1992 Guadalajara disaster
The Guadalajara disaster occurred on April 22, 1992 in the Analco neighborhood of Guadalajara , Mexico . The cause was several explosions in the sewer network that lasted over four hours. As a result, several streets collapsed. According to official figures, 206 people died in the rubble, 500 were injured and 15,000 were left homeless. Unofficially, however, a higher number of victims is assumed. The district of Guadalajara is one of the most modern in this city due to the reconstruction.
Course of the accident
Three days before the accident, residents of some streets in Guadalajara complained about the smell of gasoline in the toilet and drain, contamination of the tap water with gasoline and steam fountains from the sewer system. During a subsequent investigation, employees of the municipal utilities and civil protection discovered that there was indeed an explosive gasoline-air mixture in the sewers. The danger was not taken seriously by those responsible, especially the then mayor Enrique Dau Flores , and the streets concerned were not evacuated.
A spark, which was probably caused by sewer workers trying to ventilate the sewer system , finally resulted in numerous explosions on April 22, 1992 along a heavily canalized main street and other adjacent streets in the Analco district, where gas pockets of varying concentrations had formed. The explosions destroyed streets and adjacent houses like an earthquake. The explosions dragged on for over six hours and made it difficult for the population, who were used to earthquakes, to begin the rescue work immediately.
causes
Technical causes
The investigation reconstructed the accident as follows:
- A water pipe and a gasoline pipe in the same canal had characteristic holes from stray current corrosion . Some of the direct current that flowed through the pipeline to protect it from corrosion was diverted through a contacting water pipe, creating leaks in both the water pipe and the pipeline. As a result, petrol (it should have been up to 600,000 liters) seeped into the canal.
- At the intersection of the sewer with a subway tunnel, the gasoline vapors collected because the sewage was pumped through the U-shaped siphon , but the vapors remained on the side. This increased the concentration of gasoline in the air and was distributed through the sewer network.
In the meantime, an edible oil factory adjacent to the city quarter was suspected of improperly disposing of industrial waste (esp. Hexane ) - but this suspicion could not be confirmed in the course of the investigations.
Human guilt
As a result of the accident, the state authorities and the state oil company PEMEX accused each other of being responsible for the accident. Despite intensive investigations, it could not be finally clarified who was to blame for this disaster. The then governor of the state of Jalisco , Guillermo Cosío Vidaurri, had to resign in the course of these conflicts and was replaced by Carlos Rivera Aceves .
consequences
The insurance companies estimated the property damage to be between $ 300 million and $ 1 billion. Today the city has a modern sewer system and uses sensors to constantly examine the composition of the wastewater.
An episode of the documentary series Seconds Before the Disaster deals with this catastrophe in detail.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pierre R. Roberge: Corrosion Inspection and Monitoring, Wiley 2007, pp. 36–37. ISBN 978-0470099759 . Li, S. & Kim, YG. Met. Mater. Int. (2013) 19: 717. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12540-013-4011-9
Web links
- Description of the accident in the Disaster Recovery Journal Vol. 5 # 3 ( Memento from March 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 20 ° 40 ′ 17 " N , 103 ° 21 ′ 23" W.