125Disasters

105

  Greatest Disasters 

Of All Time

NOTE: The web pages contents are based purely on history. Most of which will live in infamy.

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World Trade Center

1.  Worst Terrorist Attacks in History: On September 11, 2001, at 8:48 AM the destruction of the World Trade Center by two hijacked commercial jets over 2,800 dead, flight 93 which struck Shanksville, PA, 44 dead, flight 77 struck The Pentagon in Washington D.C., 189 dead.

                                     The Pentagon (flight 77)                                      Shanksville, PA (flight 93)

 God Bless America,

       and God Bless our Troops Overseas

2. Worst Maritime Disaster: On April 12, 1912, The RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg, over 1600 people died of hypothermia. About 6 or 10 of which managed to survive.

3. Deadliest Earthquake in History: Tangshen, China, July 28, 1976 at 3:42 am, over 500,000 people may have died in a magnitude 8.2 earthquake.  

    Mt. Krakatoa (present day)

4. Deadliest Volcano:  On August 27, 1883, the Krakatoa volcano in  Indonesia exploded, destroying 3/4 of its body, releasing more than seven times the energy of the Hiroshima atomic bomb and creating a Tsunami nearly 40 meters in height that killed more than 36,000 people.  Earlier in 1815, also in Indonesia, in Tambora, 92,000 died from starvation which was caused by an eruption. 

                   Nagasaki                                                                                              Hiroshima                          

5. Atomic Bomb: August 6, 1945, 140,000 people were killed when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.  Three days later, another  75,000 died when the atomic bomb  "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

6. Conventional Bomb: Tokyo, Japan, the firebombing by US Bombers, March 9, 1945, 85,000 killed.  Firebombing of Dresden, Germany, by US and British bombers, 135,000 killed.

    The Hindenburg Disaster

7. Worst Dirigible Crash: May 6, 1937 at approximately 7:00PM, the German zeppelin, the Hindenburg crashed in Lakehurst, New Jersey with 50 people killed. This is known to be the most infamous air disaster of all time.

8. Plane Crash into a Building: Before Sept. 11, 2001, the worst disaster of a plane crashing into a building occurred on July 28, 1945 at 9:49am.  During a dense fog, a B-25 Bomber crashed into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building, causing 14 deaths. The crash left a 20 foot gash in its exterior.

The Challenger Disaster                      

9. Worst Launch Disaster: Cape Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The space shuttle Challenger exploded within 72 seconds after take-off at an altitude of 72 miles on January 28, 1986 killing all 7 passengers aboard.

 

 

 

This small creature alone has killed more people than nuclear weapons.

10. Worst Disease Pandemic: The Bubonic Plague or The Black Death (1348-1354) killed 13,000,000 people.  The disease was transmitted by the red flea, which was carried around by rats and mice. Throughout the 6th, 14th, and 17th centuries, it had already claimed 137 million deaths combined.

11. Worst Recent American Disease Scare: The Anthrax Scare has killed 6 with the oldest person who died was 94 years old.

12. Recent Vehicular Accident: On December 27, 2001 at approximately 6:00PM A van collided into a crowd of walking pedestrian's boarding a city bus on Herald Square in New York killing 6, 8 seriously injured. Sadly the youngest who had died was only 15 at the time.

13. The Andrea Doria Disaster: On July 25, 1956. At approximately 11:10pm, two great ocean liners, T/N Andrea Doria and MV Stockholm, collided from a dense fog 12 miles off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. 51 people died and 1,660 survived.

14. Japan's Worst Nuclear Accident: On September 30, 1999, a nuclear processing plant released radiation into the environment elevating radiation levels to 15,000 times the normal level.  One plant worker died.    

15. World Trade Center Bombing of '93: On February 26, 1993 at approximately 12:18PM an explosion occurred under the World Trade Center Complex in New York, 6 killed and more than a 1,000 injured.

16. Most Destructive Hurricane: From August 23 Through August 27, 1992 Hurricane Andrew caused extensive damage Throughout the Bahamas, Louisiana, and Florida. Andrew was responsible for 61 deaths and approximately 32.4 billion dollars in damage.

