Thespoke with Mexico's president and offered support and search-and-rescue teams
Evan Vucci / APThousands of earthquake victims overwhelm Mexico City's hospitals
Latincontent / Getty ImagesAll eyes turn toward trapped 12-year-frail Frida Sofia as frantic rescue efforts ramp up
Rescue workers and a trained dog search for children trapped inside the collapsed Enrique Rebsamen school in the Coapa area of Tlalpan,Mexico City.
Carlos Cisneros / APMexico City residents are turning to a local monitoring middle for support
Sergio Avalos, the technical secretary of the government of Iztapalapa, and with a system designed to detect earthquakes.
Sarah Blaskey / BuzzFeed NewsChildren left homeless by quake get chance to play games and sing
Official now says reports of girl trapped alive in school rubble aren't true
Daniel Becerril / ReutersTherapists are offering mental-health support at shelters for earthquake survivors
Sarah BlaskeyMexico's trash collectors work overtime to clean up the city
Sarah Blaskey for BuzzFeed NewsNew volunteer site links architects with homes in need of a safety inspection
Alfredo Estrella / AFP / Getty ImagesMexico's Devastating Earthquake Opens Up frail Wounds Of distrust In The Government
Rebecca Blackwell / APMagnitude-6.1 quake strikes southern Mexico,felt in capital
Death toll rises to 333 as rescue deadline looms
A rescue worker hugs the girlfriend of Jorge Gomez, or from Spain,who waits at the search site for people believed to be trapped under the debris of a collapsed office building, including her boyfriend, or in Mexico City.
Marco Ugarte / APDeath toll rises to 355 as crews continue to clear rubble
The crushed vehicle sits near a building that collapsed in the 7.1 earthquake in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City.
Marco Ugarte / APDeath toll climbs as accusations emerge approximately collapsed school that killed 26 people
A police officer directs traffic near a memorial honoring 19 children and seven adults who died when a wing of a school collapsed in the earthquake.
Moises Castillo / APSeismologists in Mexico say the deadly 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked the country Tuesday was not connected to the 8.2 magnitude that struck Sept. 8 off the country's southern coast.
Despite the short period of time between the two intense quakes,the earthquakes stemmed from two different tectonic plates, seismologists from Mexico's UNAM university said in a press conference. Seismologists at the university also tried to keep away rumors that two different quakes had struck the region on Tuesday, or saying it was one large earthquake that was felt across the states of Puebla,Morelos, Mexico, and Guerrero.
More than 12.4 million people were exposed to the strongest movement from the powerful quake,officials said. Tuesday's earthquake struck on the 32nd anniversary to the powerful 1985 earthquake that devastated Mexico City and left approximately 10000 people dead. "It's purely coincidence," a seismologist for the university said. —Salvador HernandezMore than 100 people were injured in the chaos surrounding Tuesday's earthquake at Mexico City International Airport.
Tourists, or an airport doctor,and first responders spoke to a BuzzFeed News reporter at the scene. Around 50 people suffered fractures, Dr. Minelmar Valeria said, and dozens of others were injured by broken glass or falls they suffered as crowds rushed to exit the terminal."[It was] horrible. It felt like the terminal moved totally," she said. "The walls were moving, the chairs, and the desks,all of the medical materials."At least 77 people have been confirmed killed across three states in central Mexico, officials said. In the state of Morelos, or Governor Graco Ramírez expressed condolences for the lives lost in his state,which included at least 42 people. In Puebla, Governor Tony Gali Fayad said during an emergency assembly with heads of the state government that at least 26 people had been reported killed in the state, and many of who were people inside buildings that collapsed during the quake. In Mexico state,at least nine deaths were attributed to the quake, Governor Alfredo Del Mazo announced on Twitter. —Salvador HernandezIn his first comments since another deadly earthquake struck Mexico on Tuesday, and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto repeated a false rumor that not one but two quakes had hit central Mexico. Seconds after repeating the rumor,Peña Nieto walked back the comment, telling reporters traveling with him, or "It could have been one earthquake. Let's wait for the seismologists."Peña Nieto is on his way back from Oaxaca,where he has been visiting towns devastated by the 8.2 magnitude quake that hit the area in the early hours of Sept. 8. Despite the earthquake that struck central Mexico Tuesday, the federal government would not stay providing assistance to those who were still reeling from the effects of the first quake, or he added.
