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1985 Mexico City earthquake

The 19 September 1985 Mexico City earthquake killed at least 9,000 people and injured 30,000. The greatest destruction occurred in an area where buildings were built on an old lakebed. The soft sediments below the buildings amplified the shockwaves and reduced the structures to rubble. A phenomenon called liquefaction caused seemingly solid ground to take on the properties of a liquid, and buildings sank into the ground.

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