17. Sampoong Department Store: On June 29, 1995 in Seoul, Korea a five story department store collapsed killing at least 206 and injuring 910.                                                                                        

    The Exxon Valdez      

18. Exxon Valdez: In March 24, 1989 in Prince William Sound of Alaska captain Robert Hazelwood grounded the super tanker Exxon Valdez creating the worst oil spill in national history.  Over eleven million gallons of crude oil had spilled.                                                      

19. Worst Car Pileup: In Bakersfield, California 78 cars collided from a dense fog killing 1 man and injuring

20. Worst Nuclear Meltdown in History:  On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Unit 4 nuclear reactor in the Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union) suffered the worst meltdown in history.  30 people were killed and tens of thousands of people living around Chernobyl were exposed to significant doses of radiation which have led to hundreds of deaths from thyroid cancer. 

21. Worst Impact by Asteroid or Comet:  On June 30, 1908, in Tunguska, Siberia, an object described as being as bright as the sun exploded ten miles in the atmosphere.  The resulting explosion was estimated to be around 40 megatons, was heard 300 miles away.  It flattened every tree within an area of 850 square miles.   To this day scientists are uncertain what exploded, some thinking it may have been a meteor, and others think it may have been a comet.

     Tunguska Blast of 1908

22.    Bhopal Poison Gas Accident: On December 3, 1984 a poisonious gas escaped from a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. The gas, methyl isocyanate, caused more than 3,800 deaths and disabled 11,000 persons.

23. Molasses Flood: In January 15, 1915 in Boston, MA, a giant tank exploded with great force creating an eight foot wave, killing 21 and injuring 150.

The aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire

25.  The Great Chicago Fire: In 1871 a great fire occurred in a barn in the rear of No. 137 DeKoven Street, killing 300 and leaving 90,000 homeless.

26.  Devastating Hurricanes: 9,745 people and 93,690 homeless in Central America are estimated to have died in the mudslides and floods triggered by Hurricane Mitch.

27.  Greatest Explosion: This 1944 explosion was the worst home-front disaster of World War II, causing some 320 naval personnel to die instantly. It may have been the world’s first atomic detonation, albeit accidental.

28. Worst Banking Scandal: The United Kingdom’s oldest merchant bank, Baring's Bank was brought down by an employee’s foreign currency trading losses of more than 800,000,000 British Pounds, almost the entire assets of the bank.

29. The Kansas City Hyatt Walkway Collapse:  In July 17, 1981 in Kansas City, Missouri, the Kansas City Hyatt Walkway collapsed, killing over 114 and injuring 200.

30. Flight 19 Disappearance in the Bermuda Triangle: At about 2:10 p.m. on the afternoon of December 5, 1945 the disappearance of six Navy planes containing 27 men was reported at 4pm. They had not been heard from after the take-off. Based upon a report from a merchant ship off Fort Lauderdale which sighted a "burst of flame", apparently an explosion, and passed through on oil slick at a time and place which matched the presumed location of the PBM, it is believed this aircraft exploded at sea and sank at approximately 28.59 N; 80.25 W. No trace of the plane or its crew was ever found.

The TWA Flight 800 after crash

31. TWA Flight 800: On July 17, 1996, the Paris-bound TWA Flight 800 exploded 11 1/2 minutes while climbing to an altitude of 13,000 feet after taking off from the Kennedy Airport in New York, killing all 230 aboard. 19 bodies have still not been found.

32. Worst Circus Fire: The worst fire in circus history occurred during the afternoon show of the Ringling Bros. Circus on July 6, 1944 in Hartford, Connecticut.  7,000 people were watching the show when fire broke out, the tent completely burned down in six minutes, killing 168 people with several hundred more severely injured. 

                                                                                                                                                            Ringling Bros. Circus fire of 1944

33.  Worst Battle on American Soil: During the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, 22,726 people were killed or injured during the Battle of Antietam, in Maryland between the Confederate & Union armies.

 

34.    Worst Attack on U.S. Soil During World War II: On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States Navy at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, with a loss of over 2,403 dead, 188 destroyed planes, and 7 sunken ships.

"A day that will live in infamy"

-Franklin D. Roosevelt

            Pearl Harbor    

 

35.  Commercial Jet Collision: On March 27 1977, At Tenerife, Canary Islands in Spain,  583 people died when KLM Boeing 747-206B collided with a Pan Am Boeing 747-121 on runway at the speeds of 150 MPH.                        