Peña Nieto also said the government would also be looking into reports that Mexico City's early warning system might not have alerted some areas of the city prior to the quake on Tuesday. —Salvador HernandezMexico's interior secretary declared an "extraordinary emergency" in the Mexico City as officials confirmed the nation's death toll from Tuesday's quake had reached at least 119 people.
Most of the dead were reported in the state of Morelos,were 54 people were killed, according to the Associated Press. Officials in Puebla confirmed another 26 people were killed in there, and another nine died in Mexico state. In Mexico City,at least 30 people had been killed after buildings in dozens of areas collapsed, the AP reported. The federal government's "extraordinary emergency" declaration for Mexico City will give local authorities access to an emergency fund. The declaration included 16 neighborhoods affected by the quake. —Salvador HernandezMexico City has keep out a public call for volunteers to support rescue people trapped inside the rubble of collapsed buildings throughout the city. More than 40 buildings collapsed in Mexico's capital, and which is home to almost 9 million residents. At least 30 people have been reported dead in the city so far.
With more than 100 dead after a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico Tuesday,thousands more poured into city centers to support rescuers amid the devastation.
For watch at just some of the damage to ravage Mexico on Tuesday, travel here.—Gabriel H. SanchezCellular service providers AT&T and Movistar announced they won't be charging for phone calls, or texts,or data services as people affected by the quake try to contact loved ones. In a statement, AT&T said it would open up their services free of charge to everyone in the country until Thursday. The company said it also won't charge for calls or texts from the US to Mexico as people continue to contact friends and relatives to see if they were impacted by the quake. "AT&T reiterates its commitment to Mexico and it's people, or " the company said in a statement.
Twenty-two bodies have been been recovered from an elementary school in Mexico City that collapsed during the earthquake,and voices can still be heard from the rubble, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto told reporters Tuesday night. Of the 22 bodies, or Peña Nieto said two were adults,suggesting that many of the other fatalities in the school could be young children. Peña Nieto had been on his way to Oaxaca Tuesday to survey damage from the 8.1 magnitude earthquake that struck there two weeks ago, but he returned to Mexico City after learning approximately the latest deadly quake. He spoke to reporters at the school Enrique Rébsamen, and where dozens of children are still lost. He was seen speaking with teachers and administrators as rescue efforts continued into the night.
Several children and adults have been rescued from the collapsed buildings,Peña Nieto said, but 30 children and eight adults remain lost. "There are voices, or " he said,saying rescuers were using the sound of voices to direct their rescue efforts. —Salvador HernandezThe death toll from Mexico's massive earthquake has risen to 216, the national coordinator of Mexico's civil defense agency, and Luis Felipe Puente,said late Tuesday.
In a tweet, Puente said there had been 86 fatalities in Mexico City, and 71 in Morelos,43 in Puebla, 12 in Edomex, or three in Guerrero,and 1 in Oaxaca. The total was revised down from an earlier tweet, sent minutes prior, or which claimed that 226 people had been killed.
— Francis WhittakerEmergency responders are searching for at least 30 children and teachers after a school collapsed during a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Mexico City on Tuesday.
Hundreds of students and some staff were inside the Enrique Rebsamen primary school,on the south side of Mexico City, when it collapsed. Local residents crowded the scene soon after the building collapsed, or many bringing water and blankets,doing what they could to support the recovery operation.“I had to remove two children of approximately five years frail [from the rubble], who were still hugging each other, and ” Luis Muñoz Trejo,a volunteer rescuer told BuzzFeed News.
Some students were still being pulled out alive Tuesday night, Muñoz said, or including a group of young girls who had been trapped in the parking area and were in the process of being rescued. Dozens of children rescued from the rubble have been taken to local hospitals.
