What do WWII battles, ballistic missiles, and the deadly brown tree snake have in common?
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history. It occurred on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. During a late-night safety test, one of the plant’s reactors exploded and released massive amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere. The disaster had significant environmental, health, and socio-economic impacts, and the site remains highly radioactive to this day. It is believed that the death toll for the disaster is in the tens of thousands.
Also known as the BP oil spill, the disaster occurred on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico. It began with an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. The explosion caused the rig to sink, and over 87 days, approximately 4.9 million barrels of oil leaked into the Gulf, causing extensive harm to marine ecosystems and local fishing industries. Eleven workers died in the initial explosion, and many more suffered health issues due to exposure to the oil and chemical dispersants used in cleanup efforts.
On March 11, 2011, a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Japan, which was followed by a major tsunami. The natural disasters severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, and the facility’s three reactors experienced a meltdown, multiple explosions, and the release of radioactive material into the environment. Large-scale evacuations occurred in the region, and long-term ecological damage was rendered on the area’s air, soil, and water.
During its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City in 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean on the evening of April 14. The collision caused the ship's hull to buckle and flood with water, dragging the ship beneath the water. Of the approximately 2,224 passengers and crew on board, over 1,500 died, making it one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history. One of the major contributing factors to the high death toll included insufficient lifeboats, lack of emergency preparedness, and the initial belief that the ship was unsinkable.
The town of Libby, Montana, was severely impacted by asbestos contamination due to a local vermiculite mine that was active for much of the 20th century. The vermiculite ore mined in Libby contained toxic asbestos fibers, which were released into the air and led to widespread environmental contamination and significant health issues, including lung cancer and asbestosis.
Also known as Lusi, the Sidoarjo mud volcano is an ongoing mud eruption in East Java, Indonesia, that began in May 2006. It is one of the largest and most persistent mud volcanoes in the world, and it was triggered by a drilling accident. To this day, it continues to spew vast mudflows, displacing residents, burying homes, and causing significant economic and environmental damage.
In December 1952, a mixture of coal burning and low temperatures caused a thick layer of toxic smog to blanket the city of London and refrain from dissipating. The event caused thousands of deaths and respiratory illnesses around the city, and also prompted environmental regulations on air pollution worldwide.
The Aberfan mining disaster was a catastrophic event that occurred in the village of Aberfan, Wales, on October 21, 1966. Heavy rainfall caused the local mine to collapse and send a mudslide down the hill, which engulfed the village’s primary school and claimed the lives of 116 children and 28 adults.
Shortly after launch on January 28, 1986, NASA's Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart and exploded, killing all seven crew members. The disaster was caused by the failure of an O-ring seal in a solid rocket booster, leading to widespread safety reforms in NASA.
The second Space Shuttle mission to end in disaster was that of Columbia on February 1, 2003. As the Space Shuttle reentered the Earth’s atmosphere following a successful mission, the shuttle's thermal protection system failed and caused the aircraft to disintegrate over Texas, killing all seven crew members.
On July 17, 1981, disaster struck the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, when a structural failure in the hotel’s suspended walkways caused them to collapse during a tea dance. The disaster killed 114 people and injured over 200 more, which prompted major legal investigations and significant changes in engineering practices.
On July 6, 2013, an unattended 73-car freight train carrying crude oil rolled downhill and derailed in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada. The train exploded and destroyed much of the town’s center, killing 47 people in the process. All but three of the town’s 39 remaining buildings were demolished thereafter due to petroleum contamination.
Located in the Dhaka District of Bangladesh, Rana Plaza was an eight-storey commercial building that experienced heavy structural failure on April 24, 2013. The building was home to five garment factories, a bank, and apartments, and the subsequent collapse of the complex killed over 1,100 people and injured thousands more.
The deadliest industrial accident in US history is considered to be the Texas City disaster, which occurred in the city’s port on April 16, 1947. A French-registered ship carrying 2,300 tons (about 2,100 metric tons) of ammonium nitrate caught fire, and the ship subsequently exploded, causing a chain reaction of additional fires and explosions that ultimately killed nearly 600 people.
Located 120 miles (190 km) off the shore of Scotland in the North Sea, Piper Alpha was an oil platform that exploded on July 6, 1988, after a gas leak ignited. The oil rig collapsed overnight and killed 165 of the men onboard, 30 of whose bodies have never been recovered.
After Typhoon Nina struck the Henan Province of China in August 1975, Banqiao Dam and 61 others in the region collapsed and created the third-deadliest flood in history across an area of 3 million acres (12,000 sq km). Around 30 cities and counties were affected, and estimates have placed the death toll of the disaster at almost 240,000.