36. Johnstown Flood:  On May 31, 1889, a wall of water over 35 feet high crashed down on the small industrial city of Johnstown, PA. The  water was let loose when, 14 miles north of Johnstown, the South Fork Dam failed. In a few short hours, the city was destroyed and 2,209 people became the victims of the worst man-made disaster of all time.

37. Deadliest War:  World War II, fought between 1939 and 1945, saw 55,000,000 people killed, all around the world as the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) fought  the Allies (USA, Britain and its Commonwealth, France,  USSR and China).

38. Bloodiest Battle in World War II:  750,000 Russians and 400,000 Germans died in the Battle of Stalingrad, in Russia in 1942.

39. International Starvation: 20,000,000 people die a year worldwide from world starvation.

                Nigeria Munitions Dump Explosion

40. Nigerian Munitions Dump Explosion:  On Jan. 27, 2002, a munitions dump in Lagos, Nigeria exploded, killing 1,000 to 2,000 people, however, Nigerian Authorities fear that the death toll may be higher.

Galveston, Texas

41. Deadliest Hurricane in U.S. History:  More than 6,000 people were killed when a hurricane hit Galveston, Texas on Sept. 8, 1900.   

                                                                                                                                                        The Long Island Express

42. Deadly Hurricane: On Sept. 21, 1938, a category 3 hurricane that came to  be known as the Long Island Express hit Long Island and New England without warning, killing 700 people, and leaving 60,000 people homeless.

43. Worst Tornado:  Lasting 3 and a half hours, traveling at 73 m.p.h. at a distance of 219 miles, and with a funnel over a mile long ,the Tri-State Tornado killed 695 people, injured 2,027,  and  caused $16.5 million  damage (worth $50,000,000 today),  from 1:00 to 4:30 pm. 4 towns were obliterated, and 6 towns damaged. The tornado began in Missouri at 1 pm. destroying Annapolis, Missouri . The tornado entered  Illinois and destroyed  Gorham.  Griffin was destroyed, and then the tornado crossed the Wabash River and into Indiana.  The tornado finally ended  northeast of Princeton, Indiana. 

44. The Great Fire of London :  On September 2, 1666, the destruction of medieval London began. Within five days the city that Shakespeare had known was ravaged by fire. An area one and a half miles by half a mile lay in ashes: 373 acres inside the city wall, 63 acres outside, 87 churches and 13,200 houses. Amazingly, only six people were definitely known to have died, but it would seem highly probable that many more perished (This is how the plague was wiped out).

                                                                                                                                        The Great Fire of London (an artist's rendering)

45. The Korean Air Lines Flight 007:  On September 1, 1983, KAL 007 penetrated Soviet air space and was brought down by an air-to-air missile. The Boeing 747 crashed into the sea, killing all 269 aboard.              

46. Sultana Explosion:  The most terrible steamboat disaster in history, when on April 27, 1865 the steamboat Sultana exploded killing at least 1,238. The Sultana was transporting released Union soldiers northward from Vicksburg, at the end of the Civil War.

Pan American 103 crash site

47. Pan Am 103 Flight: December 21, 1988 in the evening flight Pan American 103 exploded and pieces of the plane fell onto the Scottish town of Lockerbie, killing 259 people on the plane and 11 people on the ground. This air-disaster of the century has now its own homepage on the internet. 

48. Air India Flight 182:  On June 22, 1985, terrorist bombing and resultant crash which claimed 329 lives.

49. Wilhelm Gustloff Sinking:  Considered to be the worst naval disaster in history, the German naval transport Wilhelm Gustloff was torpedoed by a Russian submarine on January 30, 1945. From 7,000 to 8,000 people lost their lives in the freezing water of the Baltic Sea.

Quebec Bridge Disaster

50.  Quebec Bridge Disaster: On August 29, 1907 at 5:30 pm The Quebec Bridge collapse during construction, which killed 75 bridge workers only eleven had survived.

51.  The Great New York City Blackouts of 1965, 1977, and 2003: It was the middle of rush hour in New York City on a crisp November afternoon in 1965. The vast living machine made up of subways and elevators and stoplights and computers and over seven million people -- the most complex technological setting on Earth -- pulsed with traffic and vitality. Without warning, at half past five, the machine stumbled and lurched into a comatose silence from which it would not completely reawaken until thirteen hours later. For the first time in its history, New York had succumbed to a complete failure of its electrical power network, something that would be repeated again in 1977 and August 2003.

