Mexico Pays Tribute to the 1985 and 2017 Earthquakes’ Victims

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) presided over the acts of remembrance for the victims of the earthquakes that hit the country in 1985 and 2017.

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The official acts took place at the Zocalo square, where people observed a minute of silence. Likewise, the Mexican flag was raised at half-mast as a sign of national mourning.

On Sunday, a drill was performed as part of the commemoration. The seismic alert was played through 12,826 loudspeakers to strengthen the population's preparedness and response capacity.

Mexican authorities urged the population to use masks and keep the required distance during the exercise, which had a hypothesis of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter 35 kilometers east of the Acatlan de Osorio municipality in Puebla.

On Sept. 19, 1985, Mexico City suffered an 8.1 earthquake that killed over 10,000 people. The earthquake had its epicenter on the Mexican Pacific coast, and it is considered one of the most damaging disasters in the country's history.

Likewise, on Sept. 19, 2017, a 7.1 earthquake shook central Mexico, particularly Morelos and Puebla, where 370 dead people lost their lives. 

A few days earlier, an 8.2 earthquake shook Oaxaca and Chiapas on Sept. 7, 2017.