Hundreds of Buildings at Risk of Collapse in Mexico City

As many as 360 buildings in Mexico City are at risk of imminent collapse following last week’s 7.1-magnitude earthquake, with seven schools among the structures thought to be on the verge of crashing down. Authorities said Monday that only 676 of the city’s nearly 9,000 schools have been cleared to reopen to students Tuesday, with hundreds of thousands of children left to wait before their schools are declared safe. The news came as authorities said they no longer expect to find any survivors from the Sept. 19 quake, which killed more than 300 people. Luis Felipe Puente, coordinator of Mexico’s Civil Protection department, told Reuters late Monday that rescue workers will continue their searches for another three days before giving up. “I can say that at this time it would be unlikely to find someone alive,” Puente said. More than 40 people remain missing at disaster sites throughout the city.