No matter how far scientific and technological progress strides, catastrophes have happened, are happening and, probably, will happen for a long time to come. Some of them could have been avoided, but most of the worst events in the world were inevitable because they happened at the behest of mother nature.
Worst plane crash ever
Collision of two Boeing 747s
Humanity does not know a more terrible plane crash than the one that occurred on March 27, 1977 on the island of Tenerife, belonging to the Canary group. On this day, two Boeing 747s collided at Los Rodeo Airport, one of which belonged to KLM, the other to Pan American. This terrible tragedy claimed 583 lives. The reasons that led to this disaster is a fatal and paradoxical combination of circumstances.
Los Rodeos airport this ill-fated Sunday was seriously overloaded. The dispatcher spoke with a strong Spanish accent, and radio communications suffered from serious interference. Because of this, the Boeing commander KLM misinterpreted the command to abort the flight, which became the fatal cause of the collision of two maneuvering aircraft.
Only a few passengers managed to escape through the holes formed in the Pan American aircraft. Another Boeing lost its wings and tail, causing it to fall 150 meters from the crash site, after which it was dragged for another 300 meters. Both flying cars caught fire.
There were 248 passengers on board the Boeing KLM, none of whom survived. The Pan American plane was the site of the death of 335 people, including the entire crew, as well as the famous model and actress Yves Meyer.
The worst of man-made disasters
On July 6, 1988, the worst disaster in the history of oil production occurred in the North Sea. It happened on the Piper Alpha oil platform, which was built in 1976. The number of victims was 167 people, the company suffered a loss of about three and a half billion dollars.
The most annoying thing is that the number of victims could be much less if it were not for ordinary human stupidity. There was a large gas leak, followed by an explosion. But instead of stopping the oil supply immediately after the start of the accident, the service personnel waited for the command from the management.
The countdown went on for minutes, and soon the entire platform of the Occidental Petroleum corporation was engulfed in fire, even the living quarters caught fire. Those who could have survived the blast were burned alive. Only those who managed to jump into the water survived.
Worst water accident ever
When the topic of tragedies on the water is touched upon, the movie Titanic involuntarily comes to mind. Moreover, such a disaster really happened. But this shipwreck is not the worst in the history of mankind.
Wilhelm Gustloff
The sinking of the German ship "Wilhelm Gustloff" is considered to be the biggest disaster that occurred on the water. The tragedy occurred on January 30, 1945. Its culprit was a submarine of the Soviet Union, which knocked out a ship that could accommodate almost 9,000 passengers.
This, at that time, the perfect product of shipbuilding, was made in 1938. It seemed unsinkable and contained 9 decks, restaurants, a winter garden, climate control, gyms, theaters, dance floors, swimming pools, a church, and even Hitler's rooms.
Its length was more than two hundred meters, it could swim half the planet without refueling. The ingenious creation could not sink without outside interference. And it happened in the person of the crew of the S-13 submarine, commanded by A. I. Marinesko. Three torpedoes were fired at the legendary ship. In a matter of minutes, he was in the abyss of the waters of the Baltic Sea. All crew members were killed, including about 8,000 representatives of the German military elite who were evacuated from Danzig.
The crash of the Wilhelm Gustloff (video)
The greatest environmental tragedy
Shrunken Aral Sea
Among all environmental disasters, the leading place is occupied by the drying up of the Aral Sea. At its best, it was the fourth largest among all the lakes in the world.
The disaster occurred due to the unreasonable use of water, which was used to water gardens and fields. The shrinkage was due to the ill-considered political ambitions and actions of the leaders of those times.
Gradually, the coastline moved far inland, which led to the extinction of most species of flora and fauna. In addition, droughts began to increase, the climate changed significantly, navigation became impossible, and more than sixty people were left without work.
Where did the Aral Sea disappear: strange symbols on the dried bottom (VIDEO)
Nuclear disaster
What could be worse than a nuclear catastrophe? The lifeless kilometers of the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl region are the embodiment of these fears. The accident occurred in 1986, when one of the power units of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded early in April morning.
