MEXICO CITY — They are a population adrift, cast loose by a disaster.

They sleep on couches, in makeshift shelters and in their cars; wear borrowed clothes and hand-me-downs from donation piles; and, separated from their kitchens, rely on others’ cooking, each plate a reminder of their restless, unanchored state.

The earthquake on Sept. 19 killed at least 337 people in central Mexico and injured thousands of others. But it also created another class of victims: the displaced.

They number in the many thousands and count among them the very rich and the very poor, from city dwellers who lived in luxury high-rises to farmers in adobe huts. They include those whose buildings collapsed, but also those whose buildings have been declared structurally unsound and, while standing for now, face the likelihood of demolition.

Still others occupy an even less certain place: Their homes are fine save for the fact that they abut a building at risk of collapse.