On March 27, 1977, more than 580 people were killed when two Boeing 747 aircraft collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Airport) on the island of Tenerife, Spain. The disaster was attributed to dense fog that had covered the island, and is still considered the deadliest accident in aviation history. Only 61 people survived the crash.
A deadly fire broke out at a garment factory in New York City on March 25, 1911, claiming the lives of 146 garment workers, most of whom were immigrant women as young as 14 years old. The fire spread rapidly due to unsafe working conditions, locked doors, and inadequate fire escapes. Many workers even attempted to jump from the building’s high windows, but the height meant that they did not survive.
The Great Train Wreck of 1918 occurred on July 9 in Nashville, Tennessee, when two passenger trains (one stationary and the other traveling at high speed) collided head-on. The crash killed 101 passengers and injured an additional 171, and it is considered the worst rail accident in US history.
On December 20, 1987, Japanese-built passenger ferry MV Doña Paz collided with an oil tanker and subsequently sank. The vessel was egregiously overcrowded and at least 2,000 passengers were not listed on the ship’s manifest. The collision killed an estimated 4,385 people, and it remains the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history.
After a landslide rolled into the Vajont Dam reservoir in Italy on October 9, 1963, a massive wave was pushed over the top of the dam and resulted in devastating floods that wiped through several villages downstream. Approximately 2,500 fatalities were reported, and many families were displaced.
The Tōya Maru ferry disaster occurred in Japan on September 26, 1954, when Typhoon Marie collided with the ferry Tōya Maru en route from Hakodate to Aomori. The storm caused the ferry to capsize, resulting in the deaths of over 1,100 passengers and crew, making it one of Japan's deadliest maritime disasters.
The Sampoong Department Store collapse occurred on June 29, 1995, in Seoul, South Korea, when the upper floors of the store caved in due to structural failure, killing 502 people and injuring over 900. It was attributed to illegal modifications and poor construction practices, which highlighted the importance of building safety standards.
A chemical plant explosion occurred in Seveso, Italy, on July 10, 1976, which released a toxic cloud containing dioxin, a highly dangerous substance. The cloud contaminated the surrounding area, leading to the evacuation of thousands and long-term health consequences for many residents.
Sources: (Live Science) (Business Insider) (Britannica) (WorldAtlas)
Once home to more than 2,000 people, the town of Times Beach in Missouri was completely evacuated in 1983 due to dioxin contamination. While no deaths resulted directly from the evacuation process, the contamination was linked to many health issues and fatalities among residents in the years after.
A catastrophic famine swept through China from 1959 to 1961, caused by Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward policies, which included massive agricultural mismanagement and forced collectivization. The famine resulted in the deaths of an estimated 15 to 45 million people, making it one of the deadliest famines in history.
On the night of December 2, 1984, a gas leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, released a deadly cloud that spread quickly through the densely populated neighborhoods surrounding the plant. While the immediate deaths related to the disaster have been placed at 10,000 people, tens of thousands more suffered long-term health effects ranging from chronic respiratory problems to blindness. The site remains contaminated and continues to affect soil and water quality.
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred on March 24, 1989, when the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, spilling over 11 million gallons of crude oil. It devastated local ecosystems, killed wildlife, and led to long-term environmental and economic consequences.
The Hindenburg disaster occurred on May 6, 1937, when the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst in New Jersey. The disaster resulted in 36 fatalities and marked the end of the era of commercial passenger airship travel.
A devastating fire broke out in a high-rise residential building in London, England, on June 14, 2017, which resulted in 72 fatalities and numerous injuries. It started due to a faulty refrigerator and quickly spread thanks to the building’s combustible cladding. Afterwards, many building safety standards were revisited.
History is filled with tragedies that have claimed many lives, from mining disasters to volcanoes and tsunamis. The world has never had a shortage of catastrophes over the centuries, but there are some that have been purely man-made and would not have happened if it hadn’t been for some form of human intervention. Whether it's a chemical spill or a train collision, there have been numerous disasters that rank among the worst in history.
Curious? Click through this gallery to see some of history’s most devastating man-made disasters.
The most impactful man-made disasters in history
What happens when human error meets loss of life?
LIFESTYLE Aberdeen
History is filled with tragedies that have claimed many lives, from mining disasters to volcanoes and tsunamis. The world has never had a shortage of catastrophes over the centuries, but there are some that have been purely man-made and would not have happened if it hadn’t been for some form of human intervention. Whether it's a chemical spill or a train collision, there have been numerous disasters that rank among the worst in history.
Curious? Click through this gallery to see some of history’s most devastating man-made disasters.