Earthquake claims 26 lives in the states of Colima, Jalisco, and Michoacan, Mexico. This was a frightening time for me, but for others, it was far more serious. Please realize that these are observations as seen and felt by me! This was my first experience in an earthquake.  I’ve been in several hurricanes and tornados, having come from Florida, but never did I experience the feelings that I did on the evening of 1/21 in Chapala, Mexico.

The epicenter was just off the state of Colima, a small state, some 60 miles from where I live.

Now, I should tell you that I had a terrible cold and felt very bad. While checking on emails etc, I felt really woozy, like the floor was moving, and said to myself that I should hurry up and finish so that I could go home to bed.  Then I felt it again and looked up while the walls were doing their best imitation of a Salvadore Dali painting. They looked like they were melting. I looked overhead and saw that the overhead light was swinging wildly to and fro.  I was the second person out the door!  My mind raced with the thoughts of EARTHQUAKE. Having never been in one before, I was at a loss as to what to do. I ran to the center of the street, where I was met by many other locals.  We all watched as the parked autos bounced and swayed in place and the trees ‘s limbs and foliage shook as if a strong wind was blowing them even though there was no wind.  Concrete telephone poles flipped back and forth like giant tomato stakes in the hands of a giant.  All this time, you could feel and see the street moving back and forth under your feet. Fortunately, the overhead wires are not taut and had slack in them, so none of the wires broke.

Guadalajara suffered more damage than we. I have included several photos of damage done to what was once our city hall and some home damage too. I was told that there were 12 homes that collapsed and the large bell in one of the historic churches fell from it moorings, but thankfully, did not reach the street. Civil Protection and teams of firemen examined some 80 building and found cracks and gaps. In another part of town 19 buildings were found to have cracks.  The Hospital General de Occidente was found to have a large fissure of its fourth floor.

More On Dental Work In Mexico

First, let me apologize to everyone for the delay in answering.  I was surprised and overwhelmed by the response that my small article generated. I tried to answer each one separately and that became too time consuming, so I decided that a general answer to all might do just as well.

Now many of you asked for special procedures such as implants and I'm told that this is only done in this area in Guadalajara. Suction tech to remove mercury fillings and their fumes was also asked about and it can be done here.

One inquiry was re: A plastic surgeon.. Ok, here's one:

DRA. Monica Garzon Diaz
Sta. Maria 3050 Col Vallarta Norte C.P. 44690
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Tel: 013 630 3746 615 6303