Post by ccgandrt on Mar 18, 2007 23:51:47 GMT -5
It is now March 18, 2007. Thirty plus months after Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast and displaced hundreds of thousands of USA citizens. Where were you when she formed and struck land? Billions of citizens were not involved in the southern states man-made and natural disasters. They were safe, far away "from that part of the world;" strumming a guitar, eating or buying shoes.
Concerned people, from all over the globe; have watched the slow progress, made donations and worked to restoring some of the towns and cities. Very few in our government are concerned or prepared even to this day, to help and organize help for a large natural disaster. Unless you have experienced some thing huge and deadly, you'd better research it and be ready with an emergency water and food kit. Listen, see, read or speak with a survivor. The knowledge offered might help you with your choices, the decisions you plan and execute and ultimately save your life.
You are on your own and you'll need a buddy system. I saw the abuse and lawlessness but common people united, saved themselves and helped their neighbors in the capital City of Mexico. Then, I see what did and did not happen in the USA after Katrina.
My Experience
State of Michoacan, Mexico
1985 September 19 7:17:47 AM CDT
Magnitude 8.0
"At least 9,500 people were killed, about 30,000 were injured, more than 100,000 people were left homeless, and severe damage was caused in parts of Mexico City and in several states of central Mexico. According to some sources, the death toll from this earthquake may be as high as 35,000. It is estimated that the quake seriously affected an area of approximately 825,000 square kilometers, caused between 3 and 4 billion U.S. dollars of damage, and was felt by almost 20 million people. Four hundred twelve buildings collapsed and another 3,124 were seriously damaged in Mexico City. About 60 percent of the buildings were destroyed at Ciudad Guzman, Jalisco. Damage also occurred in the states of Colima, Guerrero, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, parts of Veracruz and in other areas of Jalisco."
(Image Credit and an official description: earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/events/1985_09_19.php)
I was living in Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico, when this earthquake struck on September 19, 1985. Uruapan is located half way between the epic center, 2 1/2 hours as the crow flies, and Mexico City where the most damage occurred. It was around 6:30 that morning when my Doberman, Max, and Pekingese mix, Willy, started barking. Their noise was going to disturb the neighbors. I rose from bed quickly, went downstairs, through the kitchen and out to the small cement backyard. They both were absolute cranky and nipping at each other when I arrived, but the dogs responded to my greetings. I know now why they were on edge.
I did not have the habit of staying out there long any morning, but I wanted to keep them quiet. I started hand washing some garments at the sink. I had the basin full of water and was suddenly splashed in the stomach. I turned my head over my right shoulder and saw the seven foot brick wall behind me undulating toward me--away from me--toward me again. I had trouble standing but ran into the house the dogs followed. I was afraid to be outside because of brick walls tumbling over on to us and afraid to be inside a two-story mass-production tract house. When I had seen that wall moving, I knew it was an earthquake, having experienced them before.
The earthquake swayed the house, rolled, jolted, went away and came back. The dogs were trying to sit next to my legs under the kitchen doorway, but were sliding away, their nails scratching on the slick tile floors. They were shaking and trembling. I couldn't move; if I released my grip on the door jam, I was unable to keep my balance and slid a couple of feet. I was stuck; whether I had made a good decision or not to make my last stand in a doorway remained to be seen. I kept holding on and wishing it would end, thinking that this house wasn't going to withstand much more movement. I began wishing that it wasn't necessary to put "double bolted" on the front door. That perhaps things would be better...safer for us in the street. My legs were weakening and my fingers tired of gripping the hard wood door jam.
The joy on the dog's faces and mine finally was seen; the earth stopped shaking gradually. I tuned in to a radio station; I had to find out the where and how was the area. After seeing what damage the house sustained, I was glued to the radio for the next days. For weeks after the earthquake I still gathered reports and photos. We had survived a giant earthquake, survived and this was the biggest story I was ever going to write home about!
