Earthquake Zone

On Wednesday after my breakfast at "El Péndulo" I took a walk around the Condesa neighborhood, one of the areas most hard hit by last September's earthquake.  It is also the neighborhood where I always used to stay until I found the condo that I now rent.  

I headed to the building where I had rented an apartment through AirBnB on at least a half dozen occasions.  It was a great apartment, and I was very sad to hear that the building had been damaged in the earthquake.  The last time that I passed by there, I was told that the building was going to be repaired.

Taped on the front window was the official report on the structural status of the building. I read it, and it said that the building was in danger of collapse.  The doorman recognized me from my past stays, and he buzzed me in and we chatted for a while.  He said that there are still some people living in the building, and that there is electricity, gas, and water.  The apartment owners are divided on whether to repair the structure or to demolish it and build anew.  But he suspects that by January the building will be gone.

I walked just a couple blocks away to the site where more than 40 people died in a collapsed building.  The rubble has finally been cleared away.  A temporary wall stands between the sidewalk and the empty lot.  People have written messages on that wall.  Most of them are angry messages.  Apparently there are plans to build a monument to the earthquake victims on that site.  But the messages say that there are still homeless people from last September.  Instead of building a monument, the government should build housing.

This high rise building looks OK from a distance, but a closer look reveals structural damage.  Ten months after the quake it still stands there abandoned.

The ruins of this older house have yet to be cleared away.  Most of the second floor collapsed.

The "Edificio Basurto", a 14 story art deco apartment building built in the 1940s is one of the iconic structures in Condesa.

There is some noticeable damage, and the area has been cordoned off since the earthquake.  I was afraid that it too would have to be torn down.  However, this building has a brighter future.  The sign by the front door says that the authorizations and permits have been granted for the rehabilitation of the building.