Saturday, January 10, 2009

1992 explosion in Guadalajara





The 1992 explosion in Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city, took place on April 22, 1992 in the downtown district of Analco. Numerous gasoline explosions in the sewer system over four hours destroyed kilometers of streets.[1] Gante Street was the most damaged. Officially, 206 people were killed, nearly 500 injured and 15,000 were left homeless. The estimated monetary damage ranges between $300 million and $1 billion. The affected areas can be recognized by the more modern architecture in the areas that were destroyed.[2]

Three days before the explosion, residents started complaining of a strong gasoline-like smell coming from the sewers. Some residents even found gasoline coming out of their water pipes. City workers were dispatched to check the sewers and found dangerously high levels of gasoline fumes. Unfortunately, the city mayor did not feel it was necessary to evacuate the city because he felt that there was no risk for an explosion.[3]

http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=356.%E2%80%9D

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