On the afternoon of September 19, 2017, an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck Mexico City. A year later, Expansión described what residents organized by themselves. “Brigadas de ciclistas y motociclistas se encargaban de ir de un punto a otro de la ciudad” (Brigades of cyclists and motorcyclists went from one point of the city to another).
In the streets, people put out extension cords with signs that said conecta tu celular, “plug in your phone.” (Video in Spanish.)
At the collapse sites, “a cada voluntario se le asignaba alguna actividad en específico” (each volunteer was given a specific task). Engineers and architects offered to check damaged houses without charge.