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CNN Live Today

Interview With Mexican Quake Witness

Aired January 22, 2003 - 10:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: At least 23 people are dead in a powerful earthquake that rocked the heart of Mexico. The powerful quake registered a preliminary magnitude of 7.8, and it happened near the Pacific coast town of Colima, although it was felt more than 300 miles away in Mexico City, and that is where we go now.
Gretchen Peters of the "Christian Science Monitor" is on the phone right now in Mexico City to talk to us about what happened this morning there in Colima. Gretchen, can you describe exactly what happened, and where were you when it happened?

GRETCHEN PETERS, "CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR": I was here in Mexico City at home. The earthquake was felt quite strongly here in the city which is built, as you may know, on an ancient lake bed, making the subsurface here quite unstable.

However, there has been no serious damage reported here. A lot of people spent the night on the streets, refused to go back into their homes, but that was seen more as sort of a panic reaction because the city has been hit by so many really serious quakes, including one in 1985 that killed some 10,000 people here.

HARRIS: And, Gretchen, obviously, as dangerous as an earthquake is, nothing can be more dangerous than when it happens at night. What time did this one hit? As I understand it, it happened sometime during the middle of the night.

PETERS: This one hit at about -- it hit at exactly 8:06 p.m. local time, so a lot of people were home from work. Probably a lot of people were in commute. It does -- the largest casualty reports we have are from the capital city of Colima. The state of Colima is where the largest number of casualties were, and where the epicenter of the quake was located. Mexican authorities have declared a state of emergency there because several residential buildings and office buildings crumbled in the center of the capital city there, and authorities fear more people may be trapped inside the rubble and that the death toll will rise over the course of the day, as they sift through the remains of the buildings.

HARRIS: Well, how big a town is Colima? As I understand it, isn't the area mostly agricultural?

PETERS: The state of Colima is quite agricultural. The capital city has between 125,000 and 150,000 depending on the time of the year, but the authorities are trying to fan out around -- in small villages around Colima that have been affected. That -- those efforts have been hampered in part because of damage to bridges and highways connecting them to those towns because of the earthquake.

HARRIS: Well, actually, then, if that's the case, this toll of only 23 deaths can -- I should say -- shouldn't say only 23 deaths -- but 23 deaths is actually quite a low number, considering the fact this could be a lot worse, then.

PETERS: In fact, Mexican authorities are saying they're quite amazed that the casualties appear to be so low at this point. They do expect them to rise, but they say -- well, I guess every cloud has a silver lining. This may be that for this earthquake, because previous earthquakes of this magnitude in Mexico have killed hundreds.

HARRIS: Well, here's hoping that silver lining gets even bigger and more pronounced there. Thank you, Gretchen Peters, thank you very much. We appreciate it. Take care. Gretchen Peters of the "Christian Science Monitor" talking to us from Mexico City.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 22, 2003 - 10:06   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: At least 23 people are dead in a powerful earthquake that rocked the heart of Mexico. The powerful quake registered a preliminary magnitude of 7.8, and it happened near the Pacific coast town of Colima, although it was felt more than 300 miles away in Mexico City, and that is where we go now.
Gretchen Peters of the "Christian Science Monitor" is on the phone right now in Mexico City to talk to us about what happened this morning there in Colima. Gretchen, can you describe exactly what happened, and where were you when it happened?

GRETCHEN PETERS, "CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR": I was here in Mexico City at home. The earthquake was felt quite strongly here in the city which is built, as you may know, on an ancient lake bed, making the subsurface here quite unstable.

However, there has been no serious damage reported here. A lot of people spent the night on the streets, refused to go back into their homes, but that was seen more as sort of a panic reaction because the city has been hit by so many really serious quakes, including one in 1985 that killed some 10,000 people here.

HARRIS: And, Gretchen, obviously, as dangerous as an earthquake is, nothing can be more dangerous than when it happens at night. What time did this one hit? As I understand it, it happened sometime during the middle of the night.

PETERS: This one hit at about -- it hit at exactly 8:06 p.m. local time, so a lot of people were home from work. Probably a lot of people were in commute. It does -- the largest casualty reports we have are from the capital city of Colima. The state of Colima is where the largest number of casualties were, and where the epicenter of the quake was located. Mexican authorities have declared a state of emergency there because several residential buildings and office buildings crumbled in the center of the capital city there, and authorities fear more people may be trapped inside the rubble and that the death toll will rise over the course of the day, as they sift through the remains of the buildings.

HARRIS: Well, how big a town is Colima? As I understand it, isn't the area mostly agricultural?

PETERS: The state of Colima is quite agricultural. The capital city has between 125,000 and 150,000 depending on the time of the year, but the authorities are trying to fan out around -- in small villages around Colima that have been affected. That -- those efforts have been hampered in part because of damage to bridges and highways connecting them to those towns because of the earthquake.

HARRIS: Well, actually, then, if that's the case, this toll of only 23 deaths can -- I should say -- shouldn't say only 23 deaths -- but 23 deaths is actually quite a low number, considering the fact this could be a lot worse, then.

PETERS: In fact, Mexican authorities are saying they're quite amazed that the casualties appear to be so low at this point. They do expect them to rise, but they say -- well, I guess every cloud has a silver lining. This may be that for this earthquake, because previous earthquakes of this magnitude in Mexico have killed hundreds.

HARRIS: Well, here's hoping that silver lining gets even bigger and more pronounced there. Thank you, Gretchen Peters, thank you very much. We appreciate it. Take care. Gretchen Peters of the "Christian Science Monitor" talking to us from Mexico City.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com