but not other structures, in the center of Mexico City, located approximately 400 km. Within minutes, the steel-frame structure collapsed, crushing and trapping many people inside. [18] The federal government's first public response was President de la Madrid's declaration of a period of mourning for three days starting from 20 September 1985. [20], The Mexican government, thinking that it could handle the situation after the earthquake by themselves, initially refused any foreign aid. [36] Some members of the Hoy Mismo staff died, including producer Ernesto Villanueva and engineer David Mendoza Córcega, who had just parked at the Televisa building, but had no time to escape from his car. He offered a commitment to build 48,000 housing units in one year if the groups would all sign a "Convenio de concertación democrática para la reconstrucción de vivienda" (Democratic agreement for the reconstruction of housing). One of the more famous images of the event was the live broadcast of Hoy Mismo, a news program in the Televisa television network, when the earthquake struck. [12] Consequently, most of the populace believes that the true numbers have never been revealed. Ordinary citizens organized brigades to help with rescue efforts and to provide food, clothing and emotional support to the homeless. The sequence of events included a foreshock of magnitude 5.2 that occurred the prior May, the main shock on 19 September, and two large aftershocks. The earthquake measured seven point eight on the richter scale its center was about forty miles off the coast on Mexico's Pacific side but people felt it in Houston. Three years ago on September 19th, 2015, I wrote the article below to commemorate the 30th year anniversary of the 1985 Mexico City 8.1 magnitude earthquake. The building was occupied by family courts and offices of the public defender. We will wait just a second so we can keep talking. Until today, nobody really knows how many people perished as a result of the earthquake. [20] Some sources say that more than 50,000 families lost their homes. The 1985 Mexico City Earthquake On the morning of September 19, 1985, an 8.1-magnitude earthquake hit the western states of Mexico and including Mexico City. The 2,158 beds of the Ministry of Health (SSA) were lost, representing 43 percent of its capacity in the city. During the last century, the lake was completely drained, to make room for the housing needs of the ever-growing population of Mexico City. Mexico City, Mexico. [11] However, this particular section of the subduction zone had not had an event for a much longer time. [40] At many levels of the government, who was helped and by how much was determined by one's standing vis-à-vis the PRI. Historical Dictionary of Mexico, 2008, s.v. It originally was called San Pablo Hospital but its name was changed to Juárez Hospital in 1872. The main tremor was foreshadowed by a quake of magnitude 5.2 on 28 May 1985, and was followed by two significant aftershocks: one on 20 September 1985 of magnitude 7.5 lasting thirteen seconds and the third occurring seven months later on 30 April 1986 with magnitude 7.0 lasting ten seconds. Although there was severe damage in the coastal regions, the real disaster happened 220 miles away in Mexico City. [citation needed], At the time of the earthquake, Mexico was in its fourth year of a foreign debt crisis, and a contracting economy causing serious political problems for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Nothing survived of the hotel. This included the 700 beds lost with the complete collapse of Juárez Hospital and the gynecology-obstetrics tower of the General Hospital of Mexico. Literally this building was split in two, the part that overlooked Humboldt Street stood and the part that overlooked Iturbide Street collapsed falling floor to floor and pulling the building towards that street. It had 102 buildings with seven medical facilities, twenty-two schools and about 500 small businesses, serving the 80,000 people who lived there. [45] Despite having no equipment, training or knowledge of rescue tactics,[45] these youths were instrumental in saving a number of lives, including the babies rescued from the collapse of the Juárez Hospital. Most of the earthquake damage was to buildings. When this disappeared, the PRI's power base began to shrink. Despite being 44 stories tall, it survived the 1985 event almost undamaged. The southern part of the city rests on hardened basalt lava flows. [14] However, the most commonly cited figures are around 10,000. Preparedness, Risks, and Hazards, September 19, 2008  [4], Shockwaves from the earthquake hit the mouth of the Río Balsas on the coast at 7:17 am and hit Mexico City, 350 km (220 mi) away, two minutes later at 7:19 am. [20], On the other hand, the disaster created an opportunity