On September 19, 2017, in the middle of the day, an intraplate earthquake happened about 120 km from Mexico City at a depth of 57 km. Intraplate earthquakes are less common than other types but have occurred in Mexico City since the 1970s. One feature of these earthquakes is that the trembling intensifies as the seismic waves propagate further from the epicentre.

The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.1, toppled dozens of buildings and damaged hundreds more. At least 326 people died, including 187 in Mexico City. Thousands of volunteers helped rescue workers day and night, using buckets, shopping trolleys, and wheelbarrows to shift tonnes of debris in the search for survivors.

The earthquake showed how effective regulation and other measures can significantly reduce the levels of death and destruction, however. The 2017 mortality rate was significantly lower than for a 1985 earthquake which killed somewhere between 10,000 and 30,000 people. The economic damage was also less severe. While the 1985 earthquake caused damage worth $4.103 billion today (2.7 percent of GDP), losses from the 2017 earthquake were valued at $2.476 billion (0.15 percent of GDP).