Andrea Noel, 09.08.17<\/p>\n
Well over 300 aftershocks have been reported across Mexico<\/a> following Mexico\u2019s strongest earthquake<\/a> in a century. The magnitude 8.2 earthquake hit the Pacific coast around midnight, just a few miles out from Pijijiapan, Chiapas<\/a>\u2014a southern Mexican city roughly 100 miles from the border between Mexico and Guatemala<\/a>.<\/p>\n The death toll is expected to be high. As of Friday afternoon, 58 people have been confirmed killed, including children.<\/p>\n The initial tremors reverberated far and wide, as far as Mexico City<\/a>, and were felt by as many as 50 million people, but the massive quake hit hardest in Mexico\u2019s most impoverished southern states, Oaxaca and Chiapas\u2014the state that birthed the Zapatista uprising of the mid-\u201990s, when a revolutionary, largely indigenous, guerrilla army waged war against the Mexican State. The final death toll from the quake will likely not be known for days, as the damage is surveyed, and aftershocks continue.<\/p>\n The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a series of alerts this Friday as they evaluated the possibility of walls of water affecting the region. \u201cTsunami waves reaching more than three meters above the tide level are possible along some coasts of Mexico,\u201d an alert issued read an alert issued Friday afternoon, adding \u201ctsunami waves have been observed.\u201d<\/p>\n Hundreds of aftershocks, some above 6 points on the Richter scale, have rattled the affected areas and are expected to continue and cause further damage.<\/p>\n In Mexico City, where roughly 13,000 people died in a 1985 earthquake that caused destruction that took years to recover from, earthquake sirens blared through the night but damage was minimal and no deaths have been reported there thus far.<\/p>\n One reporter stoically remained seated during a live broadcast, as colorful earthquake lights illuminated the skyline.<\/p>\n But the least fortunate in Mexico were among the most severely impacted by the earthquake, which could produce its own political aftershocks as states already facing massive inequality and poverty spend upcoming months or even years dealing with the damage.<\/p>\n In Juchit\u00e1n, Oaxaca, at least 17 have been confirmed dead as buildings collapsed into rubble, and three people remain trapped under debris. The city\u2019s town hall, once a stately building compared to its surroundings, was leveled by the quake. There, one man rescued the building\u2019s Mexican flag, and placed it atop the rubble.<\/p>\n The image of the flag waving in a scene comparable to a war zone reverberated in Mexico, and #PrayForMexico become the top global trend on Twitter as the world reacted to the earthquake, a catastrophe that struck even as Hurricane Irma raged across the Caribbean and onward toward the United States.<\/p>\n Relief efforts are now under way in Mexico and the true impact of the quake is still being assessed, but already it\u2019s apparent that thousands will face seemingly insurmountable challenges while hoping to recover what little they had.<\/p>\n In Chiapas, Mexico\u2019s poorest state, more than 76 percent of the population live in poverty. In Oaxaca, it\u2019s two out of every three people. Just in these two states there are more than 6.5 million impoverished Mexicans, and roughly 3 million already living in extreme poverty\u2014before the devastating earthquake struck.<\/p>\n The image of the flag waving in a scene comparable to a war zone reverberated in Mexico, and #PrayForMexico become the top global trend on Twitter as the world reacted to the earthquake, a catastrophe that struck even as Hurricane Irma raged across the Caribbean and onward toward the United States.<\/p>\n Relief efforts are now under way in Mexico and the true impact of the quake is still being assessed, but already it\u2019s apparent that thousands will face seemingly insurmountable challenges while hoping to recover what little they had.<\/p>\n In Chiapas, Mexico\u2019s poorest state, more than 76 percent of the population live in poverty. In Oaxaca, it\u2019s two out of every three people. Just in these two states there are more than 6.5 million impoverished Mexicans, and roughly 3 million already living in extreme poverty\u2014before the devastating earthquake struck.<\/p>\n challenges while hoping to recover what little they had.<\/p>\n In Chiapas, Mexico\u2019s poorest state, more than 76 percent of the population live in poverty. In Oaxaca, it\u2019s two out of every three people. Just in these two states there are more than 6.5 million impoverished Mexicans, and roughly 3 million already living in extreme poverty\u2014before the devastating earthquake struck.<\/p>\n The quake left nearly 2 million Mexicans without electricity, and hundreds more saw their homes destroyed.<\/p>\n According to Chiapas State Senator Zoe Robledo, who spoke to The Daily Beast from Tuxtla Gutierrez, his main priority now will be arranging medical attention for the injured, and attending to the families of the deceased, but next comes assisting the newly homeless. \u201cWe don\u2019t have final numbers yet, but considering the size of the impacted areas, we could be looking at more than 10,000 people facing crisis,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen disaster strikes where poverty is prevalent the impact is exponential. It makes reconstruction and seeking aid less possible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are already a vulnerable state for natural disasters\u2014hurricanes, tsunami risks, rising tides\u2014and typically the last thing that is dealt with is the resulting homelessness,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are asking the federal government for support\u2026 if we don\u2019t get meaningful help we\u2019ll be in serious trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n