Titanic

Disaster: World's biggest ship, at the time, hits iceberg and sinks. Few lifeboats on board causing high death rate.
Date: April 14-15, 1912
Deaths: over 1,500
Survivors: about 700
Boarded: 2,200

Interesting fact: Most people froze to death, not drown.
                          All second class children survived.
Lesson learned: No ship, no matter how big or well designed, is unsinkable.

On the night of April 14, 1912 Titanic, a British ship, was on her main voyage to New York from England. Due to the night being moonless, the water being still and binoculars locked in a box without a key, the outlookers were not able to see the ice berg until it was nearly upon them. The Crows Nest identified a big black area in the distance as an iceberg. The famous words "iceberg right ahead" were shouted into a phone.

Moments later Titanic collide with the iceberg at 11:40 pm "rupturing at least five compartments" of the hull. (history.com) The ship was designed to stay afloat with no more than four compartments full of water. Titanic only carried 20 lifeboats, "four more than were required by British regulations"  (http://octopus.gma.org/space1/titanic.html). There were only enough lifeboats for half the people on board. An hour past the collision the first lifeboat was lowered. Since the Titanic was said to be unsinkable many people didn't believe the she was going down and therefore went back to their rooms. As time past realization set in the ship was going down. People began to panic and tried jumping into the remaining lifeboats, but shots were fired in the air to keep them back. "Ladies and children first" was the order given to the crew. Wives were separated from their husbands and children from their fathers. Love ones were never seen again.

For years there has been a debate about whether the Titanic broke in two, it was recently confirmed when the wreak was found in 1985 off the coast of NewFoundland. Titanic lays two miles down on the ocean floor where bacteria is eating away the ship.

Like many tragedies the crew is forgotten. Included in the boarding of 2,200 was about 900 crew. On the ship, the crew continued to follow orders trusting that they would be the last to get off before Titanic went under. Three-fourths of the crew perished with the ship.

Some honorable people on board were a band of musicians who played in hopes of calming the crowd in their final moments. To this day no one knows when they stopped. They were greatly honored at their funerals in Europe.

For more info and survivor's testimonies visit http://www.history.com/interactives/titanic-interactive.

Before:

After:

        

1st photo from: http://www.titanicuniverse.com/
2nd photo from: http://www.titanicuniverse.com/
3rd photo from: http://www.titanicuniverse.com/

London's Great Fire

Disaster: One of the World's biggest cities is nearly destroyed by fire.

Date: Sept. 2 - 6, 1666
Deaths: 16
Damage: More than four-fifths of the city burned down.

Interesting Fact: The fire could be seen 30 miles away.

Lesson Learned: Don't have narrow streets or alleyways and construct buildings of brick or stone (not timber.)

   On the evening of September 1, King Charles II's baker, Thomas Farrior, did not distinguish his oven correctly. Around midnight (claims History) a spark landed some wood outside the oven catching fire. The fire quickly grew in size, but Farrior, his family and a servant escaped. Sadly, the baker assistant did not make it out.

   From the baker shop "on Pudding Lane near the London bridge" the fire spread from house to house which many of them were close together and made of timber. Citizens tried to put out the fire with water buckets and taring down buildings, but the fire keep raging on. Finally, the people gave up and ran to their homes to evacuated their family and processions.

   In all, only 16 people "were known to have died" despite the fact that the streets were crowded and narrow (History). History.com estimates that 13,000 houses burned down along with 90 churches.

Not long after the disaster, King Charles II ordered for the rebuilding of the city. A famous architect by the name of Sir Christopher Wren was hired by the King for the new layout of the city. In the design, streets would be wider, houses farther apart, narrow allies "forbidden" and many buildings made of brick or stone.

Firefighters were not a big part of society at this time. In fact, fire departments would not be established until the 18th century (History). Until then people resorted to buckets of water.


Photo from: http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/TheGreatFireOfLondon.asp

Info from: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/great-fire-of-london-begins

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Disaster: Factory catches fire trapping workers. (Pre-image of 9/11.)
Date: March 25,1911
Deaths: 145
Lesson Learned: 1. Owners must take responsibility for their workers.
                              2. All buildings have to meet fire regulations.

