El Cobre dam breach
Coordinates: 32 ° 38 ′ 36 ″ S , 71 ° 10 ′ 10 ″ W
On 28. March 1965 occurred in El Cobre in Chile at an earthquake to a dam failure . Several dams in the sedimentation basin of a copper mine broke because the bulk material liquefied due to the vibrations ( liquefaction ). There were at least 200 deaths.
The detailed information is contradictory in different sources, possibly partly identical and is mentioned below:
- At the new dam ("El Cobre New Dam") 350,000 cubic meters slipped and moved 12 km down the valley, whereby the town of El Cobre was destroyed by the masses of mud and more than 200 people died.
- Another, older dam ("El Cobre Old Dam") slid 1.9 million cubic meters.
- At "La Patagua New Dam" 35,000 m³ slid five km.
- At "Los Maquis Dam", 21,000 m³ slid five km.