A magnitude-7.1 earthquake has hit Mexico, killing at least 226 people and trapping an unknown number of others beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Photos and videos show the moment the quake struck and its aftermath.
When the earthquake hit, it sent panicked people running into the street but many weren’t so lucky. The dust settled minutes later to reveal a landscape of flattened buildings and rubble in the heart of MexicoCity.
After the screams and the shock, people quickly set to work digging for survivors.
In a scene reproduced in streets across the city center, dozens of people scrabbled with bare hands to remove rubble from atop a concertinaed building as they waited for specialized machinery to arrive.
Several buildings were completely flattened in Roma, popular for its bars and restaurants and one of the neighborhoods hit hardest by the 1985 earthquake that shattered large swathes of this city and killed at least 10,000 — 32 years ago to the day.
There were at least 49 collapsed buildings in MexicoCity — home to 20 million people — as the overall death toll surged to 224 early Wednesday in the capital city and across a swath of central states.
Authorities asked for help from volunteers and for water. Some police officers came through the crowd carrying containers of water.
Police called for calm and cordoned off streets with grotesquely twisted buildings, their reinforcing steel poking out from concrete.
People hugged and comforted each other amid anxiety about loved ones. Many stood around in a daze, not sure where to go or what to do.
WATCH
Frightening footage shows Mexico river turning into stormy sea during quake
Windows cracking like candy, unbelievable! 7.1 Earthquake #earthquake #sismocdmx #Sismo #ciudaddemexico #MexicoCity pic.twitter.com/KieUuYuGKd
— Carlos De Niz (@CarlosDe_Niz) September 19, 2017
@DrLucyJones This is the moment the Earthquake Alarm System went off in Mexico City 7.1 mag. When will California EEW be fully implemented? pic.twitter.com/uS69TpAG7s
— Ben (@FreedomSocietyX) September 19, 2017