Interesting Fact: "Within 18 minutes, 145 lay dead" (History.com)

In the early 20th century in New York City, rights for workers were very few. Many factory employees were young women and children working long hours in bad conditions and with little pay. History Channel claims that each worker would receive $15 per week after working 12 hours everyday. Due to the bad conditions many people (especially women) protested for workers rights. In order to prevent protests managers locked doors at work. Including the Triangle Factory.

On a Saturday afternoon just before the work day was over, a cigarette or pipe was tossed in a rag bin catching fire. A manager, notified by one of the 600 workers, threw a pail of water over the bin, but the fire had already gotten out of control. Panicked workers (on the eighth floor) ran for the exits leaving the building. A lady on the eighth floor called up to the tenth floor yelling "Fire! Fire!" The operator quickly went to notify the tenth floor never giving the news to the ninth floor.

Exits were limited with doors either locked or impassable, a fire escape and one operational elevator. Some women took the fire escape which collapsed under their weight killing a dozen women. Others went down a staircase that proved to be impassable trapping them. All 49 women in the stair case were buried alive. Not long after, the fire reached the elevator (on the fourth trip) closing the last possibility for escape. Women started jumping when then knew their sentence was death. Three people at a time jumped from the ninth floor making a big thud sound as they hit the ground. They were killed instantly.

The whole event took less than one hour.

The owner Max Blanck was questioned and ordered to spend five days in the slammer or pay $20. The article 100 Years Ago: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire describes Blanck's reaction. “He smiled, pulled out a ‘roll’ of money as thick as his arm, peeled off a $20 bill and walked off.”

History.com sums up the whole disaster in the following sentence "The tragedy brought widespread attention to the dangerous sweatshop conditions of factories, and led to the development of a series of laws and regulations that better protected the safety of workers."

Pre-Image of 9/11
The reason why this fire was a pre-image of 9/11 is because many workers on high floors were trapped as the fire spread throughout the building. Firefighter ladders could not reach the floor and finally people started jumping as their last option. This event also occurred in New York City. Due to the disaster being on a Saturday afternoon people were out strolling enjoying the outdoors when they witnessed the horror.

Info from:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/triangle-shirtwaist-fire-in-new-york-city
http://www.history.com/news/2011/03/24/100-years-ago-the-triangle-shirtwaist-fire/

Tri-State Tornado

Disaster: Tornado tares through three states

Date: March 18, 1925

Deaths: 695
Injured: 13,000
Damage Cost: $17 Million

Facts:
   Tri-State Tornado is the worst tornado in the U.S.

   The town of Griffin, Indiana was wiped out.
   Tornado was a mile wide. 

      Around 1p.m. outside of Ellington, Missouri an F5 tornado (the worst on tornado scale) rips through southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and southwest Indiana. Recorded as the deadliest tornado in U.S. history the Tri-State Tornado is also the longest tornado track with 219 miles(NOAA.) The huge tornado was on the ground for three hours with winds faster than 70mph, taring up towns, injuring and killing people. In roughly 40 minutes 541 people were killed and 1,423 injured in Illinois.

Due to radar and satellite imagery not being invented residents received little if any warning of the disastrous storm heading towards them. In fact "Tornado Watch" and "Tornado Warning" were never heard of. NOAA claims that "even if a watch/warning program were in place, the message would have never been disseminated in such a fashion to give people the necessary lead time to seek shelter."

 Quotes from NOAA:
"The handful of unscathed citizens from Griffen and surroundings districts were confronted with destruction so complete that some could only guess where they had once lived."

    -Mr. Felknor
        Griffin, Indiana

"Then the air was filled with 10,000 things. Boards, poles, cans, garments, stoves, whole sides of the little frames houses, in some cases the houses themselves, were picked up and smashed to earth. And living beings, too. A baby was blown from its mother's arms. A cow, picked up by the wind, was hurled into the village restaurant." 
 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch Newspaper
                March 20, 1925

Info from:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pah/?n=1925tor

 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-tri-state-tornado

Photo from:

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tri-state+tornado&view=detail&id=70401633F1DF5569E51DAEB7160B8B4C4227940F&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR

Indian Ocean Tsunami

Disaster: Huge tsunami causes major devastation in multiple countries.

