7.6 on the Richter scale- Mexico City

MSNBC early coverage. Nothing really.

At first look, it doesn't seem all that bad.

http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20030122/D7ON0LPG0.html

http://www.msnbc.com/news/862555.asp?0cm=c30

Everything else I could find seems to be a rehash of these two stories. Looks like we'll need to wait for updates.

Appreciate blacksmithn's links.

I would like to point out his second link is identical to mine above.

Still, so far, things don't appear to be as bad as they could have been.

Love to hear from fbaezer.

Hi folks!
Thanks, Lash Goth, for your thoughts.
It was a scare!
Gotta work now, will come back later with some details.

A few comments on our quake.

7.6° is big.
The San Francisco earthquake in 1906 was a 7.8°. 3,000 killed.
The 1989 World Series earthquake in Sfo was a 6.9°. 63 killed.

20 dead have been reported. 19 of them in the western state of Colima.

This one is the hardest for us since the terrible September 19th 1985 earthquake, who claimed 20,000 lives. That was an 8.2°.

We learned a lot, with a tremendous human cost, in 1985. Every inhabitant in Mexico City has several horror stories to tell about that day.

Antisismic construction standards -which were thought rigid at the time- stiffened. Hidraulic pillars became a norm for high risers (they bend, but not brake).
Mostly, a lot of civil protection work -the culture of self-protection- has been done. Almost every one knows what to do in case of a quake.

I was late at the office -in fact, posting for A2K- when the quake started. We followed the procedure, made some frantic cell-phone calls, and went back. I ended posting. Replicas weren't strong.
The quake meant work for us here at my office. So we went onto it.

Thought of you when i heard the news, fbaezer. Glad to come here and find you posting.

fbaezer
Very glad you are ok.

Thankful for your safety, and appreciate the comment on the situation.

7.6 is serious business.

20 is 20 people who will be missed, but initially, I feared alot more. So glad it wasn't.

Death toll rose to 29, including one electrician who was repairing high tension lines damaged by the earthquake.

Thanks again, to every one, for your thoughts.