Small Mexico City Earthquakes Reveal Big Risks for Buildings
A recent swarm of small, shallow earthquakes in Mexico City has raised new concerns about how moderate earthquakes might impact the city buildings. Researchers found that even relatively weak earthquakes produced surprisingly strong ground shaking prompting them to explore potential damage in future scenarios.
In a study published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America Miguel Jaimes and Gerardo Suárez from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México modeled the expected damage from moderate earthquakes in three key regions of the Mexico City basin. Their scenarios were based on past earthquakes including a 2023 event in La Magdalena Contreras the 2018 San Juan de Aragón earthquake and the 1995 Milpa Alta and 1985 Juchitepec earthquakes.
Their findings highlight the criti...