The electricity in Uruapan's grid goes off during an earthquake. I was told that the moment the quake reaches a large magnitude it goes off line. I have never been able to verify if this was or is true, but I thought it was a handy feature. We had no building topple over in my city; Uruapan which is located in the mountains, at 4,000 feet elevation on solid rocky land and I always have thought that is what helped us survive the quake. Some office buildings were deemed uninhabitable and were demolished within the month. This earthquake had lasted over 90 seconds! An incredibly long time. Go ahead walk around, time yourself, you can do many things. It's scary and frightening to see just how much you can do in one and half minutes.
Mexico City had so much damage because of liquefaction; it has been built over a large lake. At the epicenter, a few miles off the Pacific coast, Mexico lost a small, petroleum related island; vanished under the ocean, and never reported on the news.
In the city of Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan, a port city sitting right next to the center of the earthquake had significant damage. Lazaro Cardenas depends on the port and a steel mill, financed by The UK, which Mexico was still paying back the loans. Just above the city and that steel mill is the Rios Balsa's Dam. Eye witnesses at that time told me the dam had several major cracks, could break and everyone that could was leaving the city. It was never reported on the news.
(Image and some content credits are given at the end)
Over a thousand concrete and brick buildings in Mexico City where destroyed by the first earthquake. Imagine the Federal Prison destroyed, records under rubble and surviving convicts out 'free?' Citizens were afraid to leave their crumbled houses, even though everything might be lost, they slept in the street out front rather than let convicts or hoodlums vandalize the remains. They didn't sleep well though. There were so many people in shock, like zombies, roaming the streets with nowhere to go. There was an estimated fifty percent of law enforcement doing rescue work and in a city of ten million with already under-staffed department. Police chiefs from surrounding areas were told to supply all the men they could. It was fine with them; they'd tell the men that were dispatched to Mexico City; "You can go, but first pay me $5,000. pesos because any gold or other valuables you'll find on the corpses will be yours."
Doctors from my city, Uruapan, that were working for the Social Security Hospitals were dispatched to Mexico City and came back after weeks there because they could not take seeing and smelling more death. They quit their jobs for the Social Security because they had left without permission. They spoke of what they saw and the hearing of continuous government lies. They saw four huge common graves, estimated to be 40 meters by 20 meters by 10 meters (200 feet by 100 feet and 50 feet deep), full of earthquake crushed bodies. The reported government figure of 4-8,000 dead, really was over 40,000 corpses. These doctors had other "country" doctors join in helping survivors in Mexico City. The government reported there were 18,000 doctors in total in three shifts attending 2,900 surviving people. IS THAT ALL the survivors left? The official figures were always making my city doubt their government.
Residents of Mexico City felt helpless and forgotten. They needed water, they were thirsty! They needed the tents, blankets and other equipment from the Red Cross. However, at the airports, the boxes would arrive with the rescue supplies...never to reach Mexico City. They were received by the Red Cross, but the soldiers who had been called in to help by the government, were stealing them and selling them. The Red Cross made official complaints to world leaders and their organization.
France, USA and many other countries went there to save lives. They had rescue dogs and current technology, but they had problems with local authorities. They weren't allow even near some buildings. They couldn't just save lives; the police would go in first to the Federal buildings to save documents, gold, riches and valuables and then if there was time, it was alright for the dogs to search out survivors. Well intentioned volunteers from all over the country and the world, became tired of waiting and would often leave the area.
Water was supposed to be free, but many tank truck drivers were caught charging the equivalent of a weeks' salary for a bucket of water. Waiting hours in line, women would get fourteen gallons of water for a family of seven a day! The drivers abused by charging them any amount and were never punished. The very poor that could not afford the water drank from gutters in order to survive.
