1985 — Oct 7, Tropical Storm, Landslide, Mameyes section, Ponce, Puerto Rico –~130

–130-500  Silva-Tulla. The October 1985 Landslide at Barrio Mameyes, Ponce, Puerto Rico.

— ~500  Schmid. “Puerto Rico Toll May be Highest in U.S. Landslide History.” AP, 10-10-1985.

— <180  Wikipedia. “1985 Atlantic hurricane season…Tropical Storm Isabel.” 5-9-2012 mod.

— ~130  Quinones and Johnson (USGS).  The Floods of…Oct 6-7, 1985 in Puerto Rico. 1987, 14

— >130  Wikipedia.  “1985 Puerto Rico floods.” 5-9-1012 modification.

—   129  Highland/Schuster. Significant Landslide Events in the [U.S.]. USGS, 4-16-2003, 11.

 

Narrative Information

 

Quinones and Johnson/USGS/1987: “Landslides occurred throughout Puerto Rico as a result of saturation of the soils during the intense rains of October 5-8.  The most severe landslide occurred on a hill at Barrio Mameyes, on the northwestern fringe of the city of Ponce…  A slab of calcareous sandstone detached from the crest of the hill, slipping toward the bottom of a populated ravine.  Field estimates showed that about 260,000 cubic yards of material slid from the hill.

 

“The Mameyes landslide destroyed about 90 homes causing the death of about 130 people.  Most of the houses were buried under mud and debris.  The time of occurrence of the incident (around 3:00 a.m. on October 7) and the intensity of the rain at that time, affected the rescue efforts (only about 50 bodies were recovered).  Although many other smaller landslides occurred throughout the island, the incident at Mameyes was the only one that resulted in loss of life.  The Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources is currently conducting an inventory of the landslides recorded during the floods.”  (Quinones, Ferdinand and Karl G. Johnson.  The Floods of May 17-18, 1985 and October 6-7, 1985 in Puerto Rico (U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 87-123).  San Juan, PR:  USGS, in cooperation with the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Quality Board, and Highway Authority, 1987.

 

Wikipedia: “A tropical wave exited Africa on September 29. It entered the Caribbean on October 5 and produced torrential rainfall across Puerto Rico; the floods killed 180 people, mostly from a deadly mudslide near Ponce.” (Wikipedia. “1985 Atlantic hurricane season…Tropical Storm Isabel.” 5-9-2012 mod.)

 

Wikipedia: “The 1985 Puerto Rico floods produced the deadliest single landslide on record in North America, killing at least 130 people in the Mameyes neighborhood of Ponce. The floods were the result of a westward-moving tropical wave that had emerged off the coast of Africa on September 29. The system moved into the Caribbean Sea on October 5 and produced torrential rainfall across Puerto Rico, peaking at 31.67 in (804 mm) in Toro Negro State Forest. Two stations broke their 24 hour rainfall records set in 1899. The rains caused severe flooding in the southern half of Puerto Rico, which isolated towns, washed out roads, and caused rivers to exceed their banks. In addition to the deadly landslide in Mameyes, the floods killed several people due to a washed bridge near Coamo. The storm system caused about $125 million in damage and 180 deaths, which prompted a presidential disaster declaration. The tropical wave later spawned Tropical Storm Isabel.”  (Wikipedia.  “1985 Puerto Rico floods.” 5-9-1012 mod.)

 

Oct 10, AP/Schmid: “Washington (AP) – While rescue workers are far from completing the count of dead and injured in Puerto Rico’s landslides, it appears certain that the toll will be the highest from a slide in U.S. history. Early indications are that as many as 500 people may have perished in the landslides, which followed a deluge of 15 inches of rain on the island this week.”  (Schmid, Randolph E. “Puerto Rico Toll May be Highest in U.S. Landslide History.” Associated Press, 10-10-1985.)

 

Sources

 

Highland, Lynn M. and Robert L. Schuster.  Significant Landslide Events in the United States.  USGS, 4-16-2003. Accessed 1-23-2017 at: http://landslides.usgs.gov/docs/faq/significantls_508.pdf

 

Quinones, Ferdinand and Karl G. Johnson. The Floods of May 17-18, 1985 and October 6-7, 1985 in Puerto Rico (U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 87-123).  San Juan, PR:  USGS, in cooperation with the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board, and Puerto Rico Highway Authority, 1987. Accessed 5-9-2012 at:  http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/0123/report.pdf

 

Schmid, Randolph E. “Puerto Rico Toll May be Highest in U.S. Landslide History.” Associated Press, 10-10-1985. Accessed 1-23-2017 at: http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1985/Puerto-Rico-Toll-May-By-Highest-in-U-S-Landslide-History/id-7855d61fffd77b93c5c6ed64b8c7ea54

 

Silva-Tulla, Francisco. The October 1985 Landslide at Barrio Mameyes, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1986 (prepared for Committee on Natural Disasters, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, National Research Council), 21 pages. Accessed 1-23-2017 at: https://www.nap.edu/download/18920

 

Wikipedia. “1985 Atlantic hurricane season.” 4-22-2014. modification. Accessed 6-21-2014 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Atlantic_hurricane_season

 

Wikipedia. “1985 Puerto Rico floods.” 5-9-1012 mod.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Puerto_Rico_floods