Update: Mexico’s largest earthquake in the last 100 years

5 October 2017

Many people affected by the earthquake in early September are still living in tents. Some are awaiting repairs to their homes whereas others are afraid to return to buildings. Over 6,000 aftershocks have occurred and tremors continue, causing increased damage and anxiety for families. Sadly people have not been able to return to normal activities, most children are not attending school and the economic impact has led to increased unemployment.

The latest reports confirm that 2,762 Compassion-supported children have been impacted. Our Mexican field staff are working tirelessly to meet the needs of families in the damaged areas of Juchitán, Tonalá, Miraflores and the surrounding communities. Thanks to resources from RESPOND, they’ve been able to provide children and families with food, health and hygiene assistance, temporary shelter and trauma recovery support.

Please pray for:

• The aftershocks and tremors to end.
• Families to find God and experience His nearness in the midst of their struggles.
• Strength for our church partners who are bravely standing and working for the benefit of children and their families.
• God’s peace to bring a sense of safety and comfort to children in these areas.

Compassion Mexico will keep us updated as more information becomes available.

26 September 2017

Aftershocks continue from the September 7 earthquake, with two stronger ones occurring over the weekend, causing damaged buildings to collapse and also an important bridge connecting two main cities.

Our field office staff have continued working on the response plan for Chiapas and Oaxaca, even in light of the second quake that hit last week. The army, navy and other organisations are also working in these areas, providing groceries and support for emotional recovery. Field staff are being intentional to ensure Compassion’s resources are used to complement what these other agencies are providing. They anticipate affected families will need support for several months.

24 Compassion church partners and 2,418 Compassion-supported children have been impacted. In the coming weeks, Compassion Mexico plans to provide counselling and emotional support to children.

The response plan consists of three phases:

1.  The work up until now has included relief through meals, groceries, hygiene kits, and health support.

2. This second phase will involve helping children and families recover by ensuring they have the necessary support for health, hygiene, temporary shelter and income generation. This phase is still being planned and will be funded thorough RESPOND Initiatives. 

3. The final phase will involve rebuilding homes of affected children and families, also through RESPOND.  

Please continue praying for children and their families as they recover.

20 September 2017

Another earthquake struck central Mexico on Tuesday 19 September at 1.14pm local time. The epicentre is southwest of Puebla and at least 217 people are confirmed dead. You can find the latest information and updates here. 

14 September 2017

Update on Mexico

Oaxaca and Chiapas states were most affected by last week’s earthquake in Mexico. They are home to about 9 million people and are two of the most impoverished areas in Mexico. Around 100 people died. 

Whilst field staff and our Church partners continue to assess the impact, we have had a report of 52 Compassion-supported children having been affected and 15 church partners too.

Our RESPOND programme has been supporting these families with groceries, clean water and shelter as needed. Several homes of church staff were destroyed, but they are still working to visit, comfort and pray with children and their families. The Compassion field office is preparing a response plan to address long-term needs, including trauma counselling, provisional shelter, reconstruction and activities to help restart the economies in affected communities where the Compassion-supported children live.

Update on Guatemala

Heavy rains have caused some delays in assessing the impact of last week’s earthquake on Guatemalan Church partners and Compassion-supported children. In the latest report 2 Church partners were affected and 11 Compassion children. 

Please continue to pray for safety and provision of our children and church partners as they rebuild their homes and deal with loss. We will contact you directly if your sponsored child has been impacted. 

11 September 2017

On 7 September, an 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck 100 miles west of the state of Chaipas in Mexico. With the epicenter being near Pijijiapan, Chiapas which is one of the communities where Compassion works. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said the earthquake was the strongest earthquake in Mexico in the last century. The earthquake was felt as far as Mexico City and Guatemala City. 

_{*Source: BBC}

Since the earthquake, there have been over 150 aftershocks, several surpassing 5.0 magnitude. Chiapas and Oaxaca have been declared in a state of emergency. Numerous deaths have been reported. 

The regional hospital in Juchitán, Oaxaca collapsed, so the government has set up a mobile hospital to take care of the community. Over 1,100 schools are damaged throughout the country and will remain closed until appropriate safety measures can be taken. 

There is no ground transportation, electricity and communications are not stable in some of the communities where Compassion works so information will come slowly. As a result, we do not have specific  information as of yet on the impact this has had on our Compassion Church partners or Compassion-supported children at this time.

• The field office believes at least 14 church partners in Juchitán and surrounding areas may be damaged but no details are available yet.
• Nearly 100 Church partners have cancelled activities for the weekend due to the aftershocks. Civil protection authorities have recommended not resuming activities until the buildings are assessed for safety.
• Church partner staff are visiting children and their families to pray with and encourage them and provide other assistance as needed. The RESPOND disaster funds will be used to ensure they are safe, fed and cared for.

Please join us in praying for:

• All the Church partners that may have been affected
• The families of children who may have lost their homes
• Partnership Facilitators and Church staff as they work to account for all registered children and ensure they are well.

We will be updating this page with updates we receive from the field. We will contact you directly if your sponsored child has been impacted. 

_{Photo Credit: AP Photo/ Luis Alberto Cruz – Soldiers remove debris from a partially collapsed municipal building in Juchitan, Oaxaca state.}