A string of devastating natural disasters in Mexico

Mexico has been been taking a hard beating from natural disasters over the past 2 months. In September alone we have been jolted by a serious of very strong seismic events (more on those below). Add to those, the recent volcano eruptions; Hurricanes Franklin, Katia and Max; as well as serious flooding in other parts of the country; plus probably many more extreme weather events that I'm unaware of.

The earthquakes themselves have had a devastating effect on many parts of the country, collectively resulting in over 450 deaths (many of whom were children), over 6000 people injured, along with extensive destruction and the complete collapse of numerous buildings across the country.

The resilience and support that has been seen throughout Mexico following these disasters has been tremendous. It is inspirational and something that I hope is and will be mirrored in other communities throughout the world when the need arises, including in my home, Australia.

September's catastrophic earthquakes in Mexico - an overview

The series of earthquakes that have hit Mexico this past month has been astonishing. I know not all of them have had a lot of international coverage, so for those still catching up, here is a brief summary of what's been going on:

• M8.2 Chiapas Earthquake
  The massive magnitude 8.2 earthquake off the coast of Chiapas on 7 September caused significant devastation and around 100 deaths throughout the states of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Tabasco in Southern Mexico, while also being felt around much more of the country. 

• M7.1 Puebla/Morelos Earthquake
  The magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit close to the border of the states of Puebla and Morelos on 19 September (often dubbed by the media as the "Mexico City Earthquake") was a completely separate seismic event from the Chiapas Earthquake, hitting in the middle of the country and causing severe destruction throughout Mexico City, Puebla and Morelos. It has resulted in over 350 deaths including many children who sadly died when their school collapsed. Many government operations are still down, and millions of people have been affected by the collapsed buildings and other terrible damage caused. So far there have been 39 aftershocks from this earthquake, though no major ones. It also bizarrely on the 32nd anniversary of the horrific 1985 earthquake in Mexico that killed 10,000 people and left catastrophic damage, particularly in Mexico City.

• Aftershocks, including the M6.1 Oaxaca Earthquake
  There have been over 6000 aftershocks from the Chiapas Earthquake (and still counting), the strongest of which being the magnitude 6.1 earthquake that hit in Oaxaca state on 23 September (i.e. also very strong and resulting in even more damage and deaths).

Each of the earthquakes have been massive tragedies for this country. I won't focus much on the damage and loss caused - there are plenty of articles, photos and videos you can watch online of buildings collapsing in a heap as well as of other devastation (Google makes it easy). 

The second earthquake has received more international media coverage due to its closer proximity to (and severely devastating effects in) the hugely populated capital of Mexico City. There is no doubt that Mexico City is suffering a enormous amount, and that it was massively impacted: it has a population of around 21 million; and add that to the fact that the city consisting of masses of big buildings is built on top of a lake bed and is slowly sinking (true story), which makes it even more vulnerable to earthquakes as the loose ground underneath amplifies the shock waves.  

But whilst the media has undoubtedly focused on the catastrophic effects of the earthquakes in Mexico City (often to the extent of referring only to their effects in the capital), we should not forget the other parts of Mexico where the earthquakes were also felt extremely strongly, where buildings have also collapsed, and where many people are also suffering a great deal.

Have I felt the earthquakes?

Many people have been very kindly asking me if I'm ok and whether I have felt the earthquakes. (For those unaware, I am living in a Mexican town called Acayucan, in the south of Veracruz state). Yes I am fine thankfully; and yes, I have felt each of the 3 big earthquakes quite strongly, plus also several other aftershocks (some of which have been in the vicinity of only 100-150km from where I live). Fortunately there has been no major damage nor deaths in the area where I am, although it has still been quite unsettling at times. The first earthquake was particularly scary, as here we felt it shaking very strongly and for several minutes.

Before living in Mexico I was not at all accustomed to earthquakes, having only felt one previously: in Chile, 2013 (I was also present for the Myanmar 2016 one, though apparently too busy partying to notice it). Whilst earthquakes are now unfortunately becoming a bit more normal for me, the Chiapas one was still definitely the strongest and longest I've felt, and the most unnerving.