There were men posing as building inspectors, getting owners to pay them large sums of money and they wouldn't have to do repairs or have their building condemned. Large numbers of honest people fell for the scam. This and other scams were presented on the radio. We never saw any truth on television reports, because the government wanted to calm down the people. We listened to the radio to avoid lies and distortion. Practically every family in the country has a friend or family member living in Mexico City. It's where the most jobs are, although the government was "decentralizing" the Capital by moving some agencies and Secretaries to other cities.
With the earthquake that process was happened more quickly, and all by itself. People from affected areas, who had lost everything, moved to neighboring cities sometimes with a job, sometimes without one. Sometimes to a family member, sometimes not. Everyone was unhappy because of this; a survivor had no job, couldn't pay rent, so, they'd move in with a relative, often causing over crowding. The whole country was upset and all you'd hear on television was; "Mexico is bigger than it's problems; we'll come out ahead." Calming propaganda said over and over. Then in other reports the government officials would be tough saying, "We don't have to build these people any houses; no government has to."
No helicopters could be used to make rescues because the buildings were piled on one another and ready to cave in and their wind from the rotating blades had made other buildings already fall. Mexico City's tallest building of some forty floors survived the 8.0 earthquake with just 10 broken panes of glass. Everyone was smiling and amazed but then the quote; "I told you so" began floating around, their expressions changed. "Latina Americana Office Building" survived because it was designed to resist by the European engineer would was in charge of the construction. It was decided on the ninth day after the earthquake and several strong after shocks that no dynamite would be used on the partially standing buildings until there was no chance of life. Government constructed school buildings and eight hotels had come down in the quakes; can you imagine how many children and tourists died? Official numbers reported "704 school buildings had to be demolished and not one student died."
About one month after the earth finished shaking the Mexican Federal Government had reported that it was demolishing over 7,000 buildings, taking their land and would pay the original owners the value they wanted to pay them and over the course of ten years. Dump trucks were taking fifteen metric tons of rumble out of the city a day. It was being dumped on the out-skirts of Mexico City, in three different sites, but with no regard for ecosystems or the citizens.
The rainy season began right on time. Mexico City survivors received a torrential 38 minute long downpour and were screaming for the promised tents. After some investigation by members of the radio station, the tents were found hidden away from the thieving soldiers in the Red Cross warehouse. It was the only place to keep them safe, but then, the tents didn't get distributed before the first rains to the needy survivors.
The USA geologists have studied the sub-soils under Mexico City because some were more watery than others. Since the first quake was 90 seconds long, they reported that is "a slow movement" and with the watery sub soiled areas, the taller buildings were affected the most. The earth moved more than forty percent; about 18 inches; and took only two seconds to move back, which experts say is slow for an earthquake. The after shock lasted 2 minutes 20 seconds and even though it was lower in magnitude on the Ritcher Scale, it finished off the shorter or weakened buildings. In the two months that followed the big earthquake of 8.0 the area had seven large aftershocks that our city felt, probably over 4.0 in magnitude.
Children living in Mexico City finally went back to school late in October after missing classes for 6 weeks. Very conscious of public education, the Department decided the students would not lose the whole semester. To accomplish that the teachers were told to cut down on the number of classes, from the basic seven, go down to four and get the kids out on time. And for the first time in Mexico's history school earthquake drills were mandatory in public schools.
The confiscated properties were reimbursed from the government to the owners, but at the 1945 end of World War II prices. That president at that time had frozen rents and property taxes to help the poor and the 1985 government was not going to pay current prices for the properties.
Besides, supplying you dear reader, with knowledge and history from the past, which needs to be passed down to the younger generations; do you see the similarities in all governments which the USA has touched? For more than seventy years the USA has controlled the workings in Mexico's government. NAFTA ruined them. The USA imperialist attitude is not welcome in the countries of the southern hemisphere. The protests of their last visit there is proof the ugly capitalist government is not wanted. Their appearance had to be cleansed away by descendants of the great Mayan Priests. Shouts of "Gringo go home" will echo in the air as long as the USA has this uncontrolled greed for possessions. The USA government spreading it's "democracy" is dangerous poison, contaminating the world and you know what to do with poisons, don't you?
