Mexico City remembers 1985 earthquake
Mexican President Vicente Fox opened the commemorations of the deadly earthquake in 1985 in the country on Monday, saying the government is better prepared and will do more to protect the people.
On the National Civil Protection Day, held in memory of the victims of the Sept. 19, 1985, earthquake, Fox told his countrymen that Mexico is better prepared to cope with natural disasters, yet “there remains a lot to do in terms of civil protection.”
He also called on Mexicans to cherish the memory of the victims by helping other countries affected by natural disasters and shoring up a National Civil Protection System to fight calamities.
Up to 10,000 people died 20 years ago in the devastating earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale.
Mexico City Mayor Alejandro Encinas said in his speech to mark the day that important achievements have been made since the 1985 earthquake, including better seismic engineering, strict construction regulations, high-risk zone detection and the creation of a rapid response program.
Ex-President Miguel de la Madrid, who was in office between 1982 and1988, and some other well-known figures in the country also made remarks to commemorate day.
A bust in honor of Spanish tenor Placido Domingo was unveiled here Monday in appreciation of his rescue work after the earthquake.
Domingo worked several weeks alongside other rescuers in search for possible survivors in the aftermath of the disaster.
Source: news.xinhuanet.com
Mexico City, Built on `Gelatin,' Unprepared for the Next Quake
The abandoned 15-story building in downtown Mexico City that once served as a federal budget office is a reminder of the 1985 earthquake that killed 10,000 and residents' concern about the next one.
``I wish they would tear it down,'' said Josefina Angel Rojas, 70, who sells magazines and snacks from a stand beneath the building at the corner of Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas and Arcos de Belen. ``If an earthquake comes, we'll just have to run.''
Government officials say a quake similar in magnitude to the temblor that occurred
Earthquake shakes Mexican capital
An earthquake has rocked central Mexico, prompting the evacuation of a number of buildings in the capital.
Hundreds of people are said to have run onto the streets of Mexico City as skyscrapers swayed. No injuries have been reported.
The quake was estimated to have a magnitude of 5.9 and was centred 200km (125 miles) south-west of the capital.
The Mexico City area is often hit by tremors. The last major earthquake, in 1985, killed thousands of people.
Source : news.bbc.co.uk
Mexico better armed for disaster after 1985 quake
The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has stirred up memories of the earthquake that reduced parts of Mexico City to rubble 20 years ago, but the capital has armed itself for the next time disaster hits.
The Sept. 19, 1985 earthquake, measuring a giddy 8.1 on the Richter scale, caught Mexico off guard, killing thousands as it toppled housing blocks and office buildings in a city built on the soft mud left by a dried-up pre-Hispanic lake.
"It was pure panic. People were running about, getting hit by cars. There were gas leaks, water leaks.
Katrina echoes Mexico City's 1985 quake
For Mexico City, Hurricane Katrina had strong echoes of the earthquake 20 years ago that toppled buildings, hit the poor hardest and shook Mexicans' faith in government.
The skyline is soaring as the capital marks the 20th anniversary Monday of the earthquake that killed at least 9,500 people and leveled whole sections of the city. But some scars are still visible and scientists say the city may be unprepared for the next quake.
"That the poor were the ones that couldn't evacuate (from New Orleans) is something that caught our attention," said Luis Wintergerst, the city's director
Katrina echoes Mexico City's 1985 quake
For Mexico City, Hurricane Katrina had strong echoes of the earthquake 20 years ago that toppled buildings, hit the poor hardest and shook Mexicans' faith in government.
The skyline is soaring as the capital marks the 20th anniversary Monday of the earthquake that killed at least 9,500 people and leveled whole sections of the city. But some scars are still visible and scientists say the city may be unprepared for the next quake.
"That the poor were the ones that couldn't evacuate (from New Orleans) is something that caught our attention," said Luis Wintergerst, the city's
Huge '85 Earthquake Jolted Mexico Into Preparedness
Scientists who took high-tech data readings on the temblor reflect on the experience, the damage and the reforms stemming from them.
Twenty years ago, American seismologist John G. Anderson bet that the west coast of Mexico was due for a catastrophic earthquake.
He and colleagues used money from a National Science Foundation grant to buy 30 seismic monitors and install them in the states of Guerrero and Michoacan, aiming to be the first to digitally record a great quake.
Most of the monitors were in place on the morning of Sept. 19, 1985, when strong-motion sensors
A cataclysm in Mexico 20 years ago forced citizens to rethink the status quo — and their role in it
MEXICO City residents have always had a fatalistic view of nature. Built on a zone of intense seismic activity, the city shakes with tiny movements as many as 20,000 times a year. When a gigantic earthquake shattered the city in 1985, many Mexicans' deepest shock was their betrayal by the government.
On the morning of Sept. 19, 1985, a catastrophic tremor in the capital crushed tens of thousands of buildings and killed between 10,000 and 30,000 people. In the days that followed,
Strong 6.7 magnitude earthquake occurs off Mexico's Baja California coast
A strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake occurred in the pre-dawn hours off the coast of the Baja California peninsula in the Sea of Cortes, also known as the Gulf of California, the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Center in Golden, Colorado reported.
The quake occurred about 2:32 a.m. local time (0832 GMT), and was centered about 56 miles (89 kilometers) northeast of Santa Rosalia, Baja California. The quake occurred at an estimated depth of six miles (10 kilometers), the center reported.
The area is sparsely populated, and there were no immediate reports of damage
Strong earthquake shakes southern Mexico
A 5.4 magnitude earthquake rocked the southern Pacific coast of Mexico on Sunday, 370 km south-southwest of Mexico City, according to the US Geological Survey's National Earhquake Information Centre.
The earthquake struck the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca near Santiago Pinotepa Nacional at 0820 hrs IST and could be felt in Mexican City, where building swayed lightly.
There were not immediate reports of damages or injuries near the epicentre in towns along the Oaxaca coast, said Leopoldo Jimenez, a radio operator with the Oaxaca Civil Protection Department in Oaxaca City, 170 kilometres northeast of the quake.
"They told us
Moderate quake shakes western Mexico
An earthquake shook part of western Mexico on Monday, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.
The 5.4-magnitude temblor struck shortly before 1:30 p.m. and was centered in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Michoacan state, 45 miles southeast of the port city of Manzanillo, according to the U.S. National Earthquake Center.
Local authorities said the quake did not cause any damage but was strong enough to be felt in Guadalajara, Mexicos second-largest city, 280 miles northwest of Mexico City.
More : chron.com
