People walk to a meeting point on Paseo de la Reforma boulevard as part of an earthquake simulation exercise held to mark the anniversary of two past, deadly earthquakes in Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Alerts for a real 7.6 magnitude earthquake came less than an hour after this exercise. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) As the parents of children killed when a school collapsed in the 2017 earthquake in Mexico held a Mass in their memory, the ground began to shake again. “Not again! God, not again!” they shouted after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook the capital on Monday, killing two people in the Pacific coast state of Colima. Three powerful earthquakes hit Mexico on September 19 — in 1985, 2017 and now in 2022. The unfortunate coincidence has sent stress levels high for many. The latest two quakes also came very shortly after the annual earthquake drill held every September 19 to commemorate the devastating 1985 quake. Mexico’s national Civil Defense Coordinator Laura Velázquez said Tuesday that the two deaths in Colima were due to the collapse of parts of buildings. Ten people were injured — nine in Colima and one in neighboring Michoacán. More than 200 buildings were damaged, including dozens of schools and health centers, he said. Most of the damage occurred in those Pacific states near the epicenter of Michoacán. About 20 Mexico City buildings were damaged, but it was minor, he said. On the morning of September 19, 1985, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck the center, south, and west of the country, killing an estimated 9,500 people. “It’s really strange, but a lot of people don’t like this day already,” said Jorge Ornelas, a call center coordinator. He said many of his acquaintances are starting to worry about an earthquake in September. “If we continue to believe that every September 19 will shake, it will continue to happen every year, because what you think is always what happens,” said 35-year-old Ornelas. Xyoli Pérez-Campos, a researcher in the seismology department at the Geophysical Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said there was no physical reason for the coincidence of large earthquakes in a single day. Monday’s earthquake was the result of the “Cocos plate interaction with the North American plate,” which also caused the 1985 earthquake. Five plates — North America, Pacific, Rivera, Caribbean and Cocos — all lie under Mexican territory. “Dishes break when it’s time to break,” Pérez-Campos said. “What will they learn about the diary?” Photo: USGS
