On September 19 at 3:14 PM a massive earthquake shook Central Mexico killing hundreds, injuring thousands, and leaving a significant number of buildings collapsed.

The 7.1 magnitude quake, according to CNN reporter Nicole Chavez, was centered in Mexico City, and was felt in the surrounding states of Puebla, Mexico, and Morelos.

Chavez also reported immediately following the disaster, “In Mexico City, thousands of soldiers, rescuers, and civilians –including college students– were working side by side to dig through tall piles of rubble from dozens of crumbled buildings.”

The earthquake felled many buildings including a school. According to David Agren of  The Guardian, the death toll at the Enrique Rebsamen school stood at “22 – 20 students and two teachers – while another 30 individuals were still missing” as of 20 September 2017.

This tragedy at the school was difficult to handle for local residents, Agren reported. In the days immediately following the quake, local residents gathered to search for children. One resident whom Agren spoke with was Silverio Perez, a lawyer, who “rushed to the scene and started digging at the wreckage with his bare hands.” Perez told Agren, “I heard kids crying when I got there and saw them hurt. Badly.”

The effects of the quake were felt beyond Mexico’s borders as well. According to The Chicago Tribune’s Adriana Gomez Licon, “the earthquake that killed nearly 300 people and destroyed dozens of buildings in Mexico set off a frantic response in communities near the U.S as people urgently try to connect with their family members and find out methods to export emergency help, money, and goods as well as raise funds for smaller towns around the capital they say are receiving less help from the government. Those in the country illegally wish they could travel to help their loved ones cope with the aftermath but are afraid they wouldn’t be able to return.”

Emergency agencies like the Red Cross began helping the earthquake victims with food, shelter, and resources. According to Gomez Licon, “A grocery store chain in Las Vegas that caters to the area’s Hispanic community is also hosting a fundraiser this weekend at one of its shops where it will have local bands and sell tacos and donate proceeds to the Mexican Red Cross.”

Gomez Licon states that other areas, including Miami, Florida, are pitching in to help out. She writes, “In Miami, a group is hosting a Day of the Dead arts and crafts event for families and sending money from ticket sales to the Topos, a group of rescue workers who emerged after the 1985 earthquake killed thousands in Mexico.” She also states, ”In San Diego the people in charge of commerce in the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa border communities started a drive to collect donated goods and export them to Mexico City on a private plane.”

U.S. President Donald Trump reacted to the disaster just after it occurred stating, “God bless the people of Mexico city. We are with you and will be there for you.”