By: Courtney McDonald | Writer
September 27, 2017
In this past month of September, Mexican citizens have been ravaged with deadly, destructive earthquakes, most likely caused by the subduction of the Cocos tectonic plate. The three most severe earthquakes, occurring September 7th, 19th, and 23rd, were respectively listed as 8.1 Mw, 7.1 Mw, and 6.1 Mw on the Richter scale, and have killed over 400 people and injured over 5,000 in and around Mexico City.
These earthquakes have had several aftershocks, all of which have further damaged the country, both physically and emotionally. Both geophysicists and seismologists have looked into the origin of these earthquakes, and the most common cause has been the movement of the Cocos plate edge under the Pacific plate’s mantle. The occurrence of an earthquake as a result of this is not unknown. Coincidentally, the same type of earthquake that occurred in Mexico on September 19th, 1985 struck on the same day in 2017, 32 years after the first one. Junior Eva Gardner was shocked upon hearing this information, exclaiming, “That is way too coincidental. That is definitely something that could be turned into a conspiracy theory.”
Although the casualties of the 1985 earthquake were much more vast than those of Mexico’s most recent seismic events, the results have still been devastating. The Enrique Rebsamen school in Mexico City’s Coapa County collapsed, killing twenty two people, including some children. The death toll continues to rise as rubble is moved away and bodies are found.
Hundreds have fallen victim to collapsed buildings, but search and rescue teams are still hopeful to find citizens among the rubble. Mexico has seen help from other countries, including search teams from Israel, Japan, and the United States. Los Angeles County Fire Department has sent an elite disaster response team referred to as USA-2 to aid in the search for those still missing. This crew has great hopes to help those in need during this rough time. “The death tolls in Mexico following the earthquakes are heartbreaking,” Macy Smith, junior, lamented. “I hope that the United States continues their efforts to help with the search and rescue and that we will be able to offer some aid to Mexico at this time.”
While victims of the earthquake are still searching for their loved ones, people across the globe have joined together in an effort to raise money for the victims of this fatal occurrence. As a way to donate money to the Mexican Red Cross, pins of one of the rescue dogs, a yellow lab named Frida, are being sold for 150 pesos, which is just over $8.00. Pictures of Frida in her marine vest, booties, and goggles went viral not long after she rescued the lives of 52 people. The company Twnpns, motivated to help the Mexican people after seeing rescue efforts in Mexico, recognized that selling these pins was a magnificent opportunity to give money that will contribute to helping victims. All of the proceeds of these Frida pins are being donated to the Mexican Red Cross.
One thing is certain; the people of Mexico will stay strong no matter how hard the ground under their feet shakes. The Mexican population has proven to be a united community that leaves no one behind.
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