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 began recording a magnitude 8.1 earthquake.
Roberto Quaas, the engineer who installed the seismic monitors, recalled his horror as the earth shook his Mexico City home that morning, then his fascination with the seismic data that streamed into the laboratory. The readings provided, for the first time, an accurate recording of the intensity and type of movements the Earth experiences in a great quake.
“It was a moment of extraordinary professional satisfaction,” he said. “Then we started hearing about all the deaths and the destruction, and it turned to an overwhelming sadness.”
Quaas, who now heads the country’s National Disaster Prevention Center, was among the legions of Mexico City residents who formed ad-hoc rescue and relief teams as government help stalled.
More: latimes.com
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Huge firework blast rattles Mexican
A chain of explosions ripped through a sprawling market selling fireworks for Mexico's independence celebrations on Thursday, sending a huge column of smoke sky-high but causing only a handful of serious injuries.
Hundreds of blasts lasting for two hours reduced the market in the town of Tultepec, north-west of Mexico City, to a charred ruin. A large-scale tragedy was avoided only because stall owners ran for their lives as the explosions began.
Huddled with her children on the edge of a smoldering mass of twisted metal and smoldering wood the size of a football pitch and reeking
GLOBAL MARKETS-Safe haven assets rally on quake off Mexico coast
Reports of an earthquake in Mexico's Gulf of California boosted demand for safe-haven government bonds on Wednesday, lifting U.S, euro zone bond futures and the Swiss franc sharply higher.
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the northern Mexican mainland.
March Bund futures hit a session high of 121.97 coming within a whisker of a nine-week peak as news filtered through the markets boosting demand for risk-free assets.
"There's talk of an earthquake in the Gulf of California. This is pushing bonds up," said David
Mexico mine rescue faces new obstacles on 5th day
A struggling operation to save 65 Mexican miners trapped in a coal mine faced new obstacles on Thursday as underground air quality and digging conditions worsened.
Rescuers came across piles of rubble from collapsed roofs where two of the men were working when a huge gas explosion ripped through the Pasta de Conchos mine on Sunday.
Since the collapse there has been no contact with the miners, who only had six hours' worth of oxygen with them and no food.
Relatives were hanging on the hope that they may be still be alive thanks to
