Baptist disaster relief teams were onsite within weeks. As the city sounded the seismic alarm at 11 a.m. announcing the drill, the Church carried out an orderly evacuation of everyone in the building, bringing them quickly and safely to the street. The massive quake hit hours after the city held preparation drills on the anniversary of the 1985 quake. We will wait a second so that we can continue talking.” The feed cut to static. In the early fall of 1985, a severe earthquake struck Mexico City and the surrounding region. In the years to come, the grassroots alliances of the earthquake mobilisation would link up with politicians who were defecting from the PRI to support a new opposition known as the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). In their destruction, earthquakes expose more than the physical foundations of the city. Guardian Cities will be reporting live from Mexico City in November. DESTINATION TOMORROW, TO OPEN THE BRONX LGBTQ CENTER, NPower, A National Leader of Equity in Tech, Announces Sangy Vatsa will Join the Nonprofit’s National Board in January 2021, Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers Delivers Diabetic Alert Dog to Foxfield, CO, Sixth Annual Paws FUR Pink® Dog Friendly Run/Walk Benefits Susan G. Komen Orange County, Young Mothers Inc. and Sasha Bruce Youthwork Host I Love You Makeover. In their distinctive orange uniforms, Los Topos stationed themselves on each of the 6 floors of the Scientology Church, directly across from Plaza de … Year after year the Mexico City government holds a ceremony in the square, commemorating the 85 earthquake that killed 10,000, destroyed 30,000 buildings and seriously damaged 100,000 more. “The inner city area ultimately falls apart as a unit. I cannot believe that the government actually impeded the rescue efforts that brave civilians had begun. Three large copper hands reach up from a cement block to grip a flagpole. As for the courageous damnificados, Eckstein asks, “why did the movement not transform into a broader fight for more issues over a longer period of time?” Why has the legacy of the earthquake mobilisation faded so quickly? Just a few blocks away, the historic city centre, or El Centro, was in pieces. The event caused serious damage to the Greater Mexico Cityarea and the deaths of at least 5,000 people. This “party-movement,” led by PRI-defector Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, challenged the PRI in the 1988 election– the largest opposition in 70 years – and set in motion a reform process that brought more power to the local level and away from the PRI’s political castle. United, the damnificados pushed for – and won – major concessions from the ruling party. With the aid of financial support from the Quick Response Res'earch Program administered by the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, and in collaboration with Dora Schael of the In 2001, the government introduced “Bando Dos,” a policy aimed at incentivising growth in the city’s central delegations and away from its expanding periphery. Read the article on the Scientology Newsroom. Public transportation halted, water pipes burst and public health facilities – few of which were built to code – crumbled. Mexico City Earthquake of 1985 Three type of plates boundaries: In Mexico City on September 19,1985 a big earthquake happened, struck in the early morning at 7:19 am, was jolted by a magnitude of 8.0. And it must protect its residents from the rising property prices that displace them from the centre and give rise to vulnerable settlements in the first place. Yet these settlements are systematically denied that enforcement. To address these, the city must first discard its zero-tolerance approach to work proactively with its low-income communities to develop infrastructure, services and homes that are safe for residents in the long term. The 1985 Mexico City earthquake was definitely one of the most devastating natural disasters in history. Their name means “the moles” and they became known by this nickname because of their skill and courage, digging under collapsed buildings in their search and rescue operations. It was followed by a 7.5 earthquake 36 hours later. On the Televisa broadcast that morning, newscaster Lourdes Guerrero maintained her smile as the room around her began to move. It is intended to remind passersby of the courage of the damnificados, and the progress that has been made as a result of their fight. Country Mexico Location Mexico City Brief Overview of the Disaster On September 19, 1985, at 7:19 a.m., Mexico City was struck by an earthquake that measured 8.1 on the Richter scale and lasted more than a minute and a half. One year later, under pressure from a strong and organised CUD, the government launched a major reconstruction effort, providing low-income, prefabricated housing to the displaced victims. In 1985, Mexico City was the world’s largest urban area. The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of 19 September at 07:17:50 (CST) with a moment magnitude of 8.0 and a maximal Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). This video documents the health problems and relief efforts in the aftermath of the earthquakes of September 19 and 20, 1985. Thirty years later, though, that plight remains. “Channel two left the air, the public power of the President of the Republic and his head of the government of Mexico City failed to appear, and the Mexicans of the Federal District realised that they did not need them.”