30 Years Ago

Thirty years ago today, Mexico City experienced its biggest ever earthquake in recent times. The epicentre was 350kms away, just off the Pacific coast. There was damage in between, but the capital was most affected because of the huge population of the city and the fact that the city centre is built on very soft ground. 
The damage was extensive: 412 buildings completely collapsed and 3,124 were severely damaged. A minimum 5,000 people were killed but it was most likely much higher than that. A quarter of a million people lost their homes.  
Late this morning as we walked to Polanco's Saturday market, we heard the sirens, signalling the start of city-wide drills (as there are on every anniversary). Today, apparently 6 million people took part. Fingers crossed there won't be another biggie sometime soon...