Interestingly, following the big quakes I've noticed that some of my senses are heightened, tuning into things I normally don't pay any attention to - for example, in my room and my office, almost every time I feel a slight tremble, or hear a rumble or things rattling, I wonder if it's another earthquake (sometimes it legitimately is an aftershock, but the majority of the time it is a truck going past, a storm/winds, or even just my nerves). I have also become acutely aware of cracks in walls (to the point of spending hours investigating them) - of which it turns out there are MANY in my room and my office, as well as some other buildings in town. Having seen plenty of footage of damage from the earthquakes, including whole buildings collapsing, it doesn't help the nerves knowing that there are cracks in your walls when you live in a seismically active area.

When I've had those effects just from the scare of an earthquake without actually suffering any personal loss of damage, I can't even imagine what those who have been so severely effected by these catastrophes are going through. 

The truly inspirational Mexican spirit

What's incredibly impressive is how much the people in Mexico are coming together to support each other though these difficult times. The buzz word solidarity has been applied a lot with regards to Mexico at the moment - and with good reason. The degree of mobilisation on a community level and even an individual level to help support those in need, across other sides of the country, has completely blown me away. This is all on top of the many (and maybe more expected) very simple ways to donate money to organisations helping out (eg even when you buy a movie ticket they ask you if you want to donate a little).

To get an idea of some of the community efforts, there's an abundance of great videos and articles where you can see hundreds of people working together to help search for missing people, or clear up fallen buildings, and more (once again, Google makes it easy). What I have personally seen is that pop-up collection centres seem to be a big thing here - i.e. community-run initiatives where people can donate all sorts of food and other supplies to those affected by the earthquakes. There have been plenty of these donation points even just in my little town, including one set up by some of my friends, who traveled around 8 hours on Tuesday to take all of the donated items to give to people in need in Morelos. They even hand wrote words of encouragement, love and support on each and every item that was donated.

Here in Acayucan there was also a free concert put on in the central park one night with a big collection centre, to help gather much needed supplies for people in Oaxaca and Chiapas. Local supermarkets support these initiatives as well, with some of them preparing discounted, pre-packaged assortments of some of the most useful items, to make it easy for customers to buy a pack of goods to donate. 

What I also love is that the signs often accompanying these donation initiatives say things like "Apoyar a nuestros hermanos/as en Oaxaca", which translates to "Support our brothers and sisters in Oaxaca", reflecting the view that we are all a part of this same world and need to look out for each other.

When I think about it, the caring and community attitude that is being taken in Mexico actually doesn't really surprise me that much given the strong focus on community and helping each others out that I have already witnessed and personally experienced time and time again throughout my time in Mexico (even in much more simple things, such as welcoming me into their families, and going out of their way to help me settle in to a new home). And at least in relation to the disasters, it seems that many people here don't even think twice about reaching into their own pockets to donate to help others. It makes me wonder how much this attitude is reflected in Australian culture... (Although it's a bit hard for me to properly compare that, considering that I come from a big city in Australia, whereas I'm living in a town environment here, which I think also might provide some inherent differences. I still do think it's different in Mexico though.)

Some people would say that it's because of the lack of sufficient government support here in Mexico that the people step in to help each other out so much. Whereas in Australia, for example, I think we tend to expect that the government and insurance companies will take care of it all. I can't say I know much about how much support the Mexican government does (or doesn't) actually provide beyond what some articles say, but if there is a lack of confidence in it doing so, then it certainly makes sense that people would feel more inclined to do something themselves to help out. 

I definitely support the idea that the government should be responsible for ensuring that people who are suffering from tragedies such as natural disasters are taken care of. However, I'm sure there are often still some big gaps left, which is where the community and individuals can step in to help out each other. 

These initiatives we're seeing in Mexico that involve individual action are fantastic (even if that action is just the simple step of going to the supermarket to buy supplies to donate). They encourage people get involved and really think about what others are suffering. It seems to me that an important part of generating community spirit, and to encourage people to want to contribute, is for them to actually spend some time thinking about what their fellow humans are going through. I hope we can all be encouraged by the community efforts in Mexico, and help out in our own communities if and when the need arises. 

#FuerzaMéxico