September 19, the fateful date that left its mark among Mexicans

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(CNN Spanish) - The Mexicans shook the earth on September 19, 2017 shortly after noon. At 11 in the morning thousands of capitals went abroad from homes, shops and offices in the middle of a mega drill that takes place every year on the occasion of the National Civil Protection Day, when the 1985 earthquake is commemorated, which left About 10,000 dead.

After that drill, Morelos, Puebla, Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Guerrero and Oaxaca felt a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. It happened after another earthquake of great intensity was recorded, on September 7, 2017, with a magnitude of 8.1.

The total dead of the new earthquake was counted by hundreds (the official figure is 369), while some 250,000 people were damaged, more than 180,000 homes were damaged by the two earthquakes and of those, 50,610 had total damage.

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Around one o'clock in the afternoon of September 19, entire buildings, houses, schools collapsed and the dead began to be counted from the first hours after the earthquake.

The Mexicans, bent by pain and without believing in the coincidence of a powerful new earthquake 32 years after 1985, quickly took to the streets and gave a show of world solidarity: many inhabitants of Mexico City stood up and began to help.

Upon hearing the news that an elementary school had collapsed, dozens of volunteers, all civilians, approached the school. Vehicles full of portions of bottled water, food, medicine and blankets were trying to get around the city traffic to get to the place as quickly as possible. An army of volunteers acted as transit agents in the area, delivering provisions to rescuers. That day, eighteen children and seven adults lost their lives in the Enrique Rébsamen private school, trapped in the rubble.

In images that went around the world, in the midst of bailouts in other parts of the city, thousands of volunteers made human chains to remove debris, distribute water and food and, in the midst of chaos; silence invaded the ground when they raised their hands to hear the cries for help from the trapped and save lives.

According to the then president Enrique Peña Nieto, a month after the earthquake, reconstruction work after the earthquakes of September 7 and 19 could cost about 48,000 million pesos (more than 2,500 million dollars).

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The victims still do not receive aid

In Mexico City alone, 12,287 properties were affected by the quake, according to the census conducted by the Commission for the Reconstruction of the government of Claudia Sheinbaum. Two years after this megasism, the progress in the reconstruction of damaged structures is only 30%, and the Federal Government has promised to conclude the process in 2020.

1 of 16 | Mexico and Mexicans do not give up in pain. The tragedy that enluta today has brought out the solidarity of an entire people. (Getty Images)

2 of 16 | Minutes after the earth shook devouring what it found in its path, dozens of rescuers, firefighters, police and volunteers were intertwined to help the victims. (Getty Images)

3 of 16 | A race against the clock began to save people trapped by the fateful earthquake on Tuesday, September 19. (Getty Images)

4 of 16 | Anonymous heroes also emerged immediately to help the wounded and survivors of the quake that left hundreds dead. (Getty Images)

5 of 16 | To the onslaught of nature, Mexicans responded with their fraternal nature and turned to those affected. (Getty Images)

6 of 16 | A volunteer asks for silence during the search for survivors in one of the areas most affected by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake, according to the USGS. (Getty Images)

7 of 16 | To the dozens of dead many injured were added, like this woman who is treated by a medical assistant in an improvised space. (Getty Images)

8 of 16 | A firefighter and a rescuer look for some sign of life between cracks and debris caused by the devastating earthquake. (Getty Images)

9 of 16 | Volunteers distribute water and other donated drinks at a distribution point, while the search for survivors continues in Mexico City. (Getty Images)

10 of 16 | A soldier, a firefighter and a volunteer look for survivors in another building collapsed by the earthquake in Mexico City. (Getty Images)

11 of 16 | People who dress in anonymous heroes to assist those affected with food and other donated supplies at a distribution point. (Getty Images)

12 of 16 | Medical staff organizes some supplies and medicines to treat the injured and other victims of the earthquake. (Getty Images)

13 of 16 | Pets also felt the rescuers' solidarity in the midst of the tragedy. (Getty Images)

14 of 16 | Throughout the tragedy, scenes like this were seen, where rescue authorities played their lives to save those of others. (Getty Images)

15 of 16 | Mexico does not give up in the face of tragedy. After the roar of the earth the echo of an entire town is heard shouting "Force Mexico". (Getty Images)

16 of 16 | Our prayers for Mexico and Mexicans. # FuerzaMexico (Getty Images)

Since July 2019, the government of Mexico City provides a subsidy of about $ 200 to the relatives of those who died in the 2017 earthquake, as well as psychological care and attention to children who have lost their parents or guardians that day.

This Wednesday, the head of the Government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, presented a plan of modifications to the Construction Regulations, with the aim of improving the structure of the new buildings.

On the anniversary of this tragedy, Mexicans honor and remember their victims, while many of the victims are still waiting to return to their homes, because although in principle the federal government had promised reconstruction by 2020, César Cravioto, commissioner for Reconstruction in Mexico City, acknowledged that there is still a lot of work ahead to take care of the victims.

"The commitment is that, by the fourth anniversary of the earthquake, all people have already returned to their home, that is the route we have," said the official in an interview in Expansión.

This Thursday, September 19, 2019, with a megasimulacro at 11 am, similar to that of two years ago, citizens continue to prepare for an upcoming seismic event, because as David León Romero, national coordinator of Civil Protection, said in Mexico “never we are prepared".

- With information from Krupskaia Alís, Rey Rodríguez of CNN and Expansión.