Mexico City earthquake

The 1985 Mexico City earthquake was one of the most devastating earthquakes in the history of the Americas. On Thursday, 19 September 1985, at 7:19 AM local time, Mexico City was struck by an earthquake of magnitude 8.1 on the Richter scale. The complete seismic event consisted of four shocks. A pre-event (magnitude 5.2) occurred on 28 May 1985. The main and most powerful shock occurred 19 September, followed by two aftershocks: one on 21 September 1985 (7.5) and the third occurring seven months later on 30 April 1986 (7.0). The locations of the quakes were off the Mexican Pacific coast, more than 350 km away, but due to strength of the quake and the fact that Mexico City sits on an old lakebed, the distance was no protection. The event caused between three and four billion USD in damage as 412 buildings collapsed and another 3,124 were seriously damaged in the city. While the number is in dispute, the most-often cited number of deaths is about 10,000 people. The earthquake had long-term political and social effects on the country.