\u200bOn Friday, Sept. 7, at 11:39 p.m. (CDT), a magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck just off the southern coast of Mexico. About 5,000 homes in Chiapas, Mexico were destroyed by the quake, and even more \u2013\u2013 about 11,000 homes \u2013\u2013 were damaged or destroyed in Oaxaca, a Mexican state of nearly 4 million people.
\nAccording to CNN, the epicenter of the earthquake was in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 600 miles southeast of the capital of Chiapas and 74 miles off the coast.
\nThe earthquake initially killed at least five people, and damaged much of the infrastructure of Chiapas \u2013\u2013 a state with a population of 3.4 million people \u2013\u2013 and triggered small tsunami waves that would later flood large sections of Oaxaca city.
\n\u201cWe were really scared,\u201d said junior Carlos Reyes. He received a call from his mother, who lives in Tabasco, Mexico, at 1:00 a.m. on the morning of the quake. \u201cMy mother told me that all our neighbors were gathering together \u2026 it was a big deal. There were some houses that fell down and, actually, there was a hotel that fell down,\u201d Reyes said. \u201cThe walls were cracked.\u201d
\nThe earthquake was felt by about 50 million people across the country, and was the strongest Mexico has experienced in 100 years, according to CNN.
\nThat same day, Hurricane Katia made landfall north of Tecolutla, Mexico, bringing winds of 75 mph. According to United Press International (UPI), Katia is the 11th Atlantic storm named so far this hurricane season, of which Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Jose are numbered.
\nBecause of these two events, Mexico was forced to withdraw an offer to send aid to Houston, Texas, which was hit by Hurricane Harvey two weeks prior, in order to reallocate resources to disaster relief in their own country. There were 33 members of the Mexican Red Cross stationed in Houston.
\nAccording to the Los Angeles Times, emergency responders scrambled to clear debris, restore power and provide housing for thousands of displaced people in one of the country\u2019s poorest and most remote regions.
\nMexican President Enrique Pe\u00f1a Nieto declared three days of mourning for those affected by the two disasters.
\n\u201cOne in three homes is now uninhabitable,\u201d Pe\u00f1a Nieto said. On Friday evening, some residents pulled mattresses outside and slept in the streets.
\n\u201cThis earthquake did more than destroy homes and businesses \u2026 it destroyed livelihoods,\u201d said Brandon Gomez, junior at Harding, who has family in Mexico.
\nThe earthquake\u2019s death toll continues to rise as authorities dig through rubble in southern Mexico. 45 people have died in the state of Oaxaca, 12 in Chiapas and four in Tabasco, on Mexico\u2019s Gulf Coast, according to the Los Angeles Times.
\n\u201cThe power of this earthquake was devastating,\u201d Nieto said. \u201cBut we are certain that the power of unity, the power of solidarity and the power of shared responsibility will be greater.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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