Quebec landslide

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Destroyed houses in Lower Quebec after the rock fall

The Québec landslide occurred on September 19, 1889 in the Canadian city ​​of Québec . Boulders broke loose on the steep southeast slope of Cap Diamant and tumbled into the lower town below . Over 40 people were killed.

course

On the Thursday evening of September 19, 1889, around 7:30 p.m., an overhanging piece of slate rock detached itself from Cap Diamant and plunged around 90 meters into the narrow strip of land between the rock face and St. Lawrence River . The southern end of the Rue du Petit-Champlain was completely buried. The rock was piled up to 24 meters high and buried seven houses in which 28 families lived. Around 100 people were buried, the helpers who rushed to the scene were only able to recover more than 40 dead. A 74-year-old man survived under the rocks for four and a half days.

The day after the accident, La Patrie newspaper wrote:

“At the moment one can only begin to understand the extent of the catastrophe that befell our city. There are still more people buried under the rubble than you can imagine. Heartbreaking cries for help can be heard from everywhere. Despite the tirelessness shown by the soldiers, the recovery work is not progressing fast enough, given the enormous amount of rocks. "

- La Patrie, September 20, 1889

Causes and consequences

Between 1775 and 2004 there were no fewer than 53 landslides along the rock face between Upper and Lower Town, with a total of 88 dead and 70 injured. The worst event was that of 1889, while a similar disaster on May 17, 1841, buried six houses and killed 27 people. In both cases the rock had been loosened by days of rain. After a rock fall in 1864, the largest cracks in the rock face were filled with cement to make them more stable.

Since the catastrophe of 1889 there have been no more deaths to mourn. Today, grids are attached at various points to absorb smaller scree slides. In addition, a retaining wall several meters high was built along Boulevard Champlain .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Front page of La Patrie newspaper of September 20, 1889. Bibliothèques et archives nationales du Québec, accessed October 1, 2014 (French).
  2. ↑ a b SOS! Les catastrophes du Canada. Library and Archives Canada , February 14, 2006, accessed October 1, 2014 (French).
  3. ^ Éboulement, Québec, QC, vers 1890. McCord Museum , accessed October 1, 2014 (French).
  4. ↑ Québec, ville à risques? In: Le Fil.Université Laval , May 22, 2008, accessed on October 1, 2014 (French).

Coordinates: 46 ° 48 ′ 28.8 "  N , 71 ° 12 ′ 10.8"  W.