Photo courtesy of Rebecca Blackwell | Mexico City was struck by an 7.1 magnitude earthquake on the 32nd anniversary of an earthquake that killed around 10 thousand. This is the second major earthquake to hit the nation this month. As of Sunday, 318 people have died and nearly 4,000 buildings have been damaged.
On the 32nd anniversary of an earthquake that killed around 10 thousand people, Mexico was shaken again. The 7.1 magnitude earthquake toppled buildings in the capital, Mexico City, sending people scrambling for safety in the street. This is the second major earthquake to hit the country this month.
Rodrigo Garcia de Quevedo, a sophomore business undecided major from Mexico City, remembers calling his family, as he does every day.
“I wanted to call my brother to see what my family was up to,” Garcia de Quevedo said. “He told me that he couldn’t talk because an earthquake hit, and he was trying to check what was going on with our family in Mexico.”
Confused, Garcia de Quevedo asked his brother what he meant.
“He told me to open up our group family chat with family members in Mexico,” he said. “They’re all texting (about) how an earthquake hit.”
Garcia de Quevedo followed his brother’s instructions and went to a quiet corner where he scrolled through his family group chat and saw pictures of bricks and debris strewn across streets and cars crushed under fallen buildings.
“It was really worrying, I was worried,” Garcia de Quevedo said. “I was trying to make sure everyone I knew was texting and I was asking if they were OK.”
There was a span of about seven hours between when Garcia de Quevedo first found out about the earthquake and when he was able to verify with his parents on the phone that his family was safe.
“I was really worried, not only for my family, but (for)Mexico in general. Mexico is already in a bad state, economically,” Garcia de Quevedo said, “so it’s sad to see that a natural disaster can affect a nation like that.”
Garcia de Quevedo was fortunate in that nobody he knew was injured or killed in the earthquake. As of Sunday, 318 people have been killed, and nearly 4,000 buildings have been damaged. As a result, thousands have been left homeless with little more than the clothes they wore.
“I was actually just talking to my mom not long before the earthquake, asking her how it felt to be in one, and she told me that it is not fun at all,” Garcia de Quevedo said. “She said it felt like any second, you could die.”
Search and rescue efforts continue to search for those who may still be trapped under the rubble.
By: Savin Mattozzi ~Staff Writer~