Tonight I am thinking about an earthquake drill that I took part in ten years ago. Tomorrow is the 38th anniversary of the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. On the morning of September 19 Mexico City was struck by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake.

The safety of my students is always important when I teach a class and I always include evacuation procedures in the welcome to my classes. However, ten years ago in Mexico City I took part in an earthquake drill that I will never forget. I wrote the post below while in Mexico City teaching a class. I have made a few changes in the text, but it is mainly what I wrote at that time.

9/19/2023

This morning when I arrived at the office in Mexico City they let me know that my class would be disrupted by an earthquake drill. They told me that this is done each year on the anniversary of the big quake. This brought back memories of the event. I remembered the horrific pictures that I saw in the newspaper and in magazines. I did not see TV images as we did not have one while growing up.

The earthquake killed more than 10,000 people and has had long lasting effects on the city.

A large portion of the city is built on a dry lake bed and the ground is highly susceptible to liquefaction. The epicenter was more than 200 miles away from the city, but the liquefaction caused by the shock-waves contributed to the massive amount of damage in the city. Some tall buildings were even turned upside down and most others sustained massive damage.

Because of what was learned in the 1985 quake, very strict building codes have been put in place and there have been very few skyscrapers built in Mexico City. You can tell by the picture above that it is a very horizontal city.

The picture was taken from the Torre Latinoamericana which is nearly 600 feet tall. The tower was built with stringent earthquake measures and survived the 1985 quake virtually unscathed.

Another legacy of the 1985 earthquake is that mandatory earthquake preparedness presentations and evacuation drills are held in all public buildings on September 19.

Which meant, we had an evacuation drill this morning.

First they had an earthquake preparedness presentation. Which, I understood a lot of even though it was in Spanish. It helped that they had a PowerPoint presentation 🙂

Then there was the evacuation drill.

We left the classroom and followed the evacuation route to the Punto de Reunion.

When we arrived at the meeting spot we were given additional instruction, including a demonstration on how to use a fire extinguisher.  You must remember to shoot the stream at the base of the flames.

Civil protection personnel provide the training and lead the exercise to make sure that all the required information is presented.

However, the company emergency response team is also involved in the drill.

Since fire is a major threat during an earthquake the emergency response team suited up during the drill and rolled out the fire hose for a test. We returned to the classroom along a flooded sidewalk.

I wish that our evacuation drills back home were as informative as the one that we had today in Mexico City.

We basically just run for the exits when we have a drill and stand outside enjoying the sunshine until we are given the all clear.

Do you remember the 1985 Mexico City earthquake?

Steven