Recovery process of the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Chiapas 7+ years after the September 7, 2017 Tehuantepec earthquake

The greatest subduction earthquake in Mexico in almost 100 years ( M w =8.2) struck on September 7, 2017 with epicenter located at the Gulf of Tehuantepec, 133 km southwest of Pijijiapan, Chiapas. The Tehuantepec earthquake caused severe damage to some cities and towns of the Mexican states of Chiapas and Oaxaca. In order to assess the recovery process in the infrastructure of the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca, the research team that originally conducted the post-earthquake damage reconnaissance in cities and towns of those states just a few days after the September 7, 2017 earthquake, revisited most of those locations during a six-day effort in February 2025, more than seven years after. For each state, the amounts of money invested by the National Reconstruction Program are reported, as well as their distribution in four main sectors: dwellings, education, health, and culture. Photographic evidence of the recovery process in two specific cities is also presented: Juchitán, Oaxaca and Tonalá, Chiapas. Additionally, statistics on the distribution of economic resources from the National Reconstruction Program in both cities are shown, with a particular focus on the dwellings sector, as it was the most severely affected by the earthquake. Finally, the authors reflect on the efficiency of the recovery strategies implemented in the promotion of resilient communities in the face of future intense earthquakes.