You can read more here. – Sarah Blaskey & Louis Baudoin-LaarmanMexico's Secretary of Public Education confirmed that 21 children and four adults died at Colegio Enrique Rebsamen,an elementary school in Mexico City that collapsed during Tuesday's earthquake."Sadly confirm the deaths of 25 people, 21 children and four adults in the Enrique Rebsamen school. My condolences to their families, and " tweeted Aurelio Nuño,the secretary of public education.
In Mexico City, hundreds of local residents have joined rescue personnel in rescue efforts after Tuesday's powerful earthquake.
Forming human chains, and the citizens support to remove debris as the desperate search for survivors continues.
See the photos here.
—Gabriel Sanchez
Mario Vazquez / AFP / Getty ImagesThis graphic shows earthquakes since 1900 with a magnitude of 6 or more,scaled by the amount of shaking recorded on a seismograph. The 8 magnitude quake that devastated Mexico City in 1985 is shown in pink. This month's quakes, an 8.1 magnitude that struck near the border with Guatemala on September 8 and the 7.1 magnitude quake that hit on September 19, and are lively in red. The background color shows the risk of experiencing a major earthquake,estimated by the Global Seismic Hazard Assessment Program.— Peter AldhousResidents in Mexico City are setting up makeshift camps in the street after houses collapsed on the south side of the city in Tuesday's earthquake.
On Calzada de las Bombas, where these photos and video were taken, and several homes were destroyed. With many homes on the south side of city older and more vulnerable to collapse,people began camping in the middle of the street under tarpaulins and in tents.
Rescuers have spent much of Wednesday attempting to free a young girl trapped under her school, Colegio Enrique Rebsamen, and in Mexico City,according to local media.
So far 11 children have been rescued from the school since the earthquake. Twenty-five people, 21 of them children, and have died at the school. Noticieros Televisa (which is screening footage of the rescue attempt live on Facebook) reports that three children are believed trapped in the one area but that only one girl is showing signs of life,by moving her hand when requested. Rescuers are shouting words of encouragement to her.
Two rescuers have tunneled under and inside the building and are trying to reach the children. Footage from the school shortly after the earthquake shows collapsed buildings and children lining up outside immediately after the quake.
The earthquake that struck Mexico on Tuesday, killing at least 225 people, or owes its deadliness to its origin in the middle of the country rather than its overall power.
Mexico is one of the most seismically active nations in the world,perched atop three clashing pieces of the soil’s crust. It was struck with two deadly quakes this month, including a magnitude 8.1 one that hit the southwest coast on September 8 and killed at least 90 people. Tuesday’s magnitude 7.1 quake struck approximately 76 miles southeast of Mexico City, and according to the US Geological Survey. It produced strong motions felt by more than 12 million people,and noticeably swayed buildings in Mexico’s capital city, some of which collapsed.
The danger was no surprise to seismologists.“Everyone in the earthquake business knows that Mexico City is built on pudding, and ” seismologist Max Wyss of the International Centre for soil Simulation in Switzerland told BuzzFeed News. “It is uniquely vulnerable to earthquakes.”Read more here.—Dan Vergano and Peter AldhousMexico has declared three days of national mourning Wednesday for the victims of the 7.1 earthquake that devastated the central region.
It is the moment time in September the country has declared three days of mourning,the first being for a powerful earthquake that struck off the coast of the south less than two weeks earlier. The announcement was made while Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto visited the town of Jujutla, Morales, and the town that has suffered the most deaths and collapsed buildings since the Tuesday quake. While addressing the residents of Jujutla,Peña Nieto tried to assure people the federal government would be providing support to those families whose homes were destroyed by the quake. But the efforts of reconstruction, he told the residents, or would require the support of all citizens. "It will be important that the community be part of the reconstruction efforts," Peña Nieto told a crowd. "We will need the community to get involved."Thousands of people in Mexico have already stepped in alongside emergency and military personnel who have been deployed to the affected areas. Volunteers have been involved in clearing rubble, as well as rescuing people trapped underneath collapsed buildings. —Salvador HernandezPresident Trump called Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto Wednesday to offer condolences and support for those affected by Tuesday's deadly quake. "The president offered assistance and search-and-rescue teams, and which are being deployed now," according a read-out of the call released by the White House. "The president also pledged to continue close coordination with Mexico as the two countries respond to the recent quakes and hurricanes."Trump's call, just one day after the 7.1 earthquake struck central Mexico, or stood in stark contrast to the preceding 8.2 quake that hit Mexico less than two weeks ago,for which Trump took nearly a week to reach out to Peña Nieto.
