A Kelowna man who's originally from Mexico City says it’s hard being away from his family and friends as they recover from Tuesday's destructive earthquake.
“I grew up there and I feel for my people and I know how hard it is to recover from something like that,” says Izzy Camarillo, owner of Kelowna’s El Taquero “It was a hard day today for sure.”
The 7.1 earthquake collapsed buildings and killed at least 245 people.
Camarillo, who moved to Canada in 2009, says it took him almost 12 hours to get in touch with family and friends after the earthquake hit because of downed power lines.
While everyone he knows is safe, his sister’s apartment building was almost destroyed.
“There are cracks all over,” he said “she was there with the kids a week ago when the first one hit and then they moved to my mother’s just as safety. They can’t go back to their building right now until it’s cleared.”
Camarillo says the earthquake has brought back feelings and emotions from another major earthquake in Mexico, in 1985, which he lived through as a child.
“I remember the screams, I remember the traffic just stopping completely. I was just about to get to school and I remember my school just windows breaking, people, chaos and a lot of dust.”
With a business to run and a his own family in Canada, Camarillo says he can’t go to Mexico to help, but he’ll be sending money to his friends and family so they can buy supplies for those most affected.