[ music ] mexico 1985 a deadly quake. we take you to the scene of the devastation and show you the bay area dogs that helped find survivors. plus mexico city's early quake warning system. can it save lives? and how mexico's devastation helps to show us the most dangerous parts of the bay area in an earthquake. all straight ahead on "second

look." i'm heather holmes and this is "second look." today marks an anniversary. it was on this day that a magnitude 8.1 quake hit mexico. while it was centered 31 miles off the pacific coast it wreaked horrific damage in mexico city 240 miles from the epicenter. the numbers from the earthquake are staggering. nearly 10,000 dead, 30 thousands injured and more than 100,000 left homeless. the damage was 3-4-billion. people felt the quake as far north as houston in the united states. and as far south as guatemala city. many of those killed or injured were caught in buildings that collapsed. five days after the 1985 quake, ktvu's lloyd lacuesta brought us this report from mexico city. >> reporter: they continue to find bodies and even survivors in the collapsed buildings of mexico city. in the fallen justice

department building a rescue worker said they are still hearing the voices of trapped people inside. but time is against them and the rescue attempts are endangered by the possibility of more aftershocks jarring the already weakened structures. they built the downtown over fill of a dry lakebed. >> perhaps then they will have the buildings to have some promise of design -- perhaps problems of design perhaps. but the main problem here is we really don't have good land to receive the earthquakes. >> reporter: one worker said it will make months before this part of the city is completely cleaned out because a lot of it still has to be done by hand. what they are appealing for the most is heavy equipment, bulldozers, the big stuff to try to dig out and cut into this rubble. >> the equipment of high machinery, this is what the united states and spain and italy and france and many countries have already sent. there is 20 airplanes already

have landed in mexico city. >> reporter: but the mexican people aren't waiting just for the outsiders. everyone who can is pitching in to help. we found an elderly couple walking down a downtown street carrying a shovel. >> we have at least buildings where they need some help they are asking for tools. >> reporter: water is the other concern. people are using any container they can find to haul the good water that's available. ruptures of the city water system have left many neighborhoods dry. >> water, water por favor. >> reporter: water food and clothing are available at relief centers at various parts of the city. more than 200,000 quake refugees are relying on these centers to keep them alive. the relief effort is well organized and running smoothly. but these supplies will have to last a long time. >> everybody has to help us. i mean, the whole world. >> reporter: the temporary

mortgages are crowded also. ice is used to keep the bodies from decomposing. the mortgages are averaging 100 bodies a day. relatives and friends go through this tent looking for missing loved ones. if a body isn't claimed in two day's time it will be decree mated as a fear of epidemic is great. there is also fear of another strong wake quake. many people are just staying outdoors. they have not forgotten the terror of the earth moving twice. it's the feeling of being nothing. you just cannot do anything. >> reporter: but amidst all of this tragedy there are still scenes of humor. and the salvage of a building that now resembles an open doll house. we watched a man beginning gearly lower to the ground a treasurer, a still very good bottle of wine. carlos is not a tourist but an american photojournalist who grew up in mexico city. >> well, there is a deaf ending sadness about the city. and i have gone over much of it walking. and it seems like everyone is

numb. what one sees, even in the face of other catastrophes even present now this is amazing. >> reporter: the army was everywhere and there was silence. of course many have lost some relatives. >> a few days after lloyd returned from mexico city he caught up with a bay area team of rescue dogs and their handlers also just back from that earthquake zone. here is his report from september 1985. (dogs barking). >> reporter: dusty, an 8-year- old golden retriever and a 6-

year-old german shepherd were the first american dogs to join the rescue efforts in mexico city. they spent three days climbing through the rubble of collapsed buildings as part of the swiss disaster doing teams. they have had years of training in the swiss method of finding people. their team found more than 100 bodies and nine people who lived. >> when somebody is alive, when they are getting live scent the dog reacts much more violently. when somebody is dead it is still human scent to the dog but they don't, sometimes they don't even bark but sniff and paw a little bit. >> they are members of the california rescue dog association. they have used these dogs before in disasters. the mud creek mud slide. but mexico city was especially trying. >> there were times we had to go down into the rubble into a little air face or tunnel and send the dog and work him. and i was terrified. and the stench from the

