Mexico Earthquake Relief: Pope Francis Donates $150K To Help Survivors, Victims Families

Vatican Radio informed in their official website that Pope Francis donated an initial contribution of US $150,000 to the earthquake relief effort in Mexico. The money is to help survivors and victims’ families in the worst hit areas of the country, and would be sent through the Dicastery for Integral Human Development.

The money will be divided between emergency relief efforts in the dioceses hit by the earthquake. The donation, which is intended to show the pope’s solidarity and spiritual closeness to those affected by the disaster, is a small part of the financial support being sent to Mexico through many bishops conferences and Caritas organizations.

On September 19, 2017, the National Seismological Service reported an earthquake in Mexico of 7.1 magnitude located in the state limit between the states Puebla and Morelos, about 7.4 miles southeast of Axochiapan, Morelos and 74.5 miles from Mexico City.

The tremor happened on the day Mexico City commemorated the 32nd anniversary of the most destructive shake that the city experienced in the 80s with preparation drills held earlier in the day in buildings across the city. The 1985 Mexico City earthquake struck in the early morning of September 19 with a moment magnitude of 8.0.

Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto, activated the Emergency Care Fund with the intention of using the resources to meet the food, shelter and health needs of the affected population.

According to the National Seismic Service, Mexico is in an area of high seismicity due to the interaction of 5 plates tectonics: The plate of North America, the one of Cocos, the one of the Pacific, the plate of Rivera and the plaque of the Caribbean. For this reason, the occurrence of earthquakes is not rare. The National Seismic Service reports on average the occurrence of 40 earthquakes per day.