Mexicans begin rebuilding following massive quake
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Forty-five seconds in "earthquake-time" can almost last an eternity.
Ask Hector Jaime. A counselor in the Mexico Guadalajara Mission presidency, President Jaime was driving to his home in Colima, Mexico, late Jan. 21 when a 7.8-magnitude temblor began shaking beneath him.
"The ground was moving up and down, up and down," President Jaime said. The rumbling continued for about 45 seconds — long enough to panic folks living in Colima and cities as far east as Guadalajara and Mexico City.
"People were running outside their homes when the earthquake started," he added.
The massive quake, centered in Mexico's Colima state, reportedly claimed 28 lives, injured some 300 others and left more than 10,000 people homeless. More than 500 homes were destroyed and at least 1,500 were severely damaged, according to the Church's General Welfare Committee.
No members or missionaries were killed or seriously injured, although six member homes were lost, "and another 15 member homes [experienced] light damage," said Terry Spallino, the Church's director of temporal affairs in Mexico. A home being used by a pair of full-time missionaries was also lost.
Minor damage was reported at four LDS meetinghouses in the Colima, Tecoman and Manzanillo areas, mainly in the form of ceiling tile displacement. An interior wall outside the district center in Colima sustained major damage and will have to be pulled down and replaced. Members will not be able to meet in the district center for about a month, Brother Spallino said.
Saddened by the loss of life and property, local members in the Colima area have done what they can to help, Brother Jaime said. Many were joining in the clean-up efforts and will likely be enlisted to help rebuild damaged or lost homes. Two meetinghouses were being used as shelters for impacted members and others.
Meanwhile, the Church is expected to donate 60 tons of dried beans to the Mexican government for distribution in the Colima area.
The country is still recovering from a pair of destructive hurricanes that hit the east and west coasts, respectively, late last year. Now recovery from last month's massive quake has begun.
E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com