decaying bodies, just made you want to throw up. it was so strong. >> i get, for me a sense of relief and good feeling even if i can find a dead body or the dog can find dead body in our group because that gives the family some peace of mind. they can at least put their family or their loved one or their child to rest. >> training is constant for them. they have been home for only two days and may be called out to the east coast for possible rescues in the aftermath of hurricane gloria. the dog teams rely on contributions to meet expenses. flights to mexico and back were free. >> still to come on "second look" we take you back to mexico city one month after that killer quake to show you how the recovery began. and a bit later check in on the state of earthquake early warning systems. ktvu, channel 2 news morning news weekdays starting at 5

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. >> on this date in 1985, a devastating earthquake hit mexico city. buildings collapsed. people were trapped. nearly 10,000 died and 30,000 were injured. ktvu's chuck layton was there one month after the quake as the recovery began. >> it's been nearly a month since the wigs ever earthquake decimated a large portion of that city's downtown area. with the dust now settled the final count of casualties is staggering. more than 212 key government buildings destroyed or damaged beyond use. another 1,000 or more buildings including primary and secondary schools as well as private homes either destroyed or uninhabitable leaving tens of thousands homeless. and of course many thousands dead. the final count may never be known. but in the midst of the rubble there is the distinct feeling that life goes on. the roads are as always crowded with traffic and children playing. morning and afternoon commuters crowd through city streets

creating one of the world's most formidable traffic jams. now almost taking for granted the sights of devastation that are so common. the parks are again frequented by people relaxing, children playing. and to see them one almost gets the feeling that none of this ever happened. almost. even the army which played such a dominant role in controlling the situation immediately following the earthquake seems to have adopted a more relaxed posture. at a glance the city seems, for the most part, to have returned to normal. but while life goes on for the majority of people in mexico for others it has been shattered. some 44,000 people who a month ago lived in houses and apartments now with their homes destroyed make the streets their home. living in tents, eating as they can. and getting water rations from the trucks and contaminated city wells. and now after weeks of this, these homeless are wondering what will be done to relocate them. the mexican government has said

it has been seen to. >> we have already 9,000 units that were built for other people but they will be assigned now to the people that needs the houses. and we hope that maybe in less than three or four months everybody who needs a house will have one. >> but the 9,000 units are few compared to the number of homeless and most of them are located well outside of the capital many miles away from where these people live and work. most say this represents no solution at all. >> we know that a lot of help came from abroad and we haven't got any help. the government has taken that in their hands and we don't know where it is the help. you can see how our end camp am. >> they expressed their discontent by hanging this banner outside of their territory tent which reads sarcastically this is a solution to the housing problem. they fear that the government while promising new housing is really hoping that the problem will just go away.

or be absorbed into the provinces. such fears and dissatisfaction with the situation have sparked a rash of protests such as this one at the residence of mexican's president madrid. the mexican press secretary responds to their fears. >> i think this is absolutely without reason. there is government agency called the ministry of urban development and housing precisely, which has taken care of the people that needs the houses more. but the problem is that now everybody wants a house. >> reporter: but instead most, if not all of the government's reconstruction fund is earmarked to rebuild government buildings, hospitals and schools. with the fund now totalling around boss 3 billion and with the cold wet months of winter approaching, these victims of the disaster feel they are providing new housing should be one of the highest priorities. >> we really don't know how long we can hold on. i am sure it would be a lot

more assuring if we had the help that was sent for us. >> reporter: so official word is help is on the way, the victims themselves remain skeptical. they say we will believe it when we see it. in mexico city for ktvu, channel 2 news, i'm charles layton. >> where things stand in the efforts to develop an early warning system for earthquakes. and a bit later, where you can find out how saviour area might be in a major quake. 'oppsxgçgzgñw??óóc?

our state is in a al mess. ani'm not going to give you any phony plans or snapp slogans that don't go anywhere. we have to make some tough decisions. we havto live within our means. have got to take the power from the state capit and move it down to the loc level, closer the peoe. and new taxes, without voter approval. have got to pull together not as republicans or asemocrats but as californians first. at this ste in my life, i'm epared to do exactly that.

