Montemorelos, Mexico…[Dulce Monjaraz & Blanca Hernandez/IAD]
The initial reports were confusing, as the media took a few hours to return to its networks. On September 19, 1985, an earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale hit Mexico City shortly after seven o’clock in the morning. The ‘quake, which lasted only three minutes, was felt throughout other parts of the country. The estimated death toll was approximately 10,000. Five thousand were missing and an additional 150,000 were homeless, according to a government census. The epicenter of the quake was along the coasts of Guerrero and Michoacan.
On the evening of the following day, another earthquake struck, causing even more disaster. This one measured 7.5.
The Television station Chapultepec, as well as the Juarez Hospital, fell to the ground. Other buildings, factories and hotels were reduced to rubble. Ten days after the first earthquake, people were still being pulled from the ruins of these buildings.
One thousand buildings in the city were destroyed, and more than 5,000 suffered structural damages. Some 100,000 housing units were destroyed together with many government buildings.
Two stories from church members who lived the tragic moments of 1985 in Mexico City on Sep. 19:
The towers thundered
Enoc Ramirez – 4th year Theology Student
I was in front of the mirror combing my hair to go to school. My mother was preparing breakfast and my father was still asleep. No one payed attention to the news on the television.
All of a sudden, a very strange noise was heard. I stopped combing my hair because the mirror started to shake…the wooden towers in front of my house were shaking, the walls of other houses were crashing. All of a sudden the lights went out.
I was very afraid. At seven years of age I had never experienced something like this. Long after the quake it was difficult to go out, the streets were cracked open….15 days after of the quake, I could smell death in the air.
I remember water was scarce since the trucks could not enter the city. There were health brigades in the church. On Sabbath afternoon I would help distribute clothes and relief supplies. On Wednesdays, Fridays, Sabbaths and Sundays the church would be filled with people telling their experiences. I thank God that my family was not harmed throughout the crisis.
I think God has put in the heart of every one kindness and generosity, but we sometimes neglect the needs of others. We wait until there is chaos to sensitize us. We shouldn’t get to this extreme, nor wait for disasters to search for Christ. I thank God for being alive.
The arms of ADRA
Pastor Jorge Dzul
It looked like a normal day. Enjoying the tranquility of the day, I was traveling to the city of Guadalajara. In a matter of seconds, my mood changed when I saw scenes on the news report of collapsed buildings.
Representing the Adventist Development and Relief Agency [ADRA] North Mexico, I got together with Pastor Jose M. Espinoza of ADRA Central Mexico, who, with Pastor Antonio Estrada, organized a rescue team with a group of Masterguides. They established a camp for people who had lost their homes. They distributed tents, blankets and food.
Among the Adventist victims there was a spouse of a colporteur who died in the Children’s Hospital while she recovered from child labor.
Another case that moved me was a young lady from our church named Lorena Maribel Leon. She was a student in one of our colleges. When the earthquake struck, she was in class. Her legs were pinned underneath the desks. She lost her legs and was transported to Loma Linda Hospital. Months after therapy and being fitted with prosthetic legs, she was able to walk again.
Everyone who participated in the help offered that year has a story to tell. We thank God for allowing us be a part of this great body which is the Seventh-day Adventist Church allowing us to be the arms of ADRA.
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake was one of the most devastating earthquakes in the history of the Americas.
A state-of-the-art alert system in Mexico City has been funded by the government in the event of seismic activity by way of syrens, giving city residents up to a minute’s warning that an earthquake is coming.