54. Tacoma Narrows: On November 7, 1940, at approximately 11:00 AM, the first Tacoma Narrows (Galloping Girtie) suspension bridge collapsed due to wind-induced vibrations.

MPEG video clip (700K)

55. Worst Elevator Accident: On May 11, 1995, a total of 105 people were killed when an elevator operating at the Vaal Reefs gold mine, South America, fell 1,608 ft.

56. Worst Single-Aircraft Disaster: An estimate of 520 people died when a JAL Boeing 747, flight 123 crashed between Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, on August 12, 1985.

57. Worst Firework Disaster: In May 1770, approximately 800 people had died in an accident that took place during a fireworks display near held beside the River Seine in Paris, France.

58. Largest Mass Suicide in Ancient Times: In 73 A.D., 960 Jewish Zealots committed mass suicide by cutting one another's throats at the Fortified Palace of Masada, Israel as it was being besieged by the Romans. the incident was recorded by the first century AD Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in his book "History of the Jews".

The Jonestown aftermath

60. Largest Mass Suicide in Modern Times:  In 1978, the worst mass suicide is that by 913 members of the Peoples Temple cult in Jonestown, Guyana. Their leader, Rev. James Jones, ordered members of his cult to commit suicide following the murder of American Congressman Leo Ryan and 4 others, three were members of the press, who was investigating allegations of abuse at Jonestown by Jones and his goons.  The other was a person of Jonestown who wanted to leave. The true coward he was, Jones himself did not swallow the cyanide tainted grape flavored Kool-Aid with many sedatives added also that the others drank, but instead shot himself in the head. Most of which had drank it without question. 638 adults and 276 children died. Their former headquarters building in San Francisco was demolished by the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. (See #100)

61. Worst Arctic Disaster in British History:  In 1845, British explorer Sir John Franklin, and his crew of 129 officers and men left on an expedition in search of the North-West Passage.  His entire crew was lost when his two ships, the Erebus and the Terror were frozen in pack ice for two years.  His disappearance led to the largest rescue effort in naval history, when several expeditions when in search of them.  One of these rescue missions, led by Captain Leopold McClintock, discovered the North-West Passage that Sir John gave his life searching for.

62. Worst American Built Blimp Disaster: In 1933, the American Navy dirigible the Akron crashed with 73 killed.

63. Worst Disaster in Canadian History: In 1917, a Belgian steamer collided with the ammunition ship Mont Blanc, which was carrying over 2,500 tons of explosives.   The resulting explosion leveled part of Halifax killing 1,600 people.

63. Worst Coal Mine Explosion: In 1906, an explosion in a coal mine in Courrières, France killed 1,060 miners.

                                                                    Before                                                After

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          64. Worst Bombing in Lebanon History: On April 18, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon the Beirut U.S. Embassy at approximately 1:30PM (Lebanon time) was bombed by a van full 2,000 pound load of bombs, the van was stolen from the embassy June 1982 by the terrorist who planned the bombing in the next ten months later, the explosion had torn through a large portion of the 7 story building's exterior and interior. 63 occupants were killed, 17 of whom were Americans, including Corporal Robert V. McMaugh, an embassy guard, journalist Janet Lee Stevens, several State Department officials including three USAID employees, the entire U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Middle East contingent were killed, and Several Army trainers were killed.

PHOTO: The Reagan's honor victims killed in bombing.

65. Worst Earthquake in Mexican History:  In 1985, a magnitude  8.1 earthquake  devastated Mexico City and three coastal Mexican states. An estimated 25,000 people lost their lives.

66: Worst Cyclone in History: On April 30, 1991, a cyclone hit southern Bangladesh, near India, killing over 131,000 people, and left 9,000,000 people homeless.  Thousands more died from starvation and disease resulting from the disaster.

67. Worst Epidemic in American History: In 1918, the Spanish or Swine flu killed over 500,000 people in the United States.