. three nations now have earthquake early warning systems, japan, taiwan and mexico. mexico developed its system in the years after the devastating 1985 quake. it got its first test nearly a decade later. ktvu's lloyd lacuesta first brought us this support in september 1995. (speaking spanish). >> reporter: some 30 seconds before the earthquake shock waves hit mexico city a warning

went out. it is the first time a significant earthquake has had some advanced warning. one of the safeguards mexico has taken since the destructive mexico city earthquake ten years ago this month. >> they had some very specialized seismic sensors located along the coast. and they were designed that when the ground shaking from any earthquake got large enough, they would transmit a small that said there is a big earthquake in progress. 30 seconds probably to get you time to get into a safe place in a building if you are in a seismically weak building maybe you would have time to get out. (beep beep beep). >> at the u.s. geological survey at the park warning signs went off when they registered the mexico earthquake. >> you can clearly see here the many wave trains that came in across california from the mexico city earthquake. and although this shaking in california goes on for minutes and minutes and minutes, the motions are never very big. >> reporter: when an earthquake

occurs it sets off shock waves. the first are called p for pressure waves. they travel at about 4 miles a second. the second waves are s waves for sheer waives. the type of wave that causes buildings to shake. s waves travel slower than the p waves. these waves are not only felt but can be heard, especially the p waves. this is a tape-recording of the rumbling sound of an earthquake heard in 1969 in california during a radio broadcast. (earthquake noises). >> during the earthquake in 1989, seismic sensors recorded the travel of the p waves and s waves which took 20-30 seconds to reach the bay area. a moderate earthquake here in california in january and two massive quake in haiti and chile raise questions about whether an early warning system might save lives. ktvu's ken wayne first brought us this report in february. >> reporter: this eureka man

was surprised and scared by the earthquake in january. but what if he and co-workers had a few seconds advanced warning? we learned that when the 6.5 quake struck a handful of research areers did receive shake warnings. they were not shared with the public but it was a successful test. and now scientists say they are confident they can issue real- time quake warnings if we are willing to pay for it. >> we are talking tens of millions of dollars to get that kind of coverage. the system probably could work pretty well in the san francisco bay area and in la. >> tomorrow, no. but the idea is that by the end of this year we start to provide warnings to a small group of test users. >> bart plans to test it to stop trains from entering the transbay tube and slow others. air controllers want to warn planes off quake prone runways. manufacturers hope to stop sensitive work and prevent damage. and schools are eager to alert children to dive under desks.

but any of us could get advanced warning to take cover. >> you can get it on your cell phone. you can get it on your computer. computer connected to the internet. it will pop up. there is whole variety of standalone devices that receive the warning information. >> just as during a storm you see lightning long before you hear the thunder. this system exploits the difference in speeds of seismic waves. p or primary waves travel about 10,000 miles an hour. s sheer waves about 40% slower. the most destructive surface waves, like ocean waves, are even slower yet. so depending on how far you are from the earthquake rupture, you could get from moments to maybe a minute warning. watch these two men in a japanese convenience store. they apparently feel the p wave seconds later intense shaking. and the dog left center ran out six seconds before people felt the shaking. allan beliefs the dog felt the