Chernobyl 1986
This tragedy claimed several hundred lives of tow trucks, thousands died over the next ten years. And how many people were forced to leave their homes, only God knows ...
Children of these people are still born with developmental anomalies. The atmosphere, land and water around the nuclear power plant are contaminated with radioactive substances.
The level of radiation in this region is still thousands of times higher than normal. No one knows how long it will take for people to settle in these places. The scale of this disaster is still not fully known.
Chernobyl accident 1986: Chernobyl, Pripyat - liquidation (VIDEO)
Disaster over the Black Sea: Tu-154 of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation crashed
The crash of the Tu-154 of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Not so long ago, there was a crash of a Tu-154 aircraft of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, heading to Syria. It claimed the lives of 64 talented artists of the Alexandrov Ensemble, nine well-known leading TV channels, the head of a charitable organization - the famous Doctor Lisa, eight military men, two civil servants, and all crew members. In total, 92 people died in this terrible plane crash.
On this tragic morning in December 2016, the plane refueled at Adler, but crashed unexpectedly shortly after takeoff. The investigation was conducted for a long time, because it was necessary to know what was the cause of the Tu-154 crash.
The commission investigating the causes of the accident, among the circumstances that led to the disaster, called the overload of the aircraft, crew fatigue and the low professional level of training and organization of the flight.
The results of the investigation of the Tu-154 crash of the Ministry of Defense of Russia (VIDEO)
Submarine "Kursk"
Submarine "Kursk"
The crash of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, which killed 118 people on board, occurred in 2000 in the Barents Sea. This is the second largest accident in the history of the Russian submarine fleet after the B-37 disaster.
On August 12, as planned, preparations began for mock attacks. The last recorded actions on the boat were recorded at 11.15.
A few hours before the tragedy, the crew commander was informed about the cotton, which he did not pay attention to. Then the boat shook violently, which was associated with the inclusion of the antenna of the radar station. After that, the captain of the boat did not get in touch anymore. At 23.00 the situation on the submarine was declared as emergency, which was reported to the leadership of the fleet and the country. On the morning of the next day, as a result of search work, the Kursk was found at the bottom of the sea at a depth of 108 m.
The official version of the cause of the tragedy is the explosion of a training torpedo, which occurred as a result of a fuel leak.
Submarine Kursk: what really happened? (VIDEO)
The crash of the ship "Admiral Nakhimov"
The crash of the passenger ship "Admiral Nakhimov" occurred in August 1981 near Novorossiysk. There were 1234 people on board the ship, 423 of whom lost their lives on that ill-fated day. It is known that Vladimir Vinokur and Lev Leshchenko were late for this flight.
At 23:12, the ship collided with the dry cargo ship Pyotr Vasev, as a result of which the electric generator was flooded and the light went out on the Nakhimov. The ship became uncontrollable and continued to move forward by inertia. As a result of the collision, a hole of up to eighty square meters was formed in the starboard side. Panic began among the passengers, many climbed onto the port side and thus went down to the water.
Almost a thousand people ended up in the water, who, moreover, got dirty with fuel oil and paint. Eight minutes after the collision, the ship sank.
Steamboat Admiral Nakhimov: the wreck of the ship - Russian Titanic (VIDEO)
Oil platform that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico
The worst environmental disasters in the world in 2010 were supplemented by another one that happened in the Gulf of Mexico, eighty kilometers from Louisiana. This is one of the most dangerous man-made accidents for the environment. It happened on April 20 at the Deepwater Horizon oil platform.
As a result of pipe rupture, about five million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.
A 75,000 sq. km, which is 5% of its total area. The disaster took the lives of 11 people, 17 were injured.
Catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico (VIDEO)
The crash of the Concordia
On January 14, 2012, the list of the most terrible incidents in the world was replenished with one more. Near the Italian Tuscany, the cruise ship "Costa Concordia" ran into a