Posted in New Mexico
March 06, 2018
The 5 Most Horrifying Disasters That Ever Happened In New Mexico
New Mexico doesn’t always make the headlines in the national news and, for the most part, that’s a good thing. The state is generally pretty quiet since it is free of most natural disasters, making this an ideal state to live in. That is why our list is on the short side for terrible disasters that have occurred here in New Mexico. Let’s take a look at some of them.
This coal mining disaster occurred October 22, 1913 and was one of the deadliest for its time. An explosion inside the mine (believed to be caused by dynamite igniting coal dust) resulted in the deaths of 263 miners, many of them immigrants. You can read more about the tragedy in one of our previous articles.
Almost one decade after the mining explosion that killed 263 miners, another explosion occurred in a Dawson mine. This one took place February 8, 1923 and resulted in the deaths of 123 miners, many of them the children of miners killed in the previous disaster.
It’s not everyday you hear of a blizzard taking place in the desert Southwest but a massive one occurred in mid-December 1967. The storm blanketed New Mexico and Arizona in feet of snow, in some cases reaching rooftops and preventing people from being able to leave their homes for days. This resulted in the National Guard delivering food, water, and other supplies to rural residents. Even so, the storm caused the deaths of 51 people across New Mexico and Arizona. You can read more about the blizzard in one of our previous articles.
In the early morning hours of August 19, 2000, a pipeline owned by El Paso Natural Gas exploded. It reportedly left a crater measuring 80-feet long and 20-feet deep, producing a massive fireball that could be seen from the nearest town, Carlsbad, about 20 miles away. The disaster was caused by severe corrosion to the pipeline and it resulted in the deaths of 12 people, including children and infants, camping nearby.
This recent disaster originated in Colorado as toxic mine waste water spilled into the Animas River, eventually moving into the waterways of nearby states Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. The waste contained dangerous heavy metals and toxins, including cadmium, lead, and arsenic. Here in New Mexico, the acidic waste water reached the San Juan River and affected the water supply to rural communities, especially on the Navajo Nation.
Want to read more history about New Mexico? You can read about some rather strange events in 8 Insane Things That Happened In New Mexico You Won’t Find In History Books.
