1985 Mexico City Earthquake - Legacy

Legacy

One preparation that was made for future events was the alert system, Sistema de Alerta Sísmica (SAS), which sends early-warning messages electronically from sensors along the coastal subduction zone in Guerrero. It was expanded to a similar area on the coast of Oaxaca. An alarm is supposed to go off in Mexico City (similar to an air-raid siren) when an earthquake of 6.0 or higher is detected. However, it does not always work.

To better help deal with major disasters, the Civil Protection Committee was created. This committee organizes drills in cooperation with rescue workers, police, hospital staff and even metro personnel. Affiliated with the Civil Protection Committee is the “Brigada de Topos de Tlatelolco” (Mole Brigade of Tlatelolco). This group arose from youths who spontaneously volunteered to risk their lives crawling into collapsed buildings to look for survivors. Despite having no equipment, training or knowledge of rescue tactics, these youths were instrumental in saving a number of lives, including the babies rescued from the collapse of the Juárez Hospital. Shortly thereafter, these youths decided to formally band together in February 1986. These “topos” have developed into highly trained specialists in times of disaster, with branches in other parts of Mexico. They are now expertly trained and even have scent dogs to help them. They have gained international fame as they have helped in disasters in San Salvador, Taiwan, in the countries of the rim of the Indian Ocean after the tsunami there in 2004, and most recently in the January 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

Despite warnings and predictions, in 2005, an estimated 32 million people live in the high-risk lakebed area.

As of 2005, there are still two camps where approximately eighty families are still waiting for relocation from the earthquake.

Centuries-old structures have been reinforced across the city and new construction must comply with very strict codes. There are several instances of tall buildings in Mexico City incorporating earthquake-resistant engineering. A few notable examples are: the Torre Latinoamericana, one of the first buildings in Mexico City to do so, the Torre Ejecutiva Pemex, built before the 1985 earthquake, and the Torre Mayor, built in 2003.

Every 19 September, in all public buildings at Mexico City and all the nation the civil protection authorities conduct evacuation drills to evaluate the evacuation response in the case of an earthquake.

Televisa's San Angel studios, one of the few Televisa facilities in Mexico City not damaged by the earthquake, became the new home of two long-running series, Siempre en domingo and En familia con Chabelo, both of which saw their studios at Chapultepec damaged. The earthquake also inspired the creation of another long-running Televisa series, Silvia Pinal's Mujer, casos de la vida real, which was also produced at Televisa San Angel.