Date: Dec. 26, 2004
Deaths: At least 225,000
Countries affected: 12



Countries most damaged:  Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, and Thailand

Just before 8am local time, a 9.0 earthquake rumbled the Indian Ocean. In 8 hours, wave after wave of tsunamis hit the South and Southeast parts of Asia. People ran for their lives as the Indian Ocean rushed in.
With large numbers of reported deaths History Channel claims that at least 225,000 were killed. As populated as Asia is, not all of them were resident's. Included in the death numbers are tourists from around the world.

When Asia cried out for help, the world came to their aid. Relief workers faced multiple challenges. Big issues included lack of food, water, shelter  and medical supplies. Not only the need for these items, but transporting them was yet another task. Roads severely damaged made passing them nearly impossible. History Channel also says that "Long-term environmental damage was severe as well, with villages, tourist resorts, farmland, and fishing grounds demolished or inundated with debris, bodies, and plant-killing salt water."

Info from: http://www.history.com/topics/indian-ocean-tsunami

Photos from:
http://www.thelivingmoon.com/45jack_files/03files/Endangered_Earth_Subduction_Zone_01.html

The Courrieres' Mine Disaster

Disaster: A spark causes a huge mine explosion.
Date: March 10, 1906
Deaths: 1,060
Injuries: Over 1,000
Location: Courrieres, France
Lesson: This disaster is a reminder that mining is dangerous. So many people have either died or suffered from diseases caused by toxic gas or burns from fires while mining.

Interesting Fact: The mine explosion in France on March 10, 1906 is the worst mining disaster in Europe's history.

Photo from: http://www.city-data.com/forum/history/914400-upon-day-history-march-1-31-a-2.html

     On the afternoon of March 9 a fire started in one of the "complex series of mines"(history.com) in Courrieres, France. Coal, dug up by men and boys, was mostly used for the manufacture of gas. History Channel goes on to say that the miners chose to close openings near the fire in order to reduce oxygen eventually killing the fire. What the miners were not aware of was that flammable gas found it's way in through fissures. Since there were so many other mines men went back to work the next day.

     At 7 am on March 10, a spark triggered by the gas caused a huge explosion. Fire came shooting out all exits killing some people outside the mines. Even a roof of a mine office building was "blasted" off. As desperate as people needed help rescuers could not enter the mine due to the fire still burning and tunnels no longer stable. Even thou it was dangerous to enter a group of 40 men risked their lives in order to save others. All 40 men of the rescue group died when the tunnel the were traveling in collapsed.

     In the end over a 1,000 people were killed. An even greater number were injured. Many of those victims suffered from major burns. History.com claims that there was so much "chaos" outside the mine that French soldiers had to step in for help. It wouldn't be until weeks later that all the bodies were found and identified.

Great Diasters

Washington's Avalanche

                                                      Disaster: Avalanche sends two trains
                                                                   into the bottom of a gorge

Date: February 28, 1910

Deaths: 96
Survivors: 23

Changes: Trains take a new route that uses tunnels as protection against future avalanches.


Lesson Learned: Don't cut down trees on slopes above towns and railways.

Photo from: http://barkingrabbits.blogspot.com/2008/03/huge-avalanche-buries-two-trains-to.html

On Feb 28th of 1910 a blizzard hit Washington state with snow, ice and strong winds. History Channel wrote that the storm caused "high snow drifts in the Cascade Mountains that blocked the rail lines." Telephone lines were put down preventing communication with the outside world.

The Spokane Express, headed to Seattle from Spokane, was traveling on the Great Northern Railroads when a devastating rumble began. Due to snow covering the tracks the train could not move and had no protection. At 4:20am huge amounts of snow came rolling down Windy Mountain's side pushing a couple of trains into the gorge below (150 feet down.) With the avalanche came loud noises of trees snapping and other debris as it raced down the mountain destroying everything in its path.

