The unstable grounds
According to the risk atlas of the Iztapalapa mayor’s office, there are four territorial units that present the highest number of buildings damaged by the 2017 earthquakes: Acatitla, Santa María Aztahuacán, San Lorenzo Tezonco and Aculco, which in turn are the ones that present the greatest risks due to cracks and sinkholes.
A study carried out by the UNAM Engineering Institute Regarding Geotechnics, it detected 12 neighborhoods with cracks whose housing areas could be affected:
- Metropolitan Agricultural
- Santa Ana neighborhood in Zapotitlan
- Santa Ana South neighborhood
- From sea
- prickly pear
- Miguel Hidalgo
- Waterhole
- San Francisco Tlaltenco
- San Andres Mixquic
- Santa Catarina Yecahuizotl
- Selene
- Central American Village
In Xochimilco, 12 neighborhoods were also detected with risks due to cracks and subsidence due to the lacustrine and chinampera area in which different houses were built:
- Xaltocan neighborhood
- San Juan Moyotepec neighborhood
- the jasmine
- south gardens
- the shell
- The Ferris Wheel
- the experts
- Town of San Gregorio Atlapulco
- Village of Santa Maria Nativitas
- San Isidro Tulyehualco
- St Geronimo
- Rinconada Housing Unit.
In this context, the commissioner for the reconstruction of the capital said that in view of the problem, an easy-to-consult document was designed for inhabitants of the south-east of the capital or who are in areas of cracks and subsidence where it is suggested building materials suitable for the area.
“All our single-family home prototypes break the paradigm of construction as it was conceived before, add more partition, weigh it down, make it strong, add more steel because that way it resists more and lasts us a lifetime, because in these areas of cracking , that type of housing does not work, we need lighter housing, with solid structures but with a level of flexibility that allows resistance to the movements of an earthquake, “he said.
The official stressed that although many of the properties in these demarcations are already built, what corresponds to the capital authorities is to inform about the way in which the houses should be maintained or reinforced to avoid collapse or damage, in the presence of of an earthquake of equal or greater magnitude than those that occurred in 2017.
