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 Editorials | Environmental | July 2007 
Mexico City Fear: Being Swallowed by Earth
 Cox News Service
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 |  | When the Aztecs moved here, they could have never imagined the problems (this location) would generate.
- Martín Argueta, Geological Service |  | | Mexico City — As if life-shortening pollution, hours-long traffic jams and kidnappings weren't bad enough, Mexico City residents now have to worry about the earth opening up and swallowing them.
As the summer rainy season hits, concern is growing that hundreds of cracks, holes and fractures that line this city could open up with disastrous consequences in a metropolitan area of 20 million people.
The fear became reality earlier this month in a Mexico City slum when heavy rainfall ruptured a festering fissure in the street, swallowing a car and a curious onlooker who was killed when he tumbled into the muddy depths 60 feet below.
Mexico City's latest urban ill stems from its unique geography and history. Built on a drained lake bed after the Spanish destroyed the Venice-like city of Tenochtitlan, Mexico City has been sinking steadily for centuries, falling the equivalent of a three-story building since 1900.
At the same time, the sinking megalopolis has been slaking its thirst by draining the underground aquifer beneath the city. And if that wasn't enough, the city also sits over a maze of geological faults and abandoned mines.
The underground cracks and crevices are exacerbated by rain, which also threatens to overwhelm the city's faulty drainage system.
A massive pipe, the Grand Canal, is meant to funnel waste out of the bowl-like valley over which Mexico City is sprawled. Experts say a particularly heavy rain could trigger a catastrophic flood of filthy sewage.
"When the Aztecs moved here, they could have never imagined the problems (this location) would generate," said Martín Argueta of the Mexican Geological Service. "We aren't going to get rid of these cracks, but we need to learn how to manage the risk."
Much of the danger stems from the unregulated growth in Mexico City that saw makeshift neighborhoods extend into the most fragile areas of the valley.
Government officials often promoted the unregulated growth in return for captive votes. Engineers have been calling for more building restrictions, but with most of the metro area carpeted with homes and businesses, it may be too late.
Perhaps most at risk is the sprawling neighborhood of Iztapalapa. Bigger than the Mexican cities Guadalajara and Monterrey, Iztapalapa is home to some of Mexico City's poorest — and unluckiest —residents.
More than 200 cracks threaten 10,000 homes in Iztapalapa, due to a combination of underground faults and draining of the aquifer. Officials say they have money to fill only a small percentage of the cracks. |
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