In the month of September alone, two major earthquakes hit Mexico City, claiming hundreds of lives (REUTERS). Mexico City is so prone to earthquakes because its downtown area is built where the Cocos Plate and North American Plate converge. Furthermore, the ground the city is anchored onto is a very soft and wet soil, which amplifies the shaking caused by the “crumpling arising from the downward bending of the sinking Cocos Plate” (Vidale). The soil of Mexico City is prone to liquefaction, in which dirt turns into a dense liquid from sufficient churning. The two recent earthquakes in Mexico City were caused by this crumpling of the Cocos Plate and liquefaction of the above soil. Since these two devastations, an early warning app named SkyAlert has been used by nearly 6 million users, becoming one of the most downloaded apps in Mexico (REUTERS).

Alvaro Velasco, the co-founder and director of SkyAlert, is trying to expand to other earthquake-prone countries in Latin America but is struggling to find a sustainable business model because of recent change of regulation in Mexico City in regards to accessing funds through public financing. While SkyAlert warns people of a coming earthquake through detection sensors distributed around the city and a mobile system, the government funded nonprofit alert system, CIRES, warns the citizens of Mexico City through a network of sirens positioned throughout the city. Both companies sell alerting systems but the government requires buildings to purchase systems from CIRES, so SkyAlert’s public funding is extremely limited. SkyAlert is looking to monetize its free app through paid advertising and by offering a premium version for an annual fee of $4 (REUTERS). No matter how SkyAlert or CIRES stay funded, the takeaway from this article is that citizens of Mexico City have access to alert systems that may help them prepare for and stay safe in the case of coming earthquakes.

 

REUTERS. (2017, October 19). After Massive Quakes, Millions in Mexico Turn to Early Warning App. The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/10/19/technology/19reuters-mexico-quake-app.html

Vidale, J. (2017, September 20). Why Mexico City is so vulnerable to earthquakes. CNN. Retrieved October 22, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/20/opinions/what-made-mexico-shake-vidale/index.html