Mexico Earthquake September 1985
Thousands of Mexicans Killed and Left Homeless
Jan 22, 2009 Maureen K. Fleury
Mexico experiences frequent earthquake and volcanic activity. In fact, it’s one of the most active regions on earth. This is due to a large portion of the Mexican landmass being situated on the edge of several plates.
Under the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of southern Mexico, the Cocos plate is slipping under the North American Plate. This subduction is forcing the ocean floor downwards and the molten lava is rising up through the weaknesses in the surface rock.
The northern part of Mexico, off the Gulf of California, is situated on the Pacific plate. The North American plate and the Pacific plate are rubbing against each other and creating a slip fault. This is the southern extension of the San Andreas Fault in California.
September 19, 1985 Earthquake in Mexico
The earthquake struck at 7:19am and had a magnitude of 8.1 on the Richter scale. The epicentre was located approximately 31 miles off the west coast of the Mexican state of Michoacán. The earthquake occurred in the Cocos Plate subduction zone.
The worst damage was suffered in Mexico City, even though it was 240 miles away. The city is situated on land once covered by Lake Texcoco, which was drained by the Spanish after they took occupation of the area. The ground is composed of lake sediment that is very unstable. It causes an amplification of seismic waves and liquefaction of the earth.
Hundreds of buildings in Mexico City collapsed due to the heavy shaking of the ground and the long duration of the quake, which lasted three to four minutes. The quake was felt as far south as Guatemala City which is 621 miles away and as far north as Houston, Texas, located 745 miles away.
Damage Caused by the September 1985 Earthquake in Mexico
Approximately 60% of the buildings in Ciudad Guzman, Jalisco were destroyed. There was structural damage reported in the states of Morelos, Michoacan, Colima, Guerrero and sections of Veracruz.
The earthquake caused rockslides and landslides at Jala, Colima and Atenquique, Jalisco and Ixtapa.
In Mexico City, the majority of damage was confined to four boroughs that sit on the western portion of the former lake. The historic downtown area, Cuauhtémoc, was worst hit. Hundreds of buildings collapsed and suffered extensive structural damage. People were trapped in the rubble. Communication lines were severed and transportation was completely interrupted.
According to the US Geological Survey, "At least 9,500 people were killed, about 30,000 were injured, more than 100,000 people were left homeless. Four hundred twelve buildings collapsed and another 3,124 were seriously damaged. It was estimated that the quake affected an area of approximately 825,000 square kilometres. It caused between 3 to 4 billion U.S. dollars damage."
Some of the more notable buildings that suffered damage were the Ministry of Communications and Transport, National Medical Center of the Mexican Social Security Institute, Hospital Juárez, Conjunto Pino Suárez, Hotel Regis Televicentro (now Televisa Chapultepec) and Los Televiteatros (now Centro Cultural Telmex), Hotel D´Carlo and Hotel Prado, and two large apartment complexes in Tlatelolco
It was very fortunate that the earthquake in Mexico struck early in the morning before schools and office buildings were open. Had it occurred a few hours later, the death and casualty toll would have been much higher.
Related Articles on Earthquakes:
Top Ten Earthquakes in the U.S.
New Madrid Earthquake U.S. 1811 to 1812
Collapsed Building, Mexico City Earthquake 1985
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Collapsed Building, Mexico City Earthquake 1985
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Collapsed Building, Mexico City Earthquake 1985
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Collapsed Building, Mexico City Earthquake 1985
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Collapsed Building, Mexico City Earthquake 1985
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