Gabriela Ituarte says she was at her restaurant Maizal in Toronto’s Liberty Village when she found out about the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that hit Mexico City last Tuesday.
“We were all working here at Maizal and one of the servers said, ‘Hey there is an earthquake happening,’” she said.
“We started going on our phones and we started getting calls from our family members … Of course, we were all shocked because we didn’t realize the gravity of the earthquake.”
Police, firefighters, and locals dug frantically through the rubble of collapsed schools, homes and apartment buildings, looking for survivors of Mexico’s deadliest earthquake in decades as the number of confirmed fatalities climbed to just under 400.
READ MORE: At least 230 people killed after major 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes near Mexico City
“I grew up in the south of the city and that’s the area that was impacted the most,” she said.
“I can’t imagine going back home and not seeing the plaza that I used to go to every Saturday or the schools.”
Just days after, another 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico, causing further damage to the country.
Ituarte grew up in Mexico City but moved to Toronto 10 years ago and she said before the earthquake, her hometown was known for its art and culture.
“It’s a huge city. There’s a lot of people living there,” she said.
“It’s amazing. The diversity in the sense of the things that you can do there. There is art and music, there are different colours and food. It’s just incredible.”
Seeing the devastation motivated Ituarte and fellow staff members to raise money for those in Mexico.
“We were shocked to see buildings that we know destroyed,” she said. “The only thing we could do was sending money or sending things that people need.”
Staff members at Maizal have been donating their tips to relief efforts for Mexico and Ituarte said they have also planned a fundraiser that will take place on Thursday evening.
“We are providing food and drinks and whatever we raise from our sales we will send it back to Mexico,” she said.
— With files from The Associated Press
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