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Survivors Describe Aftermath of Deadly Mexico Earthquake

6 years 6 months 1 week ago Tuesday, September 19 2017 Sep 19, 2017 September 19, 2017 6:54 PM September 19, 2017 in News

MEXICO CITY – Survivors of the deadly earthquake in Mexico City still fear for their safety due to cracked and unstable buildings, gas leaks, and a lack of electricity.

Raul Sedas is an engineer for PEMEX. He lives in Hidalgo, Texas, but is in Mexico City for work.

“This earthquake was very strong, because everything was vibrating and I thought the building where I was was going to collapse, because it was very strong,” he said in Spanish.

Sedas was on the second floor of a four-story building Tuesday when the earthquake hit. He said the stairs collapsed, the walls shook and dust from fall ceiling tiles filled the building.

“We felt a lot of panic, people started screaming,” he said. “You felt like your legs were weak. You feel like you can't breathe. You're shaking from one side to another, you don't know what's happening and you feel like you're going to die.”

CHANNEL 5 NEWS spoke with Sedas via WhatsApp. He said the cell service in the city is going in and out.

Andrea Valdes confirmed that via WhatsApp. She said she has not been able to communicate with many friends and family who live in other parts of the city.

“I don't have access to Twitter or phone calls, so I don't know that much,” she said.

Valdes said she couldn’t return to her apartment because of a gas leak caused by the earthquake. She said buildings everywhere are damaged, making people unsure which ones are safe to be in.

“Buildings are cracked, so everybody is paranoid,” she said. “There is glass all over the street from busted windows, so you have to be careful where you walk."

Valdes and Sedas both said they are in shock.

Mexico City held an earthquake response drill just two hours before the real thing happened.

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