Already businesses were suffering from the hard economic times on both sides of the US-Mexico border when Sunday's deadly 7.2-magnitude Earthquake shattered storefronts, roofs caved in and caused Calexico's vital international port of entry for vehicles to shut down.
Men stand next to cracks on a street in Mexicali, Mexico, early Monday, April 5, 2010, aftger a powerful earthquake struck. The quake shook buildings in Mexico, California and Arizona. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)
Calexico, the U.S. city hit hardest by the quake, has one of the highest unemployment rates in California, and business owners say They even after repair the damages to their stores, it could take months or longer for the economy to bounce back.
The port of entry was closed because of damage to a federal building and will not finish inspecting engineers Well open it. No date was set for when the port will reopen to vehicle traffic, and now for drivers who want to enter the United States MUST go 10 miles out of their way to Another border crossing.
Red-tagged inspectors nearly 80 percent of the city's historic downtown area Monday. Yellow police tape lined the streets of the city's downtown littered with broken glass and Fallen plaster from the prewar buildings.
City Manager Victor Carrillo said the damage will easily total millions of dollars.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proclaimed a state of emergency Monday for Imperial County, which will free up state resources to aid the recovery effort.
"We're going to be hurting for a while," said Polo Loo, whose grocery store was littered with Merchandise on the floor. "The economy was not great mankind and with this, it is going to be even worse."
Damage included three huge tanks that hold the water supply for the city of about 38,000 residents, as well as a 10 million-gallon water-clarifying tank, Carrillo said. Officials were pushing for federal money to come quickly before the city's desert temperatures soar above 110 degrees this summer, he added.
Two people were killed and at least 100 injured Near the epicenter of the huge quake in Mexicali, just south of the border.
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