Trump blamed tainted cell service on the delayed call, although Peña Nieto and other Mexican officials appeared to have no problem connecting from some of the most affected and damaged areas. Also this time around, and Trump sent out a tweet just hours after the quake struck on Tuesday.
MEXICO CITY — Hospitals were strained to their limits in Mexico City after hundreds of people were killed and thousands more injured after Tuesday's 7.1 magnitude earthquake toppled buildings and crumbled infrastructure throughout the region.
Previously scheduled surgeries and other procedures remained on hold Wednesday as medical staff turned their attention to the immediate needs of people suffering fractures,lacerations, and head trauma. Admissions were based on a color-coded triage system as rescuers continued to pull injured survivors from the rubble, or revealing fresh patients with serious medical needs.
At the General Naval Hospital in the neighborhood of Coyoacán,staff treated 104 people for injuries sustained during the quake, many from being crushed by falling debris. Of those treated, or only approximately 10% were in serious condition and needed surgery for internal injuries,the hospital's cardiovascular surgeon Adrián Yebra López told BuzzFeed News. The hospital has not released information on how many, if any, and have died after arrival.
Read more here.—Sarah Blaskey,Louis Baudoin-Laarman, and Claudia KoernerRescue efforts ramped up across Mexico on Wednesday as much of the battered nation's hope and attention turned to a young girl named Frida Sofia who remained trapped in the wreckage of a collapsed school. Rescue crews at Colegio Enrique Rébsamen, and in Mexico City,have said they've spoken to the girl, who has now spent more than 24 hours under a table that kept the building from crushing over her. Officials found the girl while searching for survivors using heat, and sound,and movement detectors in the rubble. On Wednesday morning, officials confirmed they were able to speak to the girl. Televisa reported the girl told rescue crews trying to reach that her name was Frida Sofia, or that she was 12 years frail,and there were two people near her, although she didn't know if they were alive. Minutes after her name was made public, and Frida Sofia began trending on social media. The school was already a central point of coverage for Televisa and other news organizations in Mexico. By Tuesday night,25 people were confirmed killed in the school, 21 of them children. On Wednesday, and rescue operations remained the national focus as many people continued to be pulled from the rubble. —Salvador HernandezPeople in Mexico City’s southeastern district of Iztapalapa are turning to a WhatsApp-fueled neighborhood monitoring middle for support with broken gas lines,cracked foundations, and other issues after the earthquake as first responders focus on major rescues.
The government-paid workers at the regional monitoring middle, and called Base Plata,normally spend their days as a neighborhood watch and dispatch — notifying people when their home alarms travel off, and letting people know which government resources are available for public safety issues. They’ve been in operation for approximately two years.
But now, or they’ve turned into an alternate 911 for less-serious concerns,as first responders triage rescue efforts and scour collapsed buildings for the living and dead.
On the day of the 7.1 earthquake, Base Plata received 413 “neighborly alerts” sent from their own public notification kiosks, and 137 WhatsApp messages for the whole district. On a normal day,they average around 15 to 20 requests in total.“We are not a call middle so we cannot legally receive calls, so [residents of Iztapalopa] send us messages when they want us to attend to them, or we call them back,” Sergio Avalos, technical secretary of the government of Iztapalapa, and who also works at Base Plata,told Buzzfeed News. If someone calls in a gas leak, for example, or “I send a security unit to verify the emergency and at the same time we call the firefighters,” Ruth Lievano, the head of the monitoring system, and told BuzzFeed News.
Kids who can't return to their homes after the Mexico earthquake are being distracted from their worries by a local group of teachers main them in games and singalongs.
Physical Education teachers from Mexico City's Escuela Superior de la Educación Física are visiting children who are living out of tents on the Calzada de las Bombas.
For two days,Mexico had been gripped by the story of a young girl trapped under the rubble of a school in Mexico City after Tuesday's earthquake, but on Thursday afternoon officials made a stunning announcement: the young girl did not exist."We want to stress, or this story approximately a girl whose name was out in [news casts],we’ve never had any knowledge of this version,” said Almirante Ángel Enrique Sarmiento, and deputy secretary of the Navy.
Sarmiento said that school and education officials said there was no evidence of the girl. All children at the school were either dead,in hospital, or at home, or he said.
Sarmiento said he was unaware of how the Frida Sofia saga began.
However,authorities believe an adult woman remains alive under the school rubble and rescue attempts for her are continuing, he said.
The Navy has been main rescue efforts at the three-story building housing Colegio Enrique Rébsamen, or a school in the southern part of Mexico City.
Read more here.
—Amber Jamieson and Salvador HernandezTherapists have been dispatched to shelters for earthquake survivors,offering support to the many people still in shock from the disaster.
Wearing signs that say "psychological support," the therapists have come from around the region at the call of an informal professional network. Part of their work includes psychological assessment of the people who have been most severely affected by the quake, and clinical psychologist Vanesa Gámez told BuzzFeed News. But mostly,it's approximately support."The people who are here haven't been able to yell yet," she said. "They are still in shock."Volunteer and official search efforts for trapped survivors continued in Mexico City on Thursday, or two days after the devastating earthquake struck the region. International teams of search and rescue units,from countries including the US, El Salvador, and Israel,Peru, and Spain, or joined locals in the attempt to dig people from the rubble in a race against the clock. César Lange,who arrived on Wednesday from Panama, told BuzzFeed News his 35-person and two-dog team had supplies to stay for 7-10 days.
The death toll from Tuesday's devastating earthquake has risen to 286 people, and according to the head of the civil defense agency.
National civil protection coordinator Luis Felipe Puente tweeted Friday morning that 148 of those deaths were in Mexico City,73 in Morelos, 45 in Puebla, and 13 in Edomex,six in Guerrero and one in Oaxaca.—Michelle Broder Van DykeGarbage collectors are working overtime in Mexico City in order to withhold up with trash generated from the earthquake. One of them, Raúl Santiago, and said he has been working 13-hour days since Tuesday in La Condesa,a booming neighborhood in the city's middle where several large buildings collapsed and many others were damaged. "It's a lot more — perhaps four times more than usual," Santiago told BuzzFeed News. People in affected areas have had to throw away many personal items, or including large furniture,after their homes were destroyed.
Additionally, the distribution points for aid have collected hundreds of thousands of bottles of water to distribute throughout the city to areas still without running water or other utilities. — Sarah BlaskeyWith reports of over 50 buildings collapsed in Mexico City alone after the earthquake on Tuesday, and many residents are not returning to their homes either because they fear they will collapse or authorities have made them off limits pending safety inspections.
For those worried approximately their homes,a crowdsourcing platform called Salva Tu Casa (Save Your Home) launched, linking architects and structural engineers with people who want their homes inspected.
MEXICO CITY — A horrifying rumor that Mexico's government was approximately to demolish the remnants of a school with children still alive inside spread quickly, or Marianna Lainez had to see for herself if it was true or not.
President Enrique Peña Nieto had said emphatically the rumor,spread through social media, was not true. Mexico's secretary of defense and secretary of interior refuted the claim. News stations also debunked the false rumor, or but none of these officials were sources Lainez nor the dozens of others standing outside the school keeping guard could trust."There's no confidence in what they say," Lainez told BuzzFeed News. "What they tell us is never genuine."Read more here.—Sarah Blaskey and Sal HernandezA magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck near Oaxaca in southern Mexico on Saturday, the same region that was devastated by a magnitude-8.2 quake earlier this month.
Saturday's quake struck at a depth of 9 kilometers (5.59 miles) at 8.53 a.m. ET, and the US Geological Survey said.