A witness by the name of Charles Andrews declared the avalanche to be "white death" (history.com.)  Charles Andrews was a railroad worker and Wellington resident at the time. Not only did the avalanche wipe out the trains, but the Wellington train station as well.

History Channel goes on to say that the trains at the bottom of the gorge "were covered in 40 to 70 feet of snow and debris." With telephone lines down calls could not be made for outside help. "Despite the risk of further avalanches, many people pitched in to try to dig out survivors; it was not until the night of March 2 that assistance from outside Wellington was able to reach the site" (history.com.) In all, 23 people were pulled out alive and 96 killed. Of the survivors most were seriously injured.

In 1910 and further back people would cut down trees on slopes of mountains above a town. The Washington Avalanche is blamed on this practice writes History Channel.

Cruise Ship Disaster

Here is a news report not long after the disaster occurred. It tells of people's experience on the ship as she turned on her side in the water.

Pompeii 79AD

                     

Disaster: Volcano's eruption destroys Pompeii
Date: Aug 24-25, 79
Deaths: Over 2,000
Residents: 20,000
Eruption lasted: Around 20 hrs
Interesting facts: Figures of humans in their final moments along with the city walls and streets are still there today.


Photo from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii

Check out this cool video of Pompeii
http://www.history.com/topics/pompeii/videos#pompeii-deconstructed

In the year of 79AD Vesuvius, an angry volcano, near the Bay of Naples Italy erupted. Huge amounts of ash and pumice were sent up 10 miles into the atmosphere before raining down on the city of Pompeii. People ran for their lives, but 70miles per hour toxic clouds caught up to them. Due to the clouds of ash being over 1,000 degrees, victims were instantly killed.

The city of Pompeii was covered in 14 to 17 feet of ash, preserving the people, buildings and even bread. As centuries went by Pompeii was forgotten. In the year of 1748 the buried city was re-discovered. Due to ash being easy to brush off archaeologists have uncovered and learned a great deal about life 2,000 years. Findings of 2,000 bodies in certain positions of people's last moments has brought Pompeii global attention.

Another city was also destroyed by Vesuvius, Herculaneum. Unlike Pompeii, Herculaneum was covered in hot mud making it difficult for archaeologists to dig up the city. It wasn't until 1982 that the first body was found in Herculaneum. The bodies show burn marks leading experts to believe that these people suffered horrible deaths.

A lot of the info we have about Vesuvius's eruption is in great thanks to Pliny the Younger. Younger (who was 17 at the time) witnessed the eruption nearby and wrote two letters about the horrifying scene. He said "people covered their heads with pillows, the only defense against a shower stones." Younger also wrote "a dark and horrible cloud charged with combustible... [people] prayed to die."

To this day Pompeii has not been completely uncovered. Experts are still digging and discovering other items of life 2,000 years ago. Herculaneum, however, has even less uncovered. As the digging goes on new truth about that terrifying event will surface. As for now people around the world are still fascinated by this buried city even 250 years after being discovered.The site of Pompeii is one of the most popular tourist sites of Italy.


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Hurricane Katrina

Disaster: Hurricane hits city
Date: Aug. 29, 2005
Deaths: Over 1,800

Lesson Learned: Make sure your defenses are strong. In New Orleans case make sure the walls holding back the sea are repaired every so often.

Interesting fact: Hurricane Katrina is the most expensive disaster in America's history!

For video of Superdome 2005 http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/08/24/vo.katrina.superdome.2005.cnn

Photo from: http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?55104-Hurricane-Katrina
What started out as a category 1 hurricane by the Bahamas changed into a category 4 hurricane in six days. On Aug 29, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans with 170mph winds and brought devastating rain. Due to New Orleans being below sea level, roughly 80 percent of the city was under water. Katrina was not the only reason why New Orleans flooded (and the fact that they are below sea level,)but because the walls holding back the sea failed due to not being repaired years ago.

