It’s therefore sensible to take some time to review the composition of your habitat and living spaces to help mitigate the risk of damage and injury that may occur during an earthquake, making your situations easier to cope with in the aftermath of a strong seismic event.

Effects of earthquakes on your property

Weak earthquakes may not be felt, or cause a gentle sway with little or no discernible impact on objects or the structure of your home. Stronger earthquakes can cause a wide variety of hazards, including:

• hung objects falling from walls and ceilings;
• furniture and other household items can fall or fly across a room;
• food pantries, crockery storage and other cupboards may be affected as shelving or items stored on the shelves fall;
• mirrors and glass can break causing dangerous shards and splinters;
• tiles, fixtures, and fittings can become loose and/or fall;
• live electricity wires may become exposed;
• gas pipes can break, causing a fire or explosion;
• water pipes can burst, causing the house to flood;
• utilities like electricity, telephone (internet), water, and gas may be cut-off;
• swimming pools may crack open and leak;
• strong quakes can cause buildings to move-off their foundations and collapse.

Earthquake insurance

You can insure your Mexican property and its contents against natural disasters, including earthquake damage—and better policies also cover the costs of temporary alternative accommodation if your home becomes uninhabitable.

If you already have a home cover insurance policy, double-check the renewal date and that the policy specifically covers your home for earthquake damage, as not all policies are comprehensive.  You can learn about protecting your house and its contents on our detailed guide to insuring your home in Mexico.

Preparing your habitat for earthquakes

Some forethought and planning around your home situations can make a material difference when a strong earthquake strikes.  Most earthquake-related injuries and casualties occur when people fall trying to run during the shaking; are hit by falling objects or debris; and/or when they are struck by collapsing walls or buildings.  Considering how your habitat is furnished and arranged, and what impact an earthquake would have on the objects inside of it, can help you to mitigate damage and injury.

Bedrooms

Earthquakes can happen at any time, and it’s possible that you’ll experience an earthquake overnight while you’re in bed.  Situate your bed away from glass and don’t hang heavy pictures/frames or mirrors above the bed; consider also what you may have attached to or hanging from the ceiling above the bed.

Children’s rooms

If you have children, carefully review their bedroom spaces for potentially hazardous fixtures, fittings, and toys that might fall and cause injury during an earthquake. If you have children’s play areas in your home, check that any heavy items that could tip or fall are securely fastened, and cross check outdoor play areas (like tree houses) to mitigate the risk of heavy objects falling onto the children in the event that they are playing there when an earthquake happens.  Be mindful that mirrors and other glassware can fall and/or crack and break; consider relocating any hazardous objects away from children’s bedrooms and other play areas.

Tall and/or heavy furniture

Book-cases, wardrobes, and other heavy furniture which appeared solid and stable when you placed it can fall effortlessly during a strong earthquake—and can pose a lethal risk if they fall on you or block vital exits.

Review the current placement of heavy furniture in your home, and screw large pieces to the wall using metal brackets designed for this; consider also how falling pieces could block your evacuation route and make changes as necessary. Packed boxes, stored baggage, and other stowed heavy items should ideally be kept in defined storage spaces, or low-down, so that they don’t cause a falling hazard.

Fixtures and fittings

Review your home’s fixtures and fittings and consider how they may behave in the event of an earthquake.

Picture frames and wall art: Picture frames (especially those framed using glass) and mirrors should be securely fastened to walls using double-hooks, and mirrors especially can benefit from additional fastening with putty (mastique).

Shelving, cupboards and storage units: If you have floor-based shelving or cupboards that store heavy items, for example, in food pantries, crockery storage, laundry areas, tool sheds, etc. it’s wise to ensure that the shelving, cupboard or other storage units are securely screwed to the walls.  When an earthquake comes, these types of units can become unstable and fall over.  Replacing the items could be costly, and if someone is nearby them when the quake comes, units laden with heavy objects could fall on top of people.  It’s prudent to avoid storing heavy objects on open shelves near frequently used work or transit areas.

Overhead hanging objects: Overhead lamps and chandeliers should be routinely checked to ensure that they remain securely anchored, especially in older properties where the wood or cement ceilings they are attached to may be in a state of decay.  If you have a heavy (e.g. iron) chandelier over/near a bed or other space where people rest or meet (e.g. a dining table or desk), ensure it’s very well secured, or consider relocating or removing it.

Bookshelves and other storage: If you have heavily laden bookshelves, don’t place these too near any beds or other resting places, nor along key exit routes, even if they are fastened to the wall.  Heavy cabinets ought to be fastened to the wall if they are in a space near where people work or sit, or near doors or exit routes.  Consider installing latches on high cupboard doors to prevent objects from falling out of them in the event of a quake.

Water heaters

Most water heaters in Mexico are gas-fired.  Your water heater should be securely strapped to a strong load-bearing wall using appropriate brackets.  Ensure you know how to switch-off the gas feed and water supplies.  If you are (re)installing your home’s water heater, consider using modern flexible gas piping instead of metal pipework.

Learn more about caring for and insuring your home in Mexico

Mexperience publishes extensive information to help you plan and care for your home life in Mexico through guides, articles and free eBooks:

• Further advice about how to plan and what to do during and after an earthquake is available online.
• Read our free guides about house maintenance and home security
• Latest articles about property insurance
• Articles about real estate in Mexico

Different words for earthquake in Mexico

Mexicans have three words for earthquake:

Temblor —literally “tremor”— is the most commonly used, and is applied to most of the small and medium sized quakes that rattle parts of the country from time to time.