. They formed grassroots alliances – the CUD, the Movimiento Urbano Popular, the Asamblea de Barrios – to challenge the corrupted political machine and construct their own communities. Hundreds of activists – once shut out from the political system – migrated into the party, hoping to topple the PRI, bringing their pro-poor agenda with them in the process. He did not speak publicly for two days, ordering a media blackout to prevent coverage of the earthquake. The conditions for sustaining their social movement dissipated.” Theirs was, in many ways, a devil’s bargain, typical of Mexico’s political culture – gifts in the short term for status quo in the long one. “To keep movements alive, you need new issues. “After the earthquake, it’s a whole new story to be told,” says Boston University professor Susan Eckstein, who conducted research on the damnificado movement in the 1980s. These successes were not merely local. The effects of the quake were particularly devastating because of the type of ground upon which the city sits. Yet, in the peripheral zones, beyond the tourist’s reach, informal settlements continue to proliferate. 2017 Puebla earthquake This page was last changed on 28 November 2020, at 13:17. Three decades later, however, El Centro bears almost no trace of this devastation. Mexicans have a long history of modifying their housing stock – adding new floors or new rooms to accommodate an expanding family unit – making it more vulnerable to earthquake damage. In exposing the weakness and corruption of the PRI, the damnificado movement became the first major step in Mexico’s democratisation. “But we must remain calm. T he earthquake that struck Mexico City on Tuesday hit on the same exact calendar date on which the capital was hit by a violent earthquake in 1985. Just hours before the quake hit , … As a … In 2002, the city government launched a public-private partnership with Carlos Slim’s nonprofit foundation, Fundación del Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de Mexico, to funnel resources into the downtown area. The earlier quake left behind a … On Thursday night, Deputy Interior Minister Fernando Perez Correa told reporters that 1,825 bodies had been recovered from the rubble of the two earthquakes that rocked Mexico … “Those were special days,” said Leslie Serna, founder of the Unión Popular Nueva Tenochtitlán Sur, in a recent interview with Mexico City daily newspaper La Jornada. The first of these occurred on 20 September with a magnitude of 7.5 and the sec… September 19, 2008 (The earthquake of 19-Sep-1985) One of the worst natural disasters in the Americas occurred 23 years ago today, when at 7:19 am local time an earthquake of magnitude 8.1 struck in the subduction zone off the west coast of Mexico. “The movement died, as far as I can tell,” says Eckstein. A block of collapsed flats in the Zona Rosa area of Mexico City. That will need to look in Cleveland I have found my sons she saying he's among the dead. And they were struggling to find water at home. A residential block collapses during the Mexico City earthquake in September 1985. Following the earthquake of 1985, hundreds of thousands of Mexico City residents mobilised to improve housing conditions for the poor. Yet modern Mexico City often seems indifferent to poverty and inequality, Last modified on Mon 3 Feb 2020 07.54 EST. The city centre – whose historic buildings were hit hard by the earthquake – has been completely remodelled. A few feet forward, the date “Septiembre 19 de 1985” is inscribed in the cement, a commemoration of the earthquake that demolished the Regis Hotel that once stood there. There were no casualties. Yet the spirit of the damnificado movement has all but vanished. In the three decades since, reconstruction efforts have expanded. Western Mexico is particularly vulnerable to earthquakes with the Pacific plate and Cocos plate moving against the North American plate actively. 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 Solidarity Plaza in Mexico City’s El Centro is a simple monument. The magnitude 8.1 quake shook Mexico City at 7:19 a.m. on Sept. 19, 1985, lasting between three and five minutes. Earthquake shakes Mexico City On September 19, 1985, a powerful earthquake strikes Mexico City and leaves 10,000 people dead, 30,000 injured and … “The dramatic experience of the earthquake of the September of 1985 switched on the light,” writes Pedro Moctezuma, an activist in Mexico City at the time, “to see the fragility and corruption of the system of construction and the political party apparatus.”