'Everyone started screaming': Regina woman says after Mexico City quake

Tuesday's earthquake in Mexico City left chaos in its wake, according to residents who felt the 7.1-magnitude earthquake.

“Everyone started screaming, crying, yelling (and) running in every single direction, but there was really nowhere to go because we were inside the airport,” said Courtney Kintzle, a resident of Mexico City.

Kintzle, who was born in Regina and works as a model in Mexico City. She had just arrived at the airport when the earthquake hit. When it was over, she went outside to complete chaos.

“The area that I’ve been living in for the past two years is the area that was hit the hardest,” said Kintzle, who was reached by phone from Mexico City. “Condesa just completed collapsed.”

But Kintzle said people are stepping up to help the country's capital.

“We've been out on the streets helping and doing what we can. Buying tons and tons of chocolate and candy for the people that need the sugar (and) the workers,” said Kintzle.

Kintzle's home is still intact, but she's staying with friends while they help rebuild the city.

Here in Regina, people are looking for ways to assist as well.

“When I was in Mexico in 1985, we had the same kind of (magnitude) earthquake. Food and water, mainly water, was a big necessity,” said Fabian Diaz Bernal, owner of La Cucaracha, a Mexican restaurant in Regina.

Bernal –along with three other local Mexican restaurants – are holding a fundraising dinner for those in Mexico City.

“Anything would help at this point. They are struggling. A lot of buildings collapsed, (and) schools (and) neighbourhoods,” said Bernal.

But both Bernal and Kintzle believe Mexico City will rebuild, stronger than ever.

“Mexico is going to take some time to recuperate from this. It's obviously going to take some time for things to go back to normal,” said Kintzle. “But, step by step, I think there's nowhere to go but up.”

Anyone in Regina who wants to get involved can visit La Cucaracha's Facebook page on ways to donate to those in Mexico City, or they can attend the fundraising dinner at Flip Eatery and Drink on Oct. 2. 

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  Rescue workers search for survivors at an apartment building located on the street corner of Amsterdam and Laredo, that collapsed during an earthquake in the Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017. Tuesday's magnitude 7.1 earthquake has stunned central Mexico, killing more than 200 people as buildings collapsed in plumes of dust. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)