p wave. back in 1989, scientists created a rudiment are you early warning system to alert the rescuers to after-shocks. >> in a medium case we had 10- 20 seconds of warning depending on where you were in the bay area. >> reporter: right after the 8.1 quake in mexico city 25 years ago, officials there set up a public quake early warning system. it broadcast alerts on t.v. and radio averaging almost a minute before shaking starts. their advantage is big faults are off the pacific coast 180 miles away. >> here in the bay area and the rest of california, the earthquake faults are located directly beneath where we live. so we do need a more sophisticated system than mexico has. >> with 10 million federal stimulus dollars, california is now upgrading a network of sophisticated detectors that analyze quake motion, relay data to computers that predict where the worst shaking will be. this simulates the 1906 quake. in about five seconds, people in the path of the strongest

ground motion could get warnings. ironically, those most at risk may get the least out of it. >> if you were within about 20 miles of the epicenter, you are probably not going to get much of a warning. you will only have a few seconds at most. >> usds scientists at the park are managing the hardware. >> we do not want to put something out that is going to have a lot of false alarms. that just completely undermines all confidence in the system. >> uc berkeley and cal tech are creating what they call a virtual seismologist computer program. >> we really don't want to wait until after the first big earthquake. we really want to do this before. >> when we come back on "second look," mapping quake danger in the bay area. we will show you a map which traces which parts of the bay area could suffer most in a major quake.

. >> which parts of the bay area are most prone to damage in a major earthquake. over the years, the u.s. geological survey have issued maps aimed at answering that

question. we have two reports filed when those maps were made public. the first in 1995, focusing on san francisco. the second is in 2006 looking at the larger bay area. >> this is the ground shaking in san francisco map, a color coded guide to the city's safest and potentially most dangerous areas during an earthquake. >> there is a 2-3 chance of a large earthquake occurring in the bay area in the next 30 years. >> the red represents the bay mud or landfill areas which are the least stable and, therefore, the most dangerous. the yellow represents sand. the green sheer rock. and, finally, the blue represents bedrock, the most stable. >> just to give you an idea of the detail of this map, this two storey house at the corner of broadway and buchanan is built on red rock -- bedrock. but directly across the street the highrice apartment building is built on sand. much of the findings are expected. the marina area is landfill and

so is the financial district. russian hill is bedrock. but there are some surprises. despite what many believe much of pacific heights is sands, along with most of the city. we showed the maps to people in the area. many said they thought. >> that pacific heights was all rock. so that's surprising to see that it isn't. it's not true. >> but even more surprising is this area just a few blocks away. stan card lives along this block. >> living on rock, solid rock. >> not according to the map. this area is actually color coded red or landfill. the same type of soil that's in the marina. some other unexpected findings. seismologists say that a two storey wood frame building will have the same damage whether it is on sand or landfill. >> so that means that for those homeowners who live on sand, which is most of the city, i would say get rid of the false security.

>> get rid of the false security. >> the map could ultimately change building codes throughout san francisco. usds say a new computerized layering process has enabled them to create maps that would allow state officials to focus on areas most closely monitored or retrofitted for earthquake safety. >> and we don't have to worry about 80 miles of the pipeline. just have to worry about where the pipeline crosses the river channel. >> the maps focus on areas prone to lick faction, a process in which a strong quake combines with water saturated soil to dislodge aboveground strike tours. liquidfaction destroyed homes in the mission district during the 1989 earthquake. while scientists here have long known san francisco, oakland and alameda communities built on landfill are vulnerable to this the new maps better let them pinpoint which neighborhoods will be most

dangerous during a quake. >> this is alameda creek. it has a very large watershed. so it has young deposits that are saturated with groundwater and susceptible to liquidfaction. >> this tape of data allows you to go into a community and develop a plan and focus on those people there to get them prepared at a higher level. >> reporter: the fire district chief harold chapelhoman has been involved in the 1995 oklahoma city bombing. the new maps offer developers an important planning tool. >> at some point if buildings are demolished we will create something new or build something there we might want to have a higher standard based upon knowing that that's going to be a problem. and that's it for this week's "second look." i'm julie haener. thank you for watching.