A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake shook Mexico City and the surrounding region Tuesday, killing at least 225 people and toppling at least 44 buildings on the 32nd anniversary of a devastating 1985 quake in the city.
While the United States government has not updated the Mexico Travel Warning in the wake of the earthquake, the Mexico Tourism Board has confirmed that the international airport in Mexico City and Puebla are both reopened and that tourist attractions remain open and functioning. People with travel plans to Mexico City should check with their airline and hotel to confirm their plans have not been affected, but the Mexico Tourism Board stated on its site that "there is no reason for visitors to cancel travel plans to Mexico."
While it's too early to estimate the extent of the damage in Mexico at the moment, Alfredo Coutino, the Latin America director for Moody's Analytics, told the AP, "it is certain that economic activity...will continue to be disrupted for some time."
Here's what you can do to help.
Donate Whatever You Can
As the search for survivors continues, signs listing the most-needed items for survivors are popping up in the areas affected by the quake. While it may be tempting to send supplies to Mexico City to help, most charities encourage donating money so that supplies and relief efforts can be coordinated and bought locally.
Major charities, including UNICEF Mexico, Oxfam Mexico, and Save the Children Mexico, are all currently accepting donations to help those affected by the earthquake. GoFundME has also put together a page for specific campaigns to help earthquake victims in Mexico.
Project Paz, a non-profit based in New York dedicated to helping Latinx children, is working with the El Paso Community Foundation to gather donations to help victims of both the Sept. 7 earthquake in Chiapas and Oaxaca, and this week's earthquake in Mexico City in partnership with Fondo Unido México and Fundación Comunitaria Oaxaca.
Topos Mexico is a local group that was created after the 1985 earthquake to perform search and rescue in disaster situations like this. Donations can be made directly to their PayPal to help further their efforts recovering survivors from toppled buildings.
Use the Internet for Good
If you can't donate money, you can still help spread information to those in Mexico affected by the earthquake. Google activated its people finder platform to help people spread information to help missing friends or family members. This Google Spreadsheet is also helping locate victims who have been taken to local hospitals.
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