Terremoto is reserved for the big earthquakes, like the ones that struck in April 2013 on the border between Guerrero and Oaxaca states, and the powerful ones that struck southern regions of the country and Mexico City in September 1985 and September 2017.

Sismo —a seismic event— is a more  scientific term preferred by geologists, officials, and some others, including many journalists, but you will rarely, if ever, hear somebody ask in conversation “¿sentiste el sismo?”

Magnitude can guide word choice, but there’s no set rule

There is no specific level or “magnitude” that defines whether an earthquake gets the name “temblor” or “terremoto.”  Nor is there any specific amount of damage to draw a line between the two, although anyone calling the disastrous quakes that hit Mexico in September 1985 and September 2017 a temblor would definitely be scoffed at for their understatement.

The choice of word can also depend on where the person was at the time of experiencing the quake, and under what conditions. Someone on the ground floor in a rocky part of the town or city might shrug off as a temblor what another on the 10th floor of a tower built on the muddy ancient lake bed of the capital would refuse to call anything but a terremoto, given the increased swaying.

Insuring your property in Mexico is an essential service you need to consider as part of your budget planning. Covering your house, personal property, and any watercraft your own will mitigate your liabilities in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

Insure your home in Mexico against natural disasters and unforeseen events

Mexperience provides you with comprehensive insights about insuring your home and personal goods in Mexico.  Connect to our articles for details:

• Overview of insurance coverages for your home in Mexico
• Choosing the right insurance policy for your Mexican home
• Practical Checklist for home insurance coverages
• Protecting your home from burglars
• Insurance for domestic workers at your home
• Protecting against major damage to your home
• See all articles about property insurance in Mexico

Mexico’s Earthquakes Sep 7 & 19, 2017

A strong earthquake of magnitude 8.1 on the Richter Scale (see article below) was recorded by the USGS just before midnight local time on September 7, 2017.  The epicenter was under the Pacific Ocean about 60 miles off the coast of Chiapas and the most affected areas are the states of Oaxaca and Chiapas.

Another strong earthquake, magnitude 7.1, hit Mexico at around 1:14 p.m. local time on September 19, 2017. The epicenter was in the state of Puebla, not far from Mexico City. This earthquake, which came to pass 12 days after the last major seismic event and precisely on the anniversary of Mexico’s devastating 1985 earthquake, caused loss of life and structural damage to buildings in the capital as well some places in states surrounding the capital.

Earthquakes are naturally-occurring phenomena most commonly caused by a sudden release of energy from the planet’s crust, or movement of ‘fault lines’ deep beneath the Earth’s surface which cause seismic waves to occur. Other events—such as volcano eruptions and major landslides can also cause them.

The Richter Scale (RS), popularly quoted to convey the magnitude of earthquakes, does so using a non-linear scale, which can be confusing. For example, a magnitude of 2 on the RS is equivalent to about the power of 450 kilograms of dynamite, whereas a magnitude of 8 is equivalent to 15 million tons of dynamite; and an 8.5 equivalent to 84 million tons of dynamite.

Although all countries are subject to earth tremors and quakes, some countries are more prone to large earthquakes than others.  Small earthquakes happen daily and Mexico is also susceptible to potentially large earthquakes, along with most of the western edge of the North American continent, due in part (but not exclusively) to the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate that resides near there.

The most destructive Mexican earthquake in recent decades is the one that came to pass in September 1985—registering 8.1 on the Richter Scale.  There are factors other than magnitude that will determine the physical effects of an earthquake’s aftermath including the local topography, the age, quality and state of the structures affected, as well as technical factors like depth of the epicenter, shake amplitude, shake frequency, and the peak velocity of the quake.

Modern buildings in Mexico are built to exacting standards, and just as modern buildings along Mexican coastlines are designed and built to withstand hurricanes, modern structures here are also built to withstand earthquakes.

If you’ve never experienced an earthquake (most quakes with a magnitude RS 4 or less are not felt), your first experience of seeing and sensing a building or vehicle move (or shake) while you’re inside of it can be quite unnerving.  Public buildings throughout Mexico (which includes hotels) have evacuation procedures and routes in place, clearly advertised on wall postings.  Look for the words “Sismo” or “Temblor”—instructions are otherwise presented using illustrations, so you don’t need to read any Spanish beyond that to interpret them.

If you happen to be in a large enclosed building when the earthquake starts, seek refuge under a strong desk or table, move away from objects that can fall (lights, tools, books, and tall furniture), and keep away from windows and mirrors. Power cuts might follow an earthquake; power outages are quite frequent in Mexico as a matter of course and even a reasonably small earthquake can cause some damage to electrical equipment.  Some forethought and planning around your home set-up can help to mitigate risks of injury and damage.

If you are outside, keep away from tall buildings, especially those which are enclosed in glass, and seek refuge in an open space until the earthquake passes. Stay calm, keep your cool, and make considered movements. (One recent small earthquake in Mexico claimed a life when a person panicked and ran outside into the path of an oncoming vehicle.) Most earthquakes don’t tend to last more than a minute.

See Also: Terremoto o Temblor? Well, it depends