as many as 20,000 people were killed within the city; there were reported only 91 survivors within the city itself. the historic structures along the narrow streets, particularly the big adobe "casonas" (large houses) roofed with ceramic tiles, were reduced to rubble. the main square was evident by the dearth of rubble; the city was rebuilt around it. where once stood the old "casonas" and their high-walled compounds now there are smaller buildings. the narrow streets had been deathtraps during the quake; the post-1970 city design has wider, more modern streets.