Over 200 people have been killed in the 7.1 earthquake that shook Mexico City on Tuesday.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Julian Zaldivar from West Palm Beach who was born and raised in Mexico City.
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Zaldivar still has friends and family in the city. On Tuesday, his mother called him as the earth was shaking.
“She was freaking out,” Zaldivar said. “She was really scared. She said that all the windows in our house were shattering and all the light bulbs were moving around.”
Frantically he tried to get a hold of his dad who was staying at a hotel at the time, but phone lines in the area were down.
“It was impossible for us to reach my dad for a few hours, which was really scary,” Zaldivar said.
All that time, he watched the news and searched online for the latest information about the earthquake.
Then finally he heard from his dad.
“He was actually trapped at the hotel. The stairs had collapsed,” Zaldivar said.
His dad sent him pictures of the cracked walls of his hotel.
Zaldivar is thankful that his friends and family are safe.
“Social media was key this time,” Zaldivar said. “It made people feel okay that their family members or friends were safe.”