68. Yellow Fever Epidemic:  In the southern United States, over 13,000 people died from Yellow Fever.

69. Worst Tornado Outbreak in American History:  In 1974 a series of 148 tornados comprised the deadly 1974 “Super Tornado Outbreak” that struck 13 states in the East, South, and Midwest. Before it was over, 330 were dead, and 5,484 injured in a damage path covering more than 2,500 miles.

70. Worst Japanese Nuclear Disaster:  On September 30, 1999, an uncontrolled chain reaction in a uranium-processing nuclear fuel plant spewed high-levels of radioactive gas into the air, exposing 69 people, killing one worker, and seriously injuring two others.

71. Worst Recent Earthquake:  A powerful earthquake in northern Iran killed at least 500 people and injured 1,500 on Saturday, June 22, 2002, razing dozens of mountain villages whose mud-brick homes crumbled to dust. The death toll was set to rise, said the official IRNA news agency, with many people still trapped in rubble created in an instant by a quake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale.

72. Worst Recent Train Crash:  At least 200 people were killed June 25, 2002, when a passenger train and freight train collided in central Tanzania.

73. Worst post-9/11 Al Quaeda Attack:  Over 180 people were killed when a car bomb went off in front of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia in 2002, killing mostly Western European and Australian tourists.

74. Worst Single Airline Crash:  On August 12, 1985, a Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 crashed into a mountain on a domestic flight killing 520 people and only 4 people survived.

75. Korean Airline Shot Down by Soviets:  On September 1, 1983, a Korean Air Lines 747 shot down by a Soviet fighter after flying through Soviet airspace near Sakhalin Island killing 269 people.

76. Worst Loss of Life of Civilian Airline Shot Down by American Ship:  On July 3, 1988, an Iran Air A300 Airbus was shot down by USS Vincennes over the Persian Gulf killing 290 people.

77. Worst Airline Crash on American Soil:  On May 25, 1979, an American Airlines DC-10 crashed on takeoff in Chicago, Illinois, killing 273 people.

78. Worst Airline Crash in Central Asia:  On November 12, 1996, a Saudi 747 collided shortly after takeoff with a Kazak Ilyushin-76 that was making its landing approach, killing 349 people.

79. Worst Earthquake of the 21st Century:  In January, 2004, approximately 40,000 people were killed when an earthquake occurred in the Iranian city of Bam.

Columbia disaster on Time Magazine cover.

80.  Worst Space Disaster of the 21st Century:  On Feb. 1, 2003, seven astronauts were killed when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry more than 350,000 feet over Dallas, Texas at 715,000 MPH before landing at approximately at 8:15AM.  The leading edge of the Columbia's left wing was damaged by a piece of foam insulation when the shuttle lifted off two weeks earlier. Nearby Dallas residents reported hearing "a loud bang".  Hundreds of debris were recovered, however, they were radioactive making a more difficult to recover, people who had touched whilst it was radioactive would become exposed. All 7 shuttle passengers were lives were lost including Israeli pilot llan Ramon.

81.  Worst War in the 21st Century:  The American invasion of Iraq that overthrew Saddam Hussein in March of 2003, a few thousand Iraqis and over 500 American, British & allied troops have been killed in the war and the insurgency that followed.  But the total casualties pale in comparison to Saddam Hussein's war with Iran.   

82.  Bloodiest War in Middle East in 20th Century:  Between 1980 and 1988, a war was fought between Iraq and Iran which resulted in well over 5 million deaths and casualties.  Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, who started the war,  has caused more wars in the Middle East than any other leader in the Middle East.  However, his ambitions to rule the Middle East were cut short by President of the United States, George W. Bush in December 12, 2003 with Hussein's overthrow and capture by American forces.

Ex-President of Iraq looking like a disaster.

83. Worst Trampling to Death in Mecca This Decade: On Feb. 1, 2004, more than 244 Muslim pilgrims killed, hundreds of others wounded, as stamped occurred during the annual devil-stoning ritual in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

84. Worst Fires in Mecca: On April 15, 1997,  fires driven by high winds tore through a sprawling, overcrowded tent city at Mina, trapping and killing more than 340 pilgrims  (although aid workers and diplomats said the death toll was at least 500) and injuring 1,500.

85. Worst Trampling to Death in Mecca During 90's:  On May 23, 1994, 270 pilgrims, most of them Indonesian, killed in stampede in Mecca as worshippers surge toward cavern for symbolic ritual of "stoning the devil."

