Mexico quake leaves thousands stranded without a home

Ana Maria Hernandez, 37, a clothing salesperson, poses for a portrait outside her house as it is demolished after an earthquake in Jojutla de Juarez, Mexico, September 30, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido SEARCH "GARRIDO PORTRAIT" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

SAN JUAN PILCAYA, Mexico (Reuters) - Rubble is all that remains of hundreds of houses rent asunder by the earthquake that struck Mexico in September, leaving owners lodging with relatives or friends, hoping their homes can be rebuilt or they can find new ones. http://reut.rs/2yUFmHr

At least 369 people died in the 7.1 magnitude quake that hit central Mexico, causing more devastation in the capital than any since the 1985 disaster that killed thousands.

Rene Contreras, 20, a student, poses for a portrait on the rubble of his house after an earthquake in Jojutla de Juarez, Mexico, September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Damage to housing was particularly striking in central areas of the country close to the epicenter of the quake southeast of Mexico City in the states of Puebla and Morelos.

Some houses were simply flattened by the shuddering tectonic shift which the government and the private sector estimated caused billions of dollars of damage.

"I lost everything. My aunt died here," said Ana Maria Hernandez, 37, a clothing salesperson, as diggers cleared away the wreckage of her home in Jojutla de Juarez, Morelos.

Maria Isabel Alvarado, 75, a housewife, poses for a portrait on a street outside her house after an earthquake in Jojutla de Juarez, Mexico, September 29, 2017. Her house suffered minor damage. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Now living with relatives, she and many others hope their destroyed homes will eventually be rebuilt.

But uncertainty clouds the future for some.

Veronica Dircio, a 34-year-old housewife said "nothing was left" of the house she and her children called home before the earthquake hammered the town of San Juan Pilcaya in Puebla.

Elena Zapata, 69, a housewife, poses for a portrait with her granddaughter Mariana, 3, inside the ruins of her house after an earthquake in Tepalcingo, Mexico, September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

"We're worried because they came and did a census of the homes; and whether it's a big house or a small house, they haven't told us if we're at least going to be able to get back a bit of what was once our house," Dircio said.

Thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed in the quake, which followed another major tremor in the southwest of Mexico two weeks earlier that displaced thousands of people.

Maria Trinidad Gonzalez, 41, managed to salvage some cooking utensils and furniture from the ruins of her home in the small town of Tepalcingo in Morelos. Mounds of fallen bricks and churned up debris covered the floor of her roofless house.

Catalina Martinez, 78, a housewife, poses for a portrait in the doorway of her house after an earthquake in San Jose Platanar, at the epicentre zone, Mexico, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

With its walls pulled down and the contents strewn outdoors, the house of 70-year-old housewife Maria Guzman in San Jose Platanar in Puebla state was left completely uninhabitable by the quake, forcing her into a shelter.

"The most valuable thing that I recovered was the photo of my wedding day," Guzman said outside the shattered building.

Teresa Luna, 49, a seamstress, poses for a portrait with her dog Dokie, next to part of her house which was badly damaged after an earthquake in Chietla, Mexico, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

(Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Andrew Hay)

Cenobia Riquelme, 76, a housewife who suffers from Alzheimer's, poses for a portrait next to her house after an earthquake in Jojutla de Juarez, Mexico, September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Tomasa Mozo, 69, a housewife, looks up at the roof as she poses for a portrait inside the ruins of her house after an earthquake in San Jose Platanar, at the epicentre zone, Mexico, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Luis Medina, 36, a farm worker, Maria Teresa Espinoza, 35, housewife, and Maria de Jesus Medina, 9, pose for a portrait inside their house which was badly damaged after an earthquake in San Jose Platanar, at the epicentre zone, Mexico, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Jaime Delgado, 21, an agricultural worker, poses for a portrait on rubble in an area where he helped rescue people, after an earthquake in Jojutla de Juarez, Mexico, September 30, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Miguel Najera, 50, a farm worker, poses for a portrait on the rubble of his house after an earthquake in San Jose Platanar, at the epicentre zone, Mexico, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Ventura Sanchez, 63, housewife, poses for a portrait on the rubble of her house after an earthquake in La Nopalera, Mexico, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Luis Garcia, 79, a bricklayer, poses for a portrait outside a house that he built, after an earthquake in Jojutla de Juarez, Mexico, September 30, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Juan Sanchez, 53, a parishioner and a church guard, poses for a portrait in front San Juan Bautista church after an earthquake in San Juan Pilcaya, at the epicentre zone, Mexico, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Maria Guzman, 70, a housewife, poses for a portrait on the rubble of her house after an earthquake in San Jose Platanar, at the epicentre zone, Mexico, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Maria Trinidad Gonzalez, 41, a housewife, holds some cookware as she poses for a portrait on the rubble of her house after an earthquake in Tepalcingo, Mexico, September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Prudencio Gutierrez, 66, a farm worker, poses for a portrait in front of his house after an earthquake in San Francisco Xochiteopan, Mexico, September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Veronica Dircio, 34, a housewife, poses for a portrait with her sons in front of a tent in a neighbour's backyard after an earthquake in San Juan Pilcaya, at the epicentre zone, Mexico, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

Hector Guzman, 48, peasant and representative of the Municipal President in San Jose Platanar, holds the model of a new house for his father as he poses for a portrait after an earthquake in San Jose Platanar, at the epicentre zone, Mexico, September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido