Jorge Costa said he saw buildings literally clapping together a dozen times in “one of the scariest” natural disasters he’s ever seen as the 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Mexico City yesterday.
The 40-year-old music professor at REC Musica in Mexico City and a 2006 graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, said an official citywide earthquake drill about 2 hours earlier — held every year on the anniversary of the 1985 quake that killed 5,000 — helped keep people calm and probably saved lives. Here is Costa’s account of yesterday’s temblor as told to the Herald’s Joe Dwinell:
I was about to start teaching a class when the earthquake struck. I’ve gone through quakes in Los Angeles, here in Mexico and a tsunami in Thailand, and this was by far the worst. It was violent right off the bat.
Entire buildings collapsed. Windows were shattering and falling into the street.
I only had to go down two floors. We had a drill about 2 hours earlier, at 11 a.m., and it made a huge difference. The drill is held every year on the anniversary of the 1985 quake. People were more aware not to run and not panic. But nobody wants to go back into buildings. I’ve never seen so many people in the street.
I’m trying not to be worried, but it’s hard to tell what the night will bring. This was one of the few times I was actually afraid. The quake was one of the scariest I’ve ever felt. I could see the buildings separating and flying together. Ten to 12 times they would slam together.
I’ve been fortunate to survive a few natural disasters, but this one is hard. So many have lost everything.
Unlike in the States, not everybody can afford insurance in Mexico. I can see on the horizon smoke coming from all over the city from collapsed buildings.
It’s insane. Everywhere I walk people are just standing in the street. People are having a hard time standing on their feet. Cars can’t move and the subway isn’t safe.
It’s very eerie tonight. There’s lots of damage. There were also some fires and explosions due to gas leaks.
The civil guard is helping check if buildings are safe to go back inside. We’re all trying to figure out what to do.