Concerned people, from all over the globe; have watched the slow progress, made donations and worked to restoring some of the towns and cities. Very few in our government are concerned or prepared even to this day, to help and organize help for a large natural disaster. Unless you have experienced some thing huge and deadly, you'd better research it and be ready with an emergency water and food kit. Listen, see, read or speak with a survivor. The knowledge offered might help you with your choices, the decisions you plan and execute and ultimately save your life.
You are on your own and you'll need a buddy system. I saw the abuse and lawlessness but common people united, saved themselves and helped their neighbors in the capital City of Mexico. Then, I see what did and did not happen in the USA after Katrina.
My Experience
State of Michoacan, Mexico
1985 September 19 7:17:47 AM CDT
Magnitude 8.0
"At least 9,500 people were killed, about 30,000 were injured, more than 100,000 people were left homeless, and severe damage was caused in parts of Mexico City and in several states of central Mexico. According to some sources, the death toll from this earthquake may be as high as 35,000. It is estimated that the quake seriously affected an area of approximately 825,000 square kilometers, caused between 3 and 4 billion U.S. dollars of damage, and was felt by almost 20 million people. Four hundred twelve buildings collapsed and another 3,124 were seriously damaged in Mexico City. About 60 percent of the buildings were destroyed at Ciudad Guzman, Jalisco. Damage also occurred in the states of Colima, Guerrero, Mexico, Michoacan, Morelos, parts of Veracruz and in other areas of Jalisco."
(Image Credit and an official description: earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/events/1985_09_19.php)
I was living in Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico, when this earthquake struck on September 19, 1985. Uruapan is located half way between the epic center, 2 1/2 hours as the crow flies, and Mexico City where the most damage occurred. It was around 6:30 that morning when my Doberman, Max, and Pekingese mix, Willy, started barking. Their noise was going to disturb the neighbors. I rose from bed quickly, went downstairs, through the kitchen and out to the small cement backyard. They both were absolute cranky and nipping at each other when I arrived, but the dogs responded to my greetings. I know now why they were on edge.
I did not have the habit of staying out there long any morning, but I wanted to keep them quiet. I started hand washing some garments at the sink. I had the basin full of water and was suddenly splashed in the stomach. I turned my head over my right shoulder and saw the seven foot brick wall behind me undulating toward me--away from me--toward me again. I had trouble standing but ran into the house the dogs followed. I was afraid to be outside because of brick walls tumbling over on to us and afraid to be inside a two-story mass-production tract house. When I had seen that wall moving, I knew it was an earthquake, having experienced them before.
The earthquake swayed the house, rolled, jolted, went away and came back. The dogs were trying to sit next to my legs under the kitchen doorway, but were sliding away, their nails scratching on the slick tile floors. They were shaking and trembling. I couldn't move; if I released my grip on the door jam, I was unable to keep my balance and slid a couple of feet. I was stuck; whether I had made a good decision or not to make my last stand in a doorway remained to be seen. I kept holding on and wishing it would end, thinking that this house wasn't going to withstand much more movement. I began wishing that it wasn't necessary to put "double bolted" on the front door. That perhaps things would be better...safer for us in the street. My legs were weakening and my fingers tired of gripping the hard wood door jam.
The joy on the dog's faces and mine finally was seen; the earth stopped shaking gradually. I tuned in to a radio station; I had to find out the where and how was the area. After seeing what damage the house sustained, I was glued to the radio for the next days. For weeks after the earthquake I still gathered reports and photos. We had survived a giant earthquake, survived and this was the biggest story I was ever going to write home about!
