April 6, 2010. SAN LUIS RIO COLORADO, Son. — Initial inspections found most public and private property in this border city escaped Sunday's earthquake with minimal damage, although an investigation was under way to determine the cause of a fire that happened early Monday morning that destroyed the Sears department store downtown.
Fidel Avila, director of San Luis Rio Colorado Civil Protection Department, said Monday afternoon that municipal and state officials were continuing to tour the city as part of an inventory of damage to homes, businesses and public infrastructure stemming from the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that was centered about 40 miles southwest of San Luis, Ariz.
Hospitals, the Sonora state prison in San Luis and federal structures were among buildings under inspection to ascertain if they could continue to be occupied safely in the wake of the temblor, Avila said.
"We are asking the community to remain calm and stay informed through the radio and other media, but the city is tranquil and we have found no heavy damage," he said.
Electricity and water service were restored to the city early Monday morning after being disrupted in the earthquake, city officials said.
In the meantime, the multi-story downtown building near the border that once housed Dorian's department store was reduced to ashes and rubble, partly because the disruption in utilities stopped the flow of water to hydrants near the store, Avila said.
The fire started about 2:30 a.m. Monday in the building, acquired in recent years by Sears, and firefighters from the Mexican border city and neighboring San Luis, Ariz., worked into the afternoon to contain flames that had also damaged neighboring commercial structures.
Karin Meza, spokeswoman for San Luis, Ariz., said the Arizona border city sent its fire chief, Hank Green and five firefighters, a fire truck and tanker truck across the border to help contain the blaze.
Avila declined to speculate on whether the fire was sparked by the earthquake, saying authorities with the state prosecutor's office will investigate the cause. Quake-related damage, however, had been found in the building prior to the fire.
He added the earthquake caused minor damage to the building occupied by the state Fiscal Agency, which collects taxes and fee payments for state government.
Normal hours of business at that building, located a few blocks south of the border, and at nearby city hall were suspended Monday while structural reviews were completed.
Generally, building damage around the city was limited to fallen stucco or plaster or broken glass, he said.
Avila said fears following the earthquake led to rumors of an impending tsunami at El Golfo de Santa Clara, Son., prompting families from Luis Encinas Johnson, Independencia, Nuevo Michoacan and other communities near the Gulf of California to flee to San Luis Rio Colorado. Those who needed a place to stay were put up in a temporary shelter in El Bosque de Ciudad, a tree-lined park on the south end of the city.
Some of the farming communities in the lower-lying valley south of San Luis Rio Colorado experienced flooding as a result of canal breaks caused by the earthquake, he added.
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Donations sought for Mexico quake victims
The Mexican Consulate in Yuma is seeking donations of bottled water, nonperishable foods and diapers for families in Mexico evacuated from areas near the epicenter of Sunday's earthquake.
The magnitude 7.2 quake sent shock waves throughout San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., and Yuma County.
Numerous families in the agricultural valley southwest of San Luis, Son. have taken refuge in various shelters, among them a park on the south end of the border city.
For more information, call the consulate at 343-0066, 343-9600 or 343-9699. Or, contact Michelle Cuevas with the border city's chapter of Integrated Family Development, a social service agency in Mexico, at (653) 534-1430 or (653) 119-2400.
BY CESAR NEYOY
BAJO EL SOL
http://www.yumasun.com/news/san-57508-son-luis.html |
