This is a Drill

Last Tuesday, an earthquake drill or "simulacro" was held at 11:30 A.M.  

These drills have been held in Mexico City ever since the devastating quake of 1985.  They have been held each year on September 19th, the anniversary of that tragedy.  This year an additional drill was scheduled, and ten states besides Mexico City participated.

Tuesday morning I went to the park to do my exercises, and I had time to return to the apartment, shower and dress before 11:30.  I had some errands to do, so I left the building before the drill began.  I walked over to the World Trade Center to watch.

There were plenty of people who had already left the World Trade Center.  There were also many from the police, fire and civil defense departments on the scene.  The people in the orange vests are members of the World Trade Center's evacuation brigade.

One worker handed me a flyer on earthquake safety procedures.

Outside the World Trade Center there are signs indicating where people from different floors of the building should meet after evacuating.

These are similar to the signs which you frequently see painted on the sidewalks throughout the city.

At 11:30 the earthquake siren went off.

If there really were an earthquake, I don't think it would be a good idea to stand under this enormous metal arch by the World Trade Center!

As I said, I had some errands to run, so before the drill was over, I headed up Insurgentes Avenue.  The Metrobus was shut down during the "simulacro", and there were long lines of people waiting for the stations to reopen.  So I walked to where I needed to go.

As I walked up the avenue, even a half hour later, there were workers from offices buildings lined up waiting to be allowed to return inside.

Earthquakes are very much a part of reality for the people of Mexico City.  The quake of 1985 which killed tens of thousands of people was a traumatic experience.  Perhaps I am being naive, but I do not lose any sleep over the possibility of another "big one".  I have experienced several minor tremors.  I have even felt the ground shaking beneath my feet.  However, it seems that there has been a major, deadly earthquake in Mexico City about every 30 years, at least during my lifetime.  There was one in 1957, the disastrous one of 1985, and the most recent one in 2017.  I figure that if there is another one in the 2040s, I won't be around to experience it.  

Furthermore, the neighborhood where I live, as well as the neighborhood where Alejandro's family lives, have not experienced major damage or casualties in quakes. The former owner of my apartment told me that she saw this building when it was being built, and it is constructed upon bedrock.  Much of the city, however, is built on former lake bottom.  That spongy soil magnifies the seismic waves, and those areas suffer the worst.

I know what to do in case of a quake, but I am not going to spend my life worrying about it.

(Knock on wood!)