The flood of Santa Teresa took place on 15 October 1879 due to an overflow of the Segura river and resulted in more than 1000 deaths and heavy material damage. It is the worst recorded flood in Murcia history.
The flood of Santa Teresa took place on 15 October 1879 due to an overflow of the Segura river and resulted in more than 1000 deaths and heavy material damage. It is the worst recorded flood in Murcia history.
The rainfall that caused the flood was extremely heavy. It is estimated that at the head of the Guadalentín, 600 mm fell in just one hour. [1] This river reached a flow in Lorca of 1450 m³/s, overflowing and causing great damage throughout its basin. The flow of Mundo, Alhárabe, Argos, Quípar and Mula rivers also increased rapidly. Thus, an enormous flood arose that reached 1,890 m³/s in the capital of Murcia and is estimated to have exceeded 2,000 m³/s in Orihuela.
The city of Murcia was completely flooded by the Segura river that, after flooding numerous districts to the north and west of the urban area, surpassed the Malecón dam-like construction and burst into the center. In Orihuela, after its confluence with the Guadalentín (Reguerón) river, the Segura also reached heights of up to 3.80 meters in some streets, reaching the first floors. [2]
The flood devastated the Guadalentín Valley, and the entire alluvial plain of Segura, with considerable human and material losses. The catastrophe left more than a thousand dead: 761 in Murcia, 300 in Orihuela, [3] 13 in Lorca, two in Librilla and one in Cieza. 5,762 houses and y barrackes in Murcia and Lorca were destroyed and 22,469 animals died in the disaster. [2] It is widely described as the "most catastrophic flood ever recorded in Murcia". [4]
After the disaster, several people and companies dedicated themselves to carrying out charity collections for the victims, such as the one organized by the Murcian press that collected money from all over Spain until 1884. José María Muñoz, a wealthy man from Cáceres, donated 500,000 pesetas to the Region of Murcia and 2,000,000 reales to the city of Orihuela. [5] [4]
In the month of March 1881, Piedad de la Cruz left Barcelona with three postulants. They arrived at the Huerta de Murcia, with the approval of the bishopric of Cartagena, with the intention of founding a religious family dedicated to caring for the poor, sick and orphans caused by the flood.
Murcia is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It had a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021. The total population of the metropolitan area was 672,773 in 2020, covering an urban area of 1,230.9 km2. It is located on the Segura River, in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. It has a climate with hot summers, mild winters, and relatively low precipitation.
Lorca is a municipality and city in the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia in south-eastern Spain, 58 kilometres (36 mi) southwest of the city of Murcia. The municipality had a population of 95,515 in 2020, up from the 2001 census total of 77,477. Lorca is the municipality with the second largest surface area in Spain, 1,675.21 km2 (646.80 sq mi), after Cáceres. The city is home to Lorca Castle and the Collegiate church dedicated to St. Patrick.
Segura is a medium-sized river in southeastern Spain. It has its source in the Sierra de Segura.
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A dam failure or dam burst is a catastrophic type of structural failure characterized by the sudden, rapid, and uncontrolled release of impounded water or the likelihood of such an uncontrolled release. Between the years 2000 and 2009 more than 200 notable dam failures happened worldwide.
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The Region of Murcia is an autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean coast. The region is 11,313 km2 (4,368 sq mi) in area and had a population of 1,511,251 as at the start of 2020. About a third of its population lives in the capital, Murcia, and a seventh in the second city, Cartagena. At 2,014 m (6,608 ft), the region's highest point is Los Obispos Peak in the Massif of Revolcadores.
The Puente de los Peligros or also known as the Puente Viejo is an arched stone bridge, completed in 1742, that spans the River Segura in the city of Murcia.
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Castle of Lorca in Lorca, Murcia, Spain, is a fortress of medieval origin constructed between the 9th and 15th centuries. It consists of a series of defensive structures that, during the Middle Ages, made the town and the fortress an impregnable point in the southeast part of the Iberian Peninsula. Lorca Castle was a key strategic point of contention between Christians and Muslims during the Reconquista. It is listed as a Site of Cultural Interest.
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The documented history of Murcia traces back at least to the Middle Ages, after Madinat Mursiya was built by Andalusi Emir Abd al-Rahman II in the 9th century, while it is suggested the city was erected over a previous settlement of Roman origin.
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