El terremoto

I do not have much to say about the quake, save that it is horrifying, and that fortunately it seems (we hope) that no one we know has been hurt, although several have been terrified. There are some places where you can help. One place is below, managed by the sister of a good friend:

Ayuda para el terremoto en México https://t.co/yTwMHsew6t via @youcaring

— Marusia Musacchio (@tintachina88) September 20, 2017

I suppose I have a few more things to say. The first, for those of you who don’t know Mexico City’s geography, the worst damage has been in the center of the city. The reason is that the city was built on a lakebed: when the earth shakes, the ground liquifies. The most horrifying damage in ‘85 came about when high rises around the Alameda or in Tlatelolco came crashing down. The Metro stopped working. 412 buildings collapsed. 

The geographic scope of the damage seems similar, but so far only 47 buildings appear to collapsed, far less than in 1985. That said, this quake was an order of magnitude less on the Richter scale. So while I would like to believe that the better results are due to better building codes, I am sure that this is true. 

There has not been much looting or rioting, but two forms of criminal activity have been reported. The first seems to have been a spate of carjackings aimed at cars stuck in traffic, particularly out around Santa Fe. There have also been scattered reports of people entering homes disguised as rescue workers and robbing the inhabitants. I will predict that these reports turn out to scattered exceptions, both because the authorities seem to be responding to them with alacrity and because social disorder generally tends to decrease in disasters, as long as the authorities avoid general food and water shortages. 

Godspeed, Mexico City. You are loved. Please give above if you can.

Comments

[Dwight Daniel Dyer Leal]

Dear Noel,
Your words are very welcome at this time of need. The city has taken a strong hit, but the citizens' solidarity is our strongest asset.

A word on the quake. While the magnitude was one degree Richter lower than in 85,the epicenter was 250km closer, so the intensity, his strong it felt, was very high.

If your readers are able to donate to Marusia's organization, it's be greatly
Appreciated

[shah8]

off topic beg: I wouldn't mind a blog post on the impact of Hurricane Maria on PR's debt problems...

[J.H.]

And now a third quake in Mexico.

Thanks for the donation link.

Re: shah8's suggestion - that would be interesting. Though i think it would have to be the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria since they did a one-two punch on PR.