Mexico holds mass drill to mark quake anniversary

Mexico holds mass drill to mark quake anniversary

An estimated six million Mexicans Monday participated in an earthquake drill on the 26th anniversary of a deadly quake that rocked the Mexican capital.

About 15,000 buildings in Mexico City and seven other states were involved in the drill, which simulated the quake and the events that followed in the quake's immediate aftermath, according to the capital district government.

The drill began at 10:00 local time (15:00 GMT), and in the following 2 to 4 minutes, people left public and private buildings in a gradual and orderly manner.

Earlier on Monday, President Felipe Calderon and a number of his cabinet ministers organized a guard of honor, which included a minute of silence to honor the victims and lowering the national flag at half-mast to remember the people who died in the 1985 quake.

An 8.1-magnitude earthquake struck Mexico City in 1985, killing at least 10,000 people and leaving a quarter of a million homeless.

Speaking at the ceremony, Interior Minister Francisco Blake Mora said the earthquake prompted Mexico to make Sept. 19 "National Civil Protection Day" in an effort to improve national prevention efforts in the event of earthquakes, tsunamis or other natural disasters.

So far in 2011, Mexico has spent some 12 million U.S. dollars on preventive activities through collaboration agreements between key ministries and educational organizations.

Editor: Yamei Wang

English.news.cn   2011-09-20 10:46:16 FeedbackPrintRSS
MEXICO CITY, Sept. 19 (Xinhua)