The electricity in Uruapan's grid goes off during an earthquake. I was told that the moment the quake reaches a large magnitude it goes off line. I have never been able to verify if this was or is true, but I thought it was a handy feature. We had no building topple over in my city; Uruapan which is located in the mountains, at 4,000 feet elevation on solid rocky land and I always have thought that is what helped us survive the quake. Some office buildings were deemed uninhabitable and were demolished within the month. This earthquake had lasted over 90 seconds! An incredibly long time. Go ahead walk around, time yourself, you can do many things. It's scary and frightening to see just how much you can do in one and half minutes.
Mexico City had so much damage because of liquefaction; it has been built over a large lake. At the epicenter, a few miles off the Pacific coast, Mexico lost a small, petroleum related island; vanished under the ocean, and never reported on the news.
In the city of Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacan, a port city sitting right next to the center of the earthquake had significant damage. Lazaro Cardenas depends on the port and a steel mill, financed by The UK, which Mexico was still paying back the loans. Just above the city and that steel mill is the Rios Balsa's Dam. Eye witnesses at that time told me the dam had several major cracks, could break and everyone that could was leaving the city. It was never reported on the news.
(Image and some content credits are given at the end)
Over a thousand concrete and brick buildings in Mexico City where destroyed by the first earthquake. Imagine the Federal Prison destroyed, records under rubble and surviving convicts out 'free?' Citizens were afraid to leave their crumbled houses, even though everything might be lost, they slept in the street out front rather than let convicts or hoodlums vandalize the remains. They didn't sleep well though. There were so many people in shock, like zombies, roaming the streets with nowhere to go. There was an estimated fifty percent of law enforcement doing rescue work and in a city of ten million with already under-staffed department. Police chiefs from surrounding areas were told to supply all the men they could. It was fine with them; they'd tell the men that were dispatched to Mexico City; "You can go, but first pay me $5,000. pesos because any gold or other valuables you'll find on the corpses will be yours."
Doctors from my city, Uruapan, that were working for the Social Security Hospitals were dispatched to Mexico City and came back after weeks there because they could not take seeing and smelling more death. They quit their jobs for the Social Security because they had left without permission. They spoke of what they saw and the hearing of continuous government lies. They saw four huge common graves, estimated to be 40 meters by 20 meters by 10 meters (200 feet by 100 feet and 50 feet deep), full of earthquake crushed bodies. The reported government figure of 4-8,000 dead, really was over 40,000 corpses. These doctors had other "country" doctors join in helping survivors in Mexico City. The government reported there were 18,000 doctors in total in three shifts attending 2,900 surviving people. IS THAT ALL the survivors left? The official figures were always making my city doubt their government.
Residents of Mexico City felt helpless and forgotten. They needed water, they were thirsty! They needed the tents, blankets and other equipment from the Red Cross. However, at the airports, the boxes would arrive with the rescue supplies...never to reach Mexico City. They were received by the Red Cross, but the soldiers who had been called in to help by the government, were stealing them and selling them. The Red Cross made official complaints to world leaders and their organization.
France, USA and many other countries went there to save lives. They had rescue dogs and current technology, but they had problems with local authorities. They weren't allow even near some buildings. They couldn't just save lives; the police would go in first to the Federal buildings to save documents, gold, riches and valuables and then if there was time, it was alright for the dogs to search out survivors. Well intentioned volunteers from all over the country and the world, became tired of waiting and would often leave the area.
Water was supposed to be free, but many tank truck drivers were caught charging the equivalent of a weeks' salary for a bucket of water. Waiting hours in line, women would get fourteen gallons of water for a family of seven a day! The drivers abused by charging them any amount and were never punished. The very poor that could not afford the water drank from gutters in order to survive.
There were men posing as building inspectors, getting owners to pay them large sums of money and they wouldn't have to do repairs or have their building condemned. Large numbers of honest people fell for the scam. This and other scams were presented on the radio. We never saw any truth on television reports, because the government wanted to calm down the people. We listened to the radio to avoid lies and distortion. Practically every family in the country has a friend or family member living in Mexico City. It's where the most jobs are, although the government was "decentralizing" the Capital by moving some agencies and Secretaries to other cities.