86. Worst Hajj Tragedy of Modern Times: On July 2, 1990, 1,426 pilgrims, many of them Malaysians, Indonesian and Pakistanis, were killed in Mecca stampede in overcrowded pedestrian tunnel leading to holy sites.

87. Worst Riots in Mecca: On July 31, 1987, 402 people, mostly Iranian pilgrims, were killed and 649 were wounded in Mecca when security forces clashed with Iranians staging illegal anti-American demonstrations.

88.  First Soviet Space Disaster:  On April 24, 1967, 3 months after the Apollo 1 disaster (see number 90, below), Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Kamerov was killed when his Soyuz 1 spacecraft malfunctioned in orbit.  During reentry, his main parachute failed, and his reserve chute tangled, causing his capsule to smash to earth at over 300 miles an hour, killing him instantly.

           Soyuz 1 crash site.

89. Worst Soviet Space Disaster:  In June 1971 Soyuz 11, the second and longest flight to the world's first space station, Salyut-1, ended tragically when the crew died because of decompression of their capsule during reentry.  Soviet cosmonauts Dobrovolskiy, Volkov, and Patsayev were found dead by the recovery crew.

                                  The Capsule before            Apollo 1 after the tragedy    

                                                                          The Crew

90. Worst American Launch Pad Disaster:  On January 27, 1967, American astronauts Virgil I. Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chafee were killed during a launch pad test of their Apollo 1 capsule.  A short in the wiring caused a flash fire in the pure oxygen environment of the capsule, killing all three astronauts within a minute. The capsule had been recovered 30 years later (1997).

91.  Largest Genocide in History: The Armenian Genocide had been soughed out by the Young Turkish government in April 24, 1915, the diabolical plan was to exterminate the entire Armenian race, and by 1918 they had nearly succeeded by destroying most of the Armenian communities in the empire. The estimated death toll was 1.5 million victims. Then by 1923 when the Nationalist Turks founded the Republic of Turkey to replace the Ottoman state, for all intents and purposes, Armenian society has ceased to exist in Asia Minor.

92. Worst Recent Pyrotechnic Incident:  In February 20, 2003 in Rhode Island at a concert held by the hard rock band Great White in a small venue, l00 had lost their lives due to the carelessness of assembling pyrotechnics and igniting them in a 300 person-capacity nightclub venue, The Station in which the sealing had caught on fire and spread practically around the perimeter, they had lost former guitarist Ty Longley. Over 160 concertgoers were treated for injuries.

93. Worst Shootings in School History: On April 20, 1999 in Littleton, CO at the Columbine High School shootings that left 15 dead and 23 wounded. Apparently the two shooters known as Harris and Klebold then committed suicide during the shootings. Harris was known to have had a chemical imbalance of the brain and diagnosed with a obsessive/compulsive disorder and was prescribed Luvox as a medication.

                                                    The Aftermath                                                     Timothy McVeigh

94. The Oklahoma City Bombing: On April 19, 1995, the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK was bombed. The culprit, Timothy McVeigh had soughed out the plan with an apparent car bomb that killed 168 people, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection, the execution was set on May of 2000.

95. Jack The Ripper: The popular name given to a serial killer who killed a number of prostitutes in the East End of London in 1888. Hell bent on terrifying the city by mutilating prostitutes in plain sight. Although he was never caught, it was never certain whether he had killed five, seven or more victims, theoretically it may be probable that it was about eighteen or so.

96. The Holocaust: Over 6,000,000 Jews were killed during the holocaust as a result of the Adolph Hitler Regime throughout the entire WWII era. (More information to come)

San Francisco earthquake aftermath

97. San Francisco Earthquake of 1906: On April 18, 1906 at almost approximately 5:12am local time an earthquake shook the grounds of San Francisco, and then destroyed by the seventh great fire that burned for four days, then a major aftershock struck at 8:14am over. Then another fire broke out at 395 Hayes St. on the southwest corner of Hayes and Gough. It would become known as the “Ham and Egg” fire, and would destroy part of the Western Addition, the Mechanics’ Pavilion, City Hall and then jump Market Street at Ninth. Evacuation of the injured from Mechanics’ Pavilion, Grove and Larkin, began at 12pm because of the spreading of the “Ham and Egg” fire. The wounded were treated at Golden Gate Park, Children’s Hospital and the Presidio.  1500 people were killed, the death could been lower if not for the Mayor Schmitz's "Shoot To Kill" order issued at 7am with troops sent from Fort Mason to The Hall of Justice, an issue in which soldiers shoot any looters to death. Mistakenly, even those who were merely salvaging their belongings, damage was estimated to 500,000,000 dollars in 1906.

