A student at Providence University College says he has friends and family back home in Mexico who were impacted by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake. The powerful earthquake rocked central Mexico just after 1:00 p.m. local time on September 19, 2017. The death toll has already climbed above 200.

David Ignacio Ortega is from Mexico but had moved to Puebla where the earthquake struck just a few years ago. He says that he has "a lot of friends who are basically family" that were impacted by Tuesday's earthquake.

"I have friends that have lost their homes and another friend who was working on the 36th floor of a building," Ortega said. He also said the friends he has been able to talk to are worried about aftershocks, and that there was a lot of panic in the city when he spoke to them.

"It's really hard to be here because I feel . . . I just want to be there." Ortega described a sense of helplessness being in Canada while people he loves go through so much.

He also said that he's been moved by seeing how his country has pulled together, and Mexicans helping one another.