How soon we forgot. Over 30 years ago, on the night of December 3, 1984, the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, released 30 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate gas into the air. Primarily into the poor slums surrounding the factory, exposing more than half a million souls to the deadly cloud. The thick,Continue reading “Bhopal India was the World’s Worst Industrial Disaster”
Category Archives: Historical Disasters
Japan’s Horrific Minamata Disease was a Man-made Disaster
Minamata Disease is a sobering reminder of the dangers of unregulated industries in modern times, a purely human-created disease.
The Lusitania Sank in Just 18 Minutes, Beating Titanic!
The ocean liner Lusitania was struck by a German torpedo in 1915 and sunk within sight of the Irish coast in just 18 Minutes! Compare that to the rather luxurious sinking of the Titanic three years earlier in 1912 that lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes. We have all seen the popular movie, so justContinue reading “The Lusitania Sank in Just 18 Minutes, Beating Titanic!”
The Santiago Church Fire was the Deadliest in History
The deadliest fire disaster ever recorded is not where you might think. Not the Great London Fire, not the Great Chicago Fire, not New York City. It occurred at The Church of the Company of Jesus in Santiago, Chile on December 8th, 1863. The horrible Santiago Church Fire consumed the church during a Catholic Mass, killingContinue reading “The Santiago Church Fire was the Deadliest in History”
Times Beach – America’s Hazardous Waste Ghost Town
Along famed ROUTE 66 just outside St. Louis, is one of Missouri’s newer state parks. But one with a very checkered past, as it’s the former location of the town of Times Beach and an infamous hazardous waste site.
The Donora Death Fog of 1948
In 1948, a little-remembered environmental disaster occurred in the U.S. that shocked the entire world. It may sound like something from a Steven King horror novel, but it’s the real thing.