KUSA – When a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Mexico City, Caitlyn Possehl felt it firsthand.
Possehl, who lives in Denver, was in Mexico City for a business trip. She works as a manager for a software and network security company.
She felt the quake while on a highway with colleagues. They were heading to lunch at a mall when they felt the earth begin to move. Possehl’s coworker decided to stop the car. He pointed out that a large sign was shaking back and forth.
“You could sort of see the road moving up and down a little bit,” Possehl said. “Honestly, I’m not accustomed to earthquakes. If he hadn’t pointed out the sign, I don’t know if I would have realized it.”
When Possehl arrived at the mall, she described a different scene. Instead of cars coming to a halt on a highway, it was a panicked crowd.
“All of these businesspeople started streaming out all of the buildings around us,” said Possehl. “I have to imagine it was a lot scarier in one of those buildings, to kind of hear things shifting around.”
Possehl said she feels blessed she and her colleagues are not hurt. But friends and family back home feared the worst.
“I think maybe four minutes had passed before my boyfriend was texting me saying, ‘Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you alright?’”
Possehl said the worst damage happened in a different part of the city.
“We’re in a very commercial area of the city,” said Possehl. “It’s a lot of very brand new buildings that have been built to withstand earthquakes. They have a lot of small earthquakes here, being on a fault line.”
While the airport had to temporarily shut down, Possehl said her flight back to the States is still scheduled for tomorrow.
Her biggest takeaway? The good Samaritans helping others in a crisis.
“They all pulled together to see how they can help, what they can offer… And it’s just been awesome to see,” said Possehl.