for political opponents, especially at the grassroots level. [43] An alarm is supposed to go off in Mexico City (similar to an air-raid siren) when an earthquake of 6.0 or higher is detected. Unofficial sources put that figure much higher. Critics argued that the lack of enforcement of such codes was indicative of corrupt practices in all levels of government. [46][47], Despite warnings and predictions, in 2005, an estimated 32 million people live in the high-risk lakebed area. Today in Earthquake History Despite the epicenter being 250 miles west from the city, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said the quake shook the relatively unstable ground for nearly three minutes. [19] The damage area corresponds to the western part of the lake zone within two to four kilometres (1.2 to 2.5 mi) of the Alameda Central. [25] About 150 bodies of workers had already been pulled from the wreckage by fellow employees using their bare hands. A study involving a collaborative effort between American and Mexican social scientists was made of the individual and organizational response to the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City. A small tsunami caused only mild damage to Lázaro Cárdenas and Zihuatanejo. Less than 15 minutes after the quake, thousands of people in the capital lay dead and the Mexican economy was shattered for years to come. [29] The falling debris also killed street vendors who worked just outside the studio building. [33], All the buildings suffered damage but along with the collapsed Nuevo León building, buildings such as those called Veracruz, Coahuila, Zacatecas, Oaxaca, Puebla, Jalisco, Churubusco, Guelatao, 2 de Abril, 15 de Septiembre, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, ISSSTE 11, Querétaro, Guanajuato, Ignacio Comonfort, Ignacio M. Altamirano, Jesús Terán, Ponciano Arriaga, Niños Héroes and 20 de Noviembre suffered severe damage such as deeply cracked foundations. Ambassador to Mexico, John Gavin, observing the resulting damage of the earthquake. [4] Prior to the event, estimates about ground movement on the lakebed were generally accepted and a number of buildings were built on these estimates. The other three 20-story buildings were closed because of damage, as well as the Metro entrance next door. [13], The energy released during the main event was equivalent to approximately 1,114 nuclear weapons exploding. A few notable examples are: the Torre Latinoamericana, one of the first buildings in Mexico City to do so, the Torre Ejecutiva Pemex, built before the 1985 earthquake, and the Torre Mayor, built in 2003. This was known to be one of the most violent earthquakes in the area. The deal generally worked; movements like CUD moderated their stances and agencies like SEDUE and PRHP made progress in rebuilding housing, regardless of political affiliation. [4][10], However, only certain types of structures are vulnerable to this resonance effect. Every 19 September, in all public buildings at Mexico City and all the nation the civil protection authorities conduct evacuation drills to evaluate the evacuation response in the case of an earthquake. With Mexico City sitting on top a plateau of sand and dirt, this violent earthquake did significant damage to the city. This is an intertidal zone and the event caused widespread mortality in a number of species living in the area such as algae and shellfish. It was also widely reported in the days after the earthquake that the military assisted factory owners in retrieving their machinery rather than in removing the bodies of dead factory workers. A 20-story tower, Tower Four, doubled over at the third floor and fell south onto a fourteen-story building. Photo Mehmet Celebi, USGS. [5], While not on or near any fault line like San Francisco or Los Angeles, Mexico City is vulnerable to earthquakes. [5] President Miguel de la Madrid ordered a news blackout[12] and did not address the situation at all for 39 hours after the event. The first of these occurred on 20 September with a magnitude of 7.5 and the second occurred seven months later on 30 April 1986 with a magnitude of 7.0. Eighty percent of the earthquake damage was confined to four of them: Venustiano Carranza, Cuauhtémoc, Benito Juárez and Gustavo A. Partly because of inadequate building codes, the death toll reached upward of 20,000 people. On Line 1, there was no service in stations Merced, Pino Suárez, Isabel la Católica, Salto del Agua, Balderas or Cuauhtémoc. [34], These earthquakes created many political difficulties for the then-ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) or Institutional Revolutionary Party. The earthquake was located about 110 kilometers northeast of Rome. Most of the damage occurred in secondary and tertiary hospitals. 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