More souls died on the Riverboat Sultana than the RMS Titanic!
Category Archives: Historical Disasters
Centralia, PA – the Town that Burned from Beneath
If you drive north on Route 61 in northeastern Pennsylvania, you will come across an innocent looking detour at the top of a low mountain.
Martinique’s Mt. Pelée Volcano Eruption of 1902
On 8 May 1902, Mount Pelée volcano, on the Caribbean island of Martinique, violently erupted and literally blew its top. The eruption killed nearly 30,000 people within minutes and wiped the coastal city of St. Pierre off the map. It was the most devastating and deadliest volcanic disaster of the 20th century. Montagne Pelée, BaldContinue reading “Martinique’s Mt. Pelée Volcano Eruption of 1902”
Krakatoa Volcano Eruption Shook the Globe
The eruption of Krakatau island in August 1883 was THE most deadly volcanic explosion in modern history.
Japan’s 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.
Bhopal India – the World’s Worst Industrial Disaster
Over 40 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. It went primarily into the poor slums surrounding the factory, exposing more than half a million souls to the deadly cloud. The thick, heavy gasContinue reading “Bhopal India – the World’s Worst Industrial Disaster”
The Santiago Church Fire – 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 in New York City. It occurred at The Church of the Company of Jesus in Santiago, Chile on 18 December 1863. The horrible Santiago Church Fire consumed the large cathedral during a CatholicContinue reading “The Santiago Church Fire – 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.
The Deadly 1900 Galveston Hurricane
If you approached Galveston, Texas from the Gulf of Mexico in 1900, it looked like an American Venice.