Before the storm some 1.2 million people (according to the History Channel) evacuated, however 10,000 people stayed behind because they "could not or would not leave." For those who stayed behind, some took shelter in their homes while others stayed at the Superdome. Not long after the Superdome roof became damaged; pieces fell in to the stands.

Katrina was not the only problem that New Orleans faced, with flood waters rising more people took shelter in the Superdome. Before long food and water supplies became low and temperatures reached 90F. Health had become another issue. On Sept. 1, the military came into the city with much needed supplies of food and water. About a dozen countries helped providing money and necessities. Canada and Mexico also helped by sending in troops to "assist with cleanup and rebuilding."

43 days after Katrina the last bit of water was finally pumped out. In all, Katrina cost $80 billion dollars in damage and downsized the city's population.

Flight 255

Disaster: Commercial Plane crashes onto highway.
Date: Aug. 16, 1987
Deaths: 156
Survivors: 1 (Four year old girl)
Lesson Learned: Always complete pre-flight checks.

1st photo from: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0816Flight255.html?&wired

In August of 1987, Flight 255 was planned to head for California with one stop in Phoenix. Before taking off in Detroit, the pilots skipped crucial steps of the pre-flight check in order to beat some on coming bad weather. The wing flaps, which help give the plane lift, were not put down as listed in the pre-flight.

During take off, Flight 255 failed to get off the ground quickly. Near the end of the runway the plane was 40 feet in the air when it should have been 600 feet. Due to not getting enough lift, Flight 255 crashed into a nearby highway killing two people in a car. Everyone on the flight (except for one) died in the crash. A four-year-old girl was the only survivor. The plane took off with 149 passengers and six crew.

For more info http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/plane-crashes-into-highway

http://www.flight255memorial.com/thecrash.html

2nd photo from: http://www.flight255memorial.com/thecrash.html

The Great Chicago Fire

Disaster: City catches fire
Date: Oct. 8-10, 1871
Deaths: Over 300
Buildings destroyed: 17,450
Homeless: Over 100,000
Photo from: http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/history-of-illinois3.htm



The Chicago fire is considered to be the worst fire in America's history. Beginning on the west side in a barn, the blaze quickly grew out of control. On the night of Oct. 8 people ran for their lives as the city lit up the night sky. Many buildings where made of wood and therefore consumed by the fire. Even brick buildings were affected by the fire because they exploded with flames. About a third of the city burned to the ground. Nearly 3.5 square miles lost.

The fire did not stop until it rained on Oct. 10. In addition, empty lots (that had not yet been built on)and a lake that was near by, prevented the fire from spreading further. Not long after, the process of cleaning up began.The aftermath was devastating. More than 300 people dead, 17,450 buildings destroyed and over 100,000 homeless. Also $200 million dollars in damage.

The exact cause of the fire is still unknown, but history.com tells of a unlikely rumor that a cow started it. (Maybe the cow knocked over a lamp?) Other ideas have surfaced like a drunken neighbor or vandals, but nobody knows what happened in the barn.

Fires in the past were not uncommon. In fact they were frequent. The reason why the fire of Oct 8, 1871 is famous is because it nearly took out the city.

For more info visit http://www.history.com/topics/great-chicago-fire

Theater Collapes under Snow

Disaster: Theater collapses
Date: Jan. 29, 1922
Deaths: 108
Injured: 133
In attendance: 300
Lesson learned: Don't use poor building materials.



For info go to: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/theater-collapses-in-washington-dc
Photo from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/theatretalks/5051336373/

After two days of blizzard conditions in Washington D.C. more than two feet of snow was dumped on the city. Businesses were closed for those couple days until Jan 29, 1922. After being cooped up inside people wanted to go out for entertainment.

At the Knickerbocker theater a number of 300 people arrived for a show. About half way through the production the roof collapsed on top of the audience. Snow, steel and metal came down, burying the people below. 108 people were killed and even more were injured. All through the night rescue operations were in action, finding and digging people out from the rubble.

It was later determined that the building failed due to poor construction materials.

Of the deaths one man was a congressman. In a single family, five were killed (claims history.com.)