Valeria Horner recounts her experience in the Mexico City earthquake

Valeria Horner, 21, is a model living in Mexico City who hails from Guadalajara. Here, she shares with us her account of the earthquake that rocked Mexico City last week.

The earthquake last Tuesday, September 19th, was an event that marked my life and one I will never forget.

However, I do not want to talk that much about myself. Even tough I was very scared, I was so fortunate to leave unharmed (same as all my loved ones) out of the building where I was working, although I ran out of there terrified. What’s really worth talking about is what I found outside, which was those who lost their lives, those who lost family, friends, homes – everything.

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Walking through the streets of Mexico City minutes after the earthquake was shocking, extremely sad and chaotic. I saw ambulances and firefighters everywhere, rubble and glass in the street, children crying, gas leaks, dead bodies, and collapsed buildings. People stood outside their homes watching all of this. Some of them had lost so much that they had to leave everything, because there was no possible way to remedy it.

It was terrifying to watch all that had happened and to hear the news from other people, about families, children, and elderly trapped in the rubble. But among so much darkness I also saw light. People did not stop helping in every possible way. It was beautiful to see how young people, adults and even old people wanted to help in some way, giving their time and effort for their Mexican brothers.

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I am proud of the medical staff, the people in charge of the collection centers, the restaurants offering food and water, the policemen, soldiers and the brigade. I’m proud of the architects and the engineers who helped to evaluate the risks in buildings. Most importantly, I am proud of the reaction of my people to this catastrophe. Watching people helping those who needed it the most, made me reflect about how I can help Chiapas, Oaxaca, Jojutla, and my country in general.

Our help is still necessary and there’s still places where people are still going through precarious situations. I think anyone who says Mexico is a country that has no hope anymore, is wrong, because its hope lies with its people. So please, brothers and sisters from all over the world, I ask for your help.

Click here to find out how you can help victims of the earthquake.

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