Awaiting word on loved ones
Mission District residents seek updates from friends, relatives in central Mexico after second big quake this month.
People in San Francisco and around the Bay Area scrambled Tuesday to locate relatives and friends in central Mexico, hoping they had avoided the worst of the devastating earthquake that toppled buildings, cut power and killed scores of residents in a wide swath of the country.
The magnitude 7.1 earthquake, which struck less than two weeks after another powerful temblor, trapped many others under mounds of debris in the capital of Mexico City, the nearby state of Morelos and the state of Puebla, where the epicenter was located.
The disaster sent waves of anxiety and desperation through San Francisco’s Mission District as images emerged of collapsed buildings and fires and of rescuers digging through rubble. Residents of the Mission frantically put out social media messages and made phone calls seeking contact with loved ones and assurances of their safety.
“My sister lives in Puebla and I haven’t been able to talk to anyone because the phone lines are down, but I finally reached her through WhatsApp,” said Tania Estrada, the program director at the Women’s Building on Valencia Street. “My sister said many stores near where she lived were destroyed and people are stealing things.”
She was overjoyed to find that the rest of her relatives in Mexico City were safe, but her family described a chaotic scene in densely populated parts of Mexico City and nearby states. Schools collapsed, transit systems broke down, traffic gridlocked and gas pipelines leaked. There were no running buses, metros or taxis.
“My brother has a tire business and all the tires fell, so everything is a mess,” Estrada said. “I’m very stressed. I haven’t been able to focus on my work because I’m so concerned about not just my family but the people and the schools and everything the community will need.”
The quake hit on the same day Mexicans were commemorating the anniversary of the 1985 quake that killed thousands. That quake forced Estrada’s mother to crawl out of a building while pregnant.
Emily Green, a former Chronicle reporter living in Mexico City, said Tuesday’s quake brought back memories of 1985 for many of her neighbors as they fled panic stricken and in various stages of dress from their apartment building.
“The floors were shaking so hard I could hardly stand. I truly thought the building was going to fall on top of me,” said Green, who says she ran barefoot down the stairs amid flying glass. “When I got outside, many people were hysterical, including myself. A kind man hugged me for 45 seconds to calm me down.”
Gemi José González López, the Mexican consul general in San Francisco, said important progress has been made since the quake 32 years ago in strengthening building construction and emergency services in the country.
“All day my colleagues and I have been working to contact leaders of the Mexican community in the Bay Area to see how they are and if they need special help, specifically to contact people in Mexico City,” Lopez said. “It is important that they know we will be working for 24 hours, that they can call us, that we can help them contact their family and friends.”
Nelli Garcia, who was getting her hair colored at Mary’s Beauty Salon on 24th Street in the Mission, said she has two children living in Mexico City, but added, “I’m not worried too much. It’s a new building.” She planned to hurry home and check on her kids after her appointment.
Beautician Irma Garcia was trying to concentrate on her work, but was worried about an aunt living in Mexico City. “My mother called, but I haven’t talked to my aunt yet,” she said. “Work comes first.”
Esther Zepeda, a cashier at Taqueria Guadalajara, also on 24th Street, was worrying about more than two dozen uncles, aunts and cousins who live near Mexico City.
“I was scared, I was fearful,” she said. Then she received a text from a cousin saying everyone was OK. “I feel wonderful about that,” she said.
Many of the workers at the La Raza Community Resource Center in the Mission got busy texting after the earthquake hit. Susana Portillo, the office manager, expressed relief when her cousin finally texted her back saying in Spanish, “I’m OK, but I’m afraid.”
Jacqueline Gutierrez, who works in youth programming for Poder, which advocates for Latino immigrants, said she was scared because she hadn’t reached several family members by the late afternoon.
“Nobody has told me that they are injured, but I am still waiting to hear back from about four people,” Gutierrez said. “It’s a very vivid reminder of the preparation that we need here.”
She was among many people — including those without relatives in Mexico — who agreed the latest quake should serve as a wake-up call for the Bay Area.
“My prayers go out to the people of Mexico,” said Maria Galdamez, who was eating lunch at La Espiga De Oro on 24th Street while watching quake coverage on TV. “It’s gonna come here, and I’m not sure what we can do about it.”