Mexico rebuild in limbo

FALLOUT: TWO EARTHQUAKES A YEAR AGO LEAVE HUNDREDS HOMELESS

Government says it has helped repair 166 000 homes damaged in the disaster.

Ayear after two earthquakes struck Mexico, Guadalupe Padilla is still waiting to return to her home. The 60-year-old security guard has lived in a wooden shack in a Mexico City park, facing the empty apartment block where she spent three decades of her life.

Padilla is one of hundreds of people in the capital who have been left homeless by the quake.

In September last year, an 8.1 earthquake struck southern Mexico, killing about 100 people and toppling buildings. Twelve days later a 7.1 magnitude tremor shook the centre of the country, killing about 370 people.

Fearing her apartment was unsafe after the second earthquake, Padilla fled and waited for the building to be repaired.

Many of the people interviewed said they are still waiting for assistance promised by the government.

About three weeks ago, the building’s management told Padilla to remove the rest of her belongings without providing information about what lay ahead. “It’s not fair for them to kick us out without explaining anything,” she said.

President Enrique Pena Nieto’s office said the government had provided aid to rebuild 166 000 of the more than 169 000 homes that were damaged, mostly in the south. – Reuters