Man stands in ruins of house following Mexico earthquake
Man stands in ruins of house following Mexico earthquakeReuters

Jewish schools in Mexico City are preparing to provide aid to victims of Tuesday's earthquake, Mexico's World Bnei Akiva representative said Wednesday.

224 people were killed in the quake, which measured 7.1 on the Richter scale.

World Bnei Akiva representative Shmuel Ben-Adiva was in Mexico City's Jewish school when the earthquake struck.

"It was a really strong earthquake, and everyone who was in the building went outside," Ben-Adiva said Tuesday night. All of the phone lines collapsed. Now, the Jewish community is beginning to collect food and supplies for those in need."

"The community synagogue was severely damaged. The day before Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), its facade collapsed completely.

"All the Jewish schools, like all the other government schools, will be closed tomorrow. The Jewish schools are beginning to organize to aid the rest of the country. Tomorrow morning the Jewish schools will turn into temporary 'war rooms' to organize aid for all areas affected by the earthquake - and there were many of them."

Ben-Adiva added that just prior to the quake, the schools held a preparatory drill.

"Thirty years ago today, there was a very strong earthquake in Mexico. So this morning, before the earthquake, we had an earthquake drill."

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu received a request for assistance following the severe earthquake in Mexico. In response, Netanyahu ordered that assistance and a search and rescue operation be organized and leave for Mexico as soon as possible.