Mexican Earthquake

State workers clean houses destroyed by a Jan. 21 earthquake in Colima, Mexico. The Mexican army handed out food and blankets, and manned shelters in Colima. The government hospital that was damaged by the magnitude-7.6 earthquake set up a makeshift clinic outside under plastic tarps, but the lack of power hampered rescue and relief efforts.

A resident salvages items from his house in Colima, a day after the earthquake that killed at least 25 and injured some 300 people. The quake occurred about 8 p.m., so most people were able to quickly run out of their houses, in some cases, turning around to see the structures collapse completely. If it had happened later on when people were sleeping, they might not have been so fortunate.

Children of earthquake victim Maria Rodriguez Macia, 83, comfort each other during the funeral of their mother in Colima Jan. 22, 2003. Rodriguez, 84, died when the walls of her house fell on her Tuesday night The wake was held on the street because, said her son, "We're too afraid to have it inside. You felt how the ground moved just now."

Maria Elena Ramirez recuperates at Regional University Hospital, as her sister Maria Angelina Ramirez looks on. Maria Elena, 47, was pulled from a pile of rubble that once was her home, along with her 7-year-old son Jesus Martin. "We were trapped, we were screaming for help, but no one could get us out until some people in a passing car stopped and pulled the rubble off us," recounted Ramirez, who was treated for multiple injuries.

Mexico's President Vicente Fox listens to a resident who lost her home after the earthquake. Fox toured devastated neighborhoods Jan. 22, promising to help rebuild the houses from newer, stronger materials that would withstand the force of future quakes. About 10,000 people have been left homeless by the Jan. 21 earthquake.

President Fox waves to residents who lost their homes after the earthquake. Before Jan. 21, the last substantial earthquake in the Colima area was in 1995. It registered a magnitude of 8.0 and killed 49 people. At least 100 people were injured in that quake, which was a little northwest of the Jan. 21 earthquake.

A sniffer dog walks through the rubble of a destroyed home as soldiers works in Colima, Mexico. Only two days after the earthquake, soldiers and sailors fanned out to help residents and survey the damage. Many survivors are still crowded in shelters or beginning to clean rubble from their shattered homes in Colima state, 300 miles west of Mexico City.

Rescue workers in yellow suits dug through wrecked buildings, using pneumatic drills and their bare hands to pull away concrete slabs in search of survivors, and passers-by, relatives and neighbors joined the battle to save those trapped.

An unidentified man holds a street sign while he examines the remains of a house in Colima.

Jose Luis Galarza helps a friend gather belongings from the remains of a destroyed home.

Workers clean the street near destroyed houses.

Colima residents look at the destruction in their neighborhood after the powerful earthquake that ripped through western and central Mexico, collapsing dozens of houses and leaving the worst-hit state shrouded in darkness with power outages.

Colima residents sift through the remains of their houses. Even houses that were not completely destroyed were rendered uninhabitable after the quake ripped away large chunks of brick and tore cracks that stretched the lengths of plaster walls. In nearby Guadalajara (Mexico's second-largest city) bells from one of the colonial city's ancient churches fell from the tower and dozens of homes partially collapsed.

Colima resident Manuel Nestas looks at his house early morning, Jan. 22, 2003. One of the worst-hit areas was Colima's historic downtown, where adobe houses built 50 to 100 years ago were pulverized.

Colima resident Graciela Lomeli stands near the rubble of her house, destroyed during the Jan. 21 earthquake.

Newspapers in Mexico City Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003, feature headlines about the previous night's earthquake in western Mexico.

The quake also rocked Mexico City, 300 miles east of the epicenter, sending terrified residents fleeing into the streets. The only real damage came to the Mexican capital in the form of power outages and minor cracks in several buildings.

Mexico City residents stand outside their homes following the earthquake. Mexico City is built atop a former lake bed in a mountain valley that acts as a sort of amplifier for the motion of quakes.