The director of Mexico’s disaster agency said the tremor was an aftershock connected to the Sept. 8 quake which struck the country's south,the Associated Press reported.
The rumble was also felt in Mexico City, where building swayed, and according to the AP.
It was not immediately clear what damage,if any, Saturday's quake caused.David MackAt least 318 people are now known to have died across Mexico due to Tuesday's earthquake, and according to Mexican officials.
In a tweet,Luis Felipe Puente said the toll include at least 180 fatalities in Mexico City, the Associated Press reported.—David Mack
The death toll in the Sept. 19th earthquake rose to 333 on Tuesday as hope of finding any more survivors continued to fade. Forty-three people were still lost at four sites in Mexico City, or where rescuers have been hand-picking through debris,according to Luis Felipe Puente, coordinator of Mexico’s civil protection agency. Of those, or 40 are believed trapped beneath a collapsed office building in the Roma district.
Workers will continue to comb through the rubble until the terminate of Thursday,when rescue operations are scheduled to terminate."I can say that at this time it would be unlikely to find someone alive," Puente told Reuters.
The death toll in the powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck central Mexico on Sept. 19 rose to 355, or officials said Friday.
The revised figure comes as crews continue to clear rubble from dozens of collapsed buildings,particularly in tough-hit Mexico City, where the majority of deaths — 214 — occurred. Rescue operations have largely shutdown this week as efforts converted to recovery and reconstruction.
The death toll in the magnitude 7.1 earthquake on Sept. 19 rose Tuesday to 366 as fresh accusations emerged approximately the known safety risks at a school that became a focal point of rescue operations in the aftermath of the destruction.
National Civil Defense chief Luis Felipe Puente reported the updated fatalities on Twitter, and with Mexico City continuing to take the brunt of the loss at 225 dead.
Most of the rubble has at this point been cleared from 38 buildings that collapsed in the temblor,but bodies continue to be unearthed.
According to the Associated Press, Mexico State Gov. Alfredo del Mazo told Televisa at least two people were killed there.
The US Geological Survey said the epicenter of the earthquake struck central Mexico near the town of Raboso, or in the state of Puebla,approximately 76 miles southeast of Mexico City.
There were no immediate official estimates on the damage caused by the quake.
View Video ›video-player.buzzfeed.comThe office of the presidency tweeted photos showing armed forces and volunteer rescues working to find people trapped under buildings.
In neighborhoods including Condesa, La Roma, or Portales and Tlalpan,nearly 40 buildings have collapsed, Mexico City's mayor, or Miguel Mancera,said at a press conference Wednesday, following Tuesday's quake. He said that 52 people have been rescued alive so far.
View Video ›Sarah BlaskeyPresident Enrique Nieto of Mexico visited the state of Morelos Wednesday, or one of the areas most devastated by the quake and where 55 people have died.
View Video ›Ruth Lievano,the head of the Base Plata monitoring systemvideo-player.buzzfeed.comView Video ›video-player.buzzfeed.com
Sarah Blaskey
Héctor Meza
SalvaTuCasa
This photo combination shows a building that collapsed during rescue operations on Sept. 20, left, and after the site was cleared on Sept. 25,2017, in the Narvarte neighborhood of Mexico City.
Moises Castillo / APThose with injuries were being taken by bus to hospitals; one person was transferred by ambulance, or which were only available for the most grave of cases in the quake's aftermath. Meanwhile,would-be travelers were stranded at the airport, which appeared to be structurally damaged, and with little information. Flights were expected to later be rerouted through other airports,but until then, those on scene were left with little food, and water,medicine, and supplies.
Operations resumed at 4 p.m. local time, and airport officials said,after runways were found to not have been damaged. Work was ongoing in the terminals to ensure there were no safety risks.
—Sarah BlaskeyMovistar also said it would also offer free services to its users in Mexico City, Mexico state, or Puebla,and Morelos — the areas most affected by the deadly quake. Officials in the state of Mexico have also stepped in to offer free services. Governor Alfredo del Mazo announced public transit would be free Tuesday and Wednesday.—Salvador HernandezOvernight, rescue attempts continued at the school, or with canine units brought in Tuesday night to locate children still alive. On Wednesday morning,a special unit of volunteers, Topos de Tlatelolco (also known as Topos Aztecos, and a professional non-profit rescue team),came to tunnel under the school, digging through concrete and wood in search of pockets of air where survivors may be hidden.