. The feeble response of ruling politicians to the devastating 1985 quake sparked a grassroots movement to challenge corruption and secure low-cost housing. The devastation of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake was swift. The government’s response to the tragedy was unthinkable. They have established monitoring systems to detect earthquakes before they arrive, new agencies to coordinate responses to a potential earthquake and they have raised crucial funds in case of future emergency. Situated between three large tectonic plates, Mexico is a seismological nightmare. Their post-earthquake fumbling merely offered the occasion for a broader swath of Mexican society to join the movement. But in the widespread devastation of the earthquake – with the international community paying close attention – they appeared excessively corrupt. ePRNews is an established Media Outlet for PR News Submission and digital distribution. Images of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake are exhibited along Reforma Avenue this month, to mark the 30th anniversary of the disaster. MEXICO CITY -- Many things changed after the devastating September 19, 1985 earthquake, measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale, struck Mexico City. Press Release (ePRNews.com) - Mexico City, Mexico - Sep 21, 2016 - As part of a city-wide earthquake response drill planned by the Mexico City government, the National Scientology Organization of Mexico organized a successful evacuation exercise, under the supervision of the world-famous search and rescue team, Los Topos. The growth of these settlements over the last three decades attests to the persistence of poverty and inequality in Mexico City – and as a result, its vulnerability to its next big earthquake. Instead, it has denied a large swath of Mexico City’s population – some 3 million people in 900 settlements – crucial resources, and done little to stem the construction of new settlements along the way. Cathedrals, hospitals, museums and other monuments to Mexican history were destroyed. “In relation to social vulnerability, we are more vulnerable, overall because of the high index of poverty in the population,” claims Mario Garza, a government official, in the UN report. “It is still shaking a little,” she said into the camera. Informal settlements continue to crop up on cheap land – cinderblock units constructed with little attention to earthquake safety. While the government has focused on beautifying El Centro, Mexico City’s civil society has in many ways grown indifferent to the poverty, inequality and vulnerability that continue to beset it. Mexico's president was Miguel de la Madrid, champion of a failed "moral renewal" campaign, and the city's mayor was Ramón Aguirre Velázquez, a man close to the president and a candidate to succeed him. Residents of the city’s informal settlements were already travelling long distances each day to reach work. According to a recent UN report, building codes rarely impact these construction methods. Under the city government’s “zero-tolerance” policy, the very population most vulnerable to earthquakes has been shut out of the project of earthquake preparedness. Mexico City Earthquake, 1985. Copyright © 2017-2020 ePRNews.com. City officials maintain that building codes are enforced, and the mayor’s office has developed a six-point plan in case of future emergencies. (John Downing / Getty Images) The 1985 quake displaced many Mexico City residents, who were forced to live in makeshift tents. In 1985, Mexico City was the world’s largest urban area. “The city was just different. Spokesman for the Church of Scientology for Latin America, Rev. Mexico City September 1985 A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck Mexico City on the early morning of 19 September 1985 at around 7:19 am (CST) – causing the deaths of at least 10,000 people and serious damage to the Greater Mexico City Area. And the damnificados got their housing, got their right to stay. To learn from the Mexico City earthquake of 1985, then, will require more than reconstruction or regulation. A lot of people gave up their rights to the housing they acquired in the damnificado movement, undermining the community and solidarity built up in the earthquake response.”, On the periphery, conditions remain dangerous. These reconstruction efforts were part of the broader Renovation of Popular Housing Program (RHP), which produced over 45,000 new housing units under pressure from organised victims. One month after the earthquake, the PRI expropriated the damaged areas of El Centro to prevent landlords from using the earthquake as an opportunity to evict residents. We allow business to setup their own Press and News Media room to highlight their Press Release, News, Events, Service Announcements in most flexible and easiest way. Low-income residents, many of whom have been living in El Centro for generations, either faced soaring rents or saw an excellent opportunity to sell their hard-won property and pursue cheaper land on the city’s periphery. The strongest earthquake occurred on September 19, in Mexico City. Resistance to the PRI and its single-party rule had been growing since the 1960s. If much of the damage of the earthquake was caused by dangerous, informal construction, then the government must address directly the reasons why residents resort to these construction methods – displacement, poverty and inequality. They also strengthened one corner of the building. The 1985 Mexico City earthquake: an excerpt from “Shooter” ... They’d built a lot of the new buildings in Mexico City, with the elevator in the center of the building to form a steel core like the rods in reinforced concrete. A Mexico City scene from Sept. 26, 1985, one week after the quake. 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