Madam Drachman and the 1887 Arizona flood: Part 1. The Stormy Calm Half of this story is fake, but gripping part is the other half that is not By Mig Reyes-Mariano In 1887, Arizona faced two major natural disasters. Summer storms brought heavy rains that caused destructive floods, washing out bridges, submerging streets, and reshaping the San Pedro River near Mammoth, where fields were stripped to bare sand (National Weather Service, n.d.; Noonan, 2013). Earlier that year, on May 3, the powerful Sonora earthquake, estimated at magnitude 7.4–7.6, struck northern Mexico but was strongly felt in southern Arizona, ...Read More

Madam Drachman and the 1887 Arizona flood: Part 2. The Downpour Disaster Half of this story is fake, but gripping part is the other half that is not By Mig Reyes-Mariano In 1887, Arizona experienced two devastating natural disasters. In late spring, a strong earthquake in northern Mexico (estimated at 7.4-7.6) caused disastrous structural damage to buildings in Tucson (Noonan, 2013). Late in the summer, heavy rainfall caused severe flooding that damaged bridges and streets and washed away crops along the San Pedro River (National Weather Service, n.d.). These two natural disasters resulted in a historical record-breaking year ...Read More