With the earthquake that process was happened more quickly, and all by itself. People from affected areas, who had lost everything, moved to neighboring cities sometimes with a job, sometimes without one. Sometimes to a family member, sometimes not. Everyone was unhappy because of this; a survivor had no job, couldn't pay rent, so, they'd move in with a relative, often causing over crowding. The whole country was upset and all you'd hear on television was; "Mexico is bigger than it's problems; we'll come out ahead." Calming propaganda said over and over. Then in other reports the government officials would be tough saying, "We don't have to build these people any houses; no government has to."
No helicopters could be used to make rescues because the buildings were piled on one another and ready to cave in and their wind from the rotating blades had made other buildings already fall. Mexico City's tallest building of some forty floors survived the 8.0 earthquake with just 10 broken panes of glass. Everyone was smiling and amazed but then the quote; "I told you so" began floating around, their expressions changed. "Latina Americana Office Building" survived because it was designed to resist by the European engineer would was in charge of the construction. It was decided on the ninth day after the earthquake and several strong after shocks that no dynamite would be used on the partially standing buildings until there was no chance of life. Government constructed school buildings and eight hotels had come down in the quakes; can you imagine how many children and tourists died? Official numbers reported "704 school buildings had to be demolished and not one student died."
About one month after the earth finished shaking the Mexican Federal Government had reported that it was demolishing over 7,000 buildings, taking their land and would pay the original owners the value they wanted to pay them and over the course of ten years. Dump trucks were taking fifteen metric tons of rumble out of the city a day. It was being dumped on the out-skirts of Mexico City, in three different sites, but with no regard for ecosystems or the citizens.
The rainy season began right on time. Mexico City survivors received a torrential 38 minute long downpour and were screaming for the promised tents. After some investigation by members of the radio station, the tents were found hidden away from the thieving soldiers in the Red Cross warehouse. It was the only place to keep them safe, but then, the tents didn't get distributed before the first rains to the needy survivors.
The USA geologists have studied the sub-soils under Mexico City because some were more watery than others. Since the first quake was 90 seconds long, they reported that is "a slow movement" and with the watery sub soiled areas, the taller buildings were affected the most. The earth moved more than forty percent; about 18 inches; and took only two seconds to move back, which experts say is slow for an earthquake. The after shock lasted 2 minutes 20 seconds and even though it was lower in magnitude on the Ritcher Scale, it finished off the shorter or weakened buildings. In the two months that followed the big earthquake of 8.0 the area had seven large aftershocks that our city felt, probably over 4.0 in magnitude.
Children living in Mexico City finally went back to school late in October after missing classes for 6 weeks. Very conscious of public education, the Department decided the students would not lose the whole semester. To accomplish that the teachers were told to cut down on the number of classes, from the basic seven, go down to four and get the kids out on time. And for the first time in Mexico's history school earthquake drills were mandatory in public schools.
The confiscated properties were reimbursed from the government to the owners, but at the 1945 end of World War II prices. That president at that time had frozen rents and property taxes to help the poor and the 1985 government was not going to pay current prices for the properties.
Besides, supplying you dear reader, with knowledge and history from the past, which needs to be passed down to the younger generations; do you see the similarities in all governments which the USA has touched? For more than seventy years the USA has controlled the workings in Mexico's government. NAFTA ruined them. The USA imperialist attitude is not welcome in the countries of the southern hemisphere. The protests of their last visit there is proof the ugly capitalist government is not wanted. Their appearance had to be cleansed away by descendants of the great Mayan Priests. Shouts of "Gringo go home" will echo in the air as long as the USA has this uncontrolled greed for possessions. The USA government spreading it's "democracy" is dangerous poison, contaminating the world and you know what to do with poisons, don't you?