98. Worst Earthquake In European History: On November 1, 1775, at approximately 9:40am in Lisbon, Portugal, the town was shaken by a large earthquake off-shore, although Portugal has been hit by earthquakes over the last 200 years, this one was known to be the worst in European history, burying those inside and out on the streets by fallen debris. The quake then triggered a tsunami at the estimated height of 50 feet, ships, docks and buildings in the city were battered and knocked around by the high seas. Thousands had been swept away. As if that wasn't enough, lamps and cooking fires upset in the tumult ignited a conflagration that proved impossible to control. It burned uncontrollably for three days, completing the destruction. In all more than 70,000 people died in the disaster in Lisbon alone. Thousands more had died in other areas. The quake had been felt throughout Western Europe and Northwestern Africa.

99. Highest Earthquake Magnitude in U.S. History: On March 27, 1964 at approximately 5:36pm Alaskan time, a magnitude 9.2 according to scientists, the earthquake struck in Anchorage, Alaska, geologically, the effects were widespread and dramatic. Large areas were lifted up or dropped by several feet, landslides were extensive, ground failure led to large fissures in the ground, landslides into bays caused huge seiche waves locally and a tsunami caused damage thousands of miles away. Luckily, the casualties taken were considerably lighter than might be expected for a disaster of this magnitude, 115 people died. The earthquake started with only a few seconds of small tremors. These quickly built into intense shaking that knocked people down, threw objects from shelves and caused buildings to collapse. The shaking lasted for only a full 5 minutes.

                               The break out of fires from ruptured gas lines      1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake aftermath

100. Most Recent Earthquake In California: On October 17, 1989 at approximately 5:04pm, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the Santa Cruz mountains, near Loma Prieta peak, about 70 miles south of San Francisco.  But the worst damage was in the nearby cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz. There was also considerable damage throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. A total of 66 deaths, over 3,757 injuries, and 10 billion dollars in damages.

Additional Information Regarding Earthquake: The former headquarters building in San Francisco for the People's Temple Cult was demolished from the earthquake.

101. Alaskan Tsunami: On April 1, 1946, at approximately 12:29PM, an earthquake occurred in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. A Pacific-wide tsunami was triggered by the earthquake, which had a surface-wave magnitude of 7.8. Before the tsunami dissipated it took the lives of more than 165 people and cause over $26 million in 1946 in damage.

102. Worst Recent Mudslide: On December 25, 2003, a mudslide went through San Bernardino, CA. A 30-mile swath of mountainside scorched by this fall's wildfires making it vulnerable to flash flooding causing it to create a mudslide, and killing 14 people, two people are still missing.

103. The United DC-10 Disaster: The crew of this United DC-10 attempted an emergency landing after a complete hydraulic failure. 184 passengers survived the crash landing; 112 died.

Flight 4590 during the turbulence

104. The Aerospatiale Concorde Flight 4590: On July 25, 2000, The Air France Aerospatiale Concorde Flight 4590 aircraft caught fire shortly after takeoff from Paris' Charles de Gualle Airport on a charter flight to New York. The pilots lost control and the plane crashed into a hotel restaurant. Subsequent investigation revealed that the aircraft had run over a metal strip which had earlier dropped from a Continental Airlines DC-10 during its departure roll, causing the tires to explode and puncture the underwing fuel tanks. All 109 passengers died.

Pieces of the aircraft being recovered

105. Second Worst Aircraft Crash in 21st Century: On January 3, 2004 at approximately 4:44am Iranian time, the Flight Airlines Boeing 737-3Q8 crashed into the Red Sea on a chartered passenger flight from Sharm el-Sheikh to Cairo, continuing to Paris shortly after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. According to officials in Cairo, the aircraft disappeared from radar at 4:44am local time, and wreckage was found about 9 miles south of the airport shortly thereafter. 148 passengers died.