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Government or official record

The Mexico Earthquake of September 19, 1985

U.S. Geological Survey

Where this source supports the record

Each entry separates the article’s editorial relevance note from its exact, section-level claims. A bibliography link without a direct claim is labeled plainly.

  1. Natural disasters · 19 September 1985

    Mexico City Earthquake

    Tlatelolco disaster and memorial area · Mexico

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    Why editors use it here

    Contemporary multidisciplinary reconnaissance report on seismology, structural damage, lifelines, and response.

    1. Quick read

      At 7:19 on 19 September 1985, a great subduction earthquake off Mexico's Pacific coast produced prolonged, amplified shaking in Mexico City.

      Reviewed 4 August 2026
    2. Trigger and conditions

      A long rupture began along the Cocos and North American plate boundary near the Michoacan coast.

      Reviewed 4 August 2026
    3. Uncertainty

      Magnitude is reported as 8.0 or 8.1 depending on scale and catalog.

      Reviewed 4 August 2026
    4. Why it matters

      The 1985 earthquake links geophysics with the social construction of risk.

      Reviewed 4 August 2026