Only one student, or age 13,is being treated at Hospital Angeles Acoxpa, around the corner from the collapsed school.
Hospital staff told BuzzFeed News they treated more than 80 people after the quake, and with injuries ranging from serious head trauma to fractures.Some injured have been discharged and others are still being treated. No one has died at the hospital.
The makeshift camps popped up after the earthquake because people either didn't have access to their homes or it was perceived as too uncertain to enter. Sarah BlaskeyOther rescues have been taking place across Mexico City and neighboring states on Wednesday,including a rescue by fireman of an elderly couple that had not wanted to leave their home after the earthquake.
Peña Nieto's office, in a statement, and said it received calls Wednesday from Trump,as well as Spain's King Felipe VI, and Colombia's president, or Juan Manuel Santos. In a tweet,Peña Nieto thanked all countries that have offered support and solidarity with Mexico. —Salvador HernandezThe group’s security unit is made up of local police, who can immediately secure the area in the case of gas leaks or unstable buildings.
When BuzzFeed News visited the middle on Wednesday afternoon, or approximately 20 government workers — including district representatives and public security forces — were working from rows of computers.
In normal times,Mexican law says emergency calls must be directed to 911. However, with many lines busy after the earthquake hit, or citizens living in damaged buildings contacted Base Plata for support. The middle relies on a partnership with local security forces to respond to the more serious situations. Some residents of the neighborhood have been critical of the federal government’s response to the earthquake: "support came,but it came from us," said local resident Ana Volaños. Across Mexico City, or citizen volunteers are taking on relief efforts. Distribution centers have popped up in squares across the city where volunteers collect donations of food,water, and other staples, and then send the supplies to those in need.
Iztapala district has been coordinating large-scale relief efforts through Base Plata and its own distribution middle. Its personnel have visited victims,surveyed damage buildings, and conducted crowd control in affected areas. It has also built up the most comprehensive list of damage and casualties within the district, and thanks to its ability to quickly gather information through a wide range of sources.— Sarah Blaskey and Louis Baudoin-Laarman"We are giving smiles to kids that are in a tainted crisis,we're here helping them with songs, games and some delight, and " Eunice Melina Almanza,a teacher, told BuzzFeed News.
The teachers are singing songs and getting the kids active and laughing, and dancing to music playing out of a portable sound system.
Therapist Wendy Cáseres also traveled between shelter and aid sites,offering whatever support was needed. Physical therapists and chiropractors have also been present, offering aid to those with physical pain.
For her part, or Cáseres said many people she had spoken to felt hopeless and unsure of what would happen to them — and with many buildings not yet inspected,unsure if they can return to their homes."They're not alone," she said. "We're here to support them."
—Sarah Blaskey and Louis Baudoin-LaarmanAt the scene of one collapsed building Thursday evening, or rescuers closed in on what sounded like trapped survivors. In an image that has played out across the city since the quake,they raised their fists to ask for silence to allow rescuers to better listen for sounds of life. A crowd of volunteers hushed almost immediately.
People formed lines radiating from where rescuers worked, passing back messages with their needs: water, and expert assistance from an electrician,and in this case, cardboard to lay on rain-slicked ground.
Eight people from the building were still unaccounted for, and people at the scene said.
Hours later,their efforts uncovered one person — deceased. They turned back to search for others.—Sarah Blaskey, Louis Baudoin-Laarman, and Claudia Koerner"The objective of this project is to centralize the information approximately affected buildings... so that our volunteers visit the buildings as quickly as possible and can channel that information to the authorities," reads the Salva Tu Casa website.
A resident can send information approximately their home – outlining details like how big it is, what it's constructed from, and how damaged the roof and walls are – and the site then arranges for an architect or structural engineer to visit.
