The regional government of Cuauhtemoc in Mexico City says 32 of its buildings need to be demolished because they are at “risk of collapse” following the Sept. 19 earthquake. Their governing committee added that five are “imminent risk” of collapse.
“They have to be demolished because at any moment they will collapse, and not just from an earthquake, but from strong vibrations caused even by heavy machinery,” says Cinthya Murrieta of the Cuauhtemoc governing delegation. She says it’s not just her delegation that say the buildings need to come down, but the Mexican Institute for the Construction Safety of Mexico City, Micsmc.
According to the Micsmc report, a total of 88 buildings around the metropolis are at “high risk” of collapse. The Cuauhtemoc delegation says that even though many of these buildings are cordoned off with security tape advising people that the building is uninhabitable, people do sleep at night.
Murrieta says she has personally gone to some of these buildings and spoken with those living there.
“They said to me, ‘Look, señora, the building isn’t going to fall, and while we don’t have anywhere else to go, we’re going to right here.’ so there’s a mutual responsibility that the citizenry has to take regarding the risks.” She said that the Secretary of Public Security should be ensuring that no one should be entering the buildings.
The buildings also put their neighbors at potential risk, or those walking by, were they to fall on their own, says the delegation. The Cuauhtemoc governing committee adds that even with the Micsmc report the governmental Emergency Committee of Mexico “is the only entity that can make the final decision as to if and when a building will be demolished.”
In addition to the 88 buildings that are at potentially high risk of collapse, another 33 are considered “medium” or “low” risk of falling, according to the Micsmc.
Residents of the earthquake affected areas of the city have criticized the metropolitan and national governments for being slow to recuperate from the 7.1 magnitude quake that killed over 360 people.
In November affected residents protested saying they are being taken advantage of by government agencies that want to provide them with credits and loans to rebuild, rather than being able to access existing government funds created for such disasters.
One protester said, “We don’t want (bank) credits. We already paid into the system."