- COMBO PHOTO - FILE PHOTO (L) TAKEN 19SEP85 - A combination photo shows the Hotel Regis in Mexico City's central Alameda park square collapsing after an earthquake in Mexico in a September 19, 1985 file photo (L) and the same location (R) on September 19, 2005. [The devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has stirred up memories of the earthquake that reduced parts of Mexico City to rubble 20 years ago, but the capital has armed itself for the next time disaster hits. The earthquake, measuring a giddy 8.1 on the Richter scale, caught Mexico off guard, killing thousands as it toppled housing blocks and office buildings in a city built on the soft mud left by a dried-up pre-Hispanic lake. Mexico's President Vicente Fox will host a memorial service on Monday for the victims.]