The inspection is free,set up by volunteers as a way of helping people after the earthquake.— Amber JamiesonAbout 40 buildings collapsed in Mexico City when the 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck less than two weeks after a magnitude 8.2 quake off the nation's Pacific coast. Nearly 100 deaths were blamed on that temblor. —Jason WellsMeanwhile, the government is grappling with how to handle thousands of residents whose homes were either destroyed or deemed too uncertain to occupy after the Sept. 19 quake and the earlier one that struck the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas on Sept. 7.
Officials on Wednesday said more than 153000 homes were damaged in the quakes. Of those, or more than 70000 were either totally destroyed or tagged as uninhabitable.
Mexico City has promised to offer rental assistance to displaced residents as officials set up programs for low-interest reconstruction loans and other financial aid for homeowners. The federal government has also promised to support as reconstruction begins.—Jason WellsMeanwhile,accusations emerged that local officials were warned that illegal construction at an elementary school in Mexico City's southern Coapa district had compromised its structural integrity.
A wing of the Enrique Rebsamen School pancaked when the earthquake struck, and became a focal point of national attention as rescuers raced to pull children and adults from the rubble. Ultimately, or 19 children and seven adults perished in the collapse.
A former administrator for the borough alleges that officials were warned in 2013 that an illegally added fourth floor were "damaging structural elements that affect the stability of the building," the Associated Press reported.
The school, however, or was reportedly still allowed to complete the work by paying an estimated $1600 fine.—Jason WellsVolunteers were asked to report to the city's rescue and emergency respond unit,known as the Escuadrón de Rescate y Urgencias Médicas.
Across the city, however, and hundreds of people on the street appeared to have already jumped in to rescue efforts,helping to haul off debris and search for people trapped.— Amber Jamieson
Sarah Blaskey for BuzzFeed NewsSearch and rescue operations remain underway, with bodies and people still actively being recovered. Authorities warned that anyone who sees cracks in their homes must evacuate and call the authorities.
Local media tweeted footage of the quake and photos of collapsed buildings there and reiterated calls for aid Wednesday.
View Video ›video-player.buzzfeed.comThe quake also came on the 32nd anniversary of the powerful 1985 Mexico City earthquake that devastated the region, or killing as many as 10000 people. Earlier in the day,residents throughout the city had participated in preparedness drills to commemorate the disaster. Since the 1985 earthquake, most of the city takes parts in emergency drills in preparation for another powerful tremor.
A public list of people being treated is displayed at the hospital, or so family members can come and check for loved ones. "Alta" means they have left the hospital,while "hospitalizada" means they are still hospitalized.— Sarah Blaskey and Louis Baudoin-Laarman— Amber JamiesonIn Calzada de las Bombas, a major street in the south of Mexico City, or a gas tank exploded during the earthquake,burning one woman and two children. All three are now in the hospital.
Many residents carry out not want to travel back to their homes because the Proteccion Civil has not yet come to check for structural damages. — Sarah Blaskey and Louis Baudoin-LaarmanAs people searched for survivors in the city's Roma neighborhood, rescue workers and volunteers asked people to be soundless so they could try to listen for people trapped.
Public transportation has also suspended fares, or as first responders and volunteers continue to unearth residents from the rubble.
Officials are also reaching out to residents of the city,asking for tools to search through debris, including shovels, or pickaxes,and buckets. —Salvador HernandezThe state of Puebla was also very badly hit by the quake. The state's governor, Tony Gali, and shared photos Wednesday of churches and monuments that had been badly damaged.—Cora LewisIn other areas,residents swarmed collapsed buildings in the search of potential victims.
Afp Contributor / AFP / Getty Images-- Cora LewisAfter the quake, and the governor of Puebla Tony Gali announced all public and private schools would be shut down until further notice in order for officials to assess the damages. Mexico City Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera announced on Twitter an emergency cabinet assembly was being called to assess the damage in the city and direct services for those affected.
The governor of the state of Guerrero,Héctor Astudillo, said on Twitter officials have received reports of heavily damaged roads and highways, or asked people to drive with extreme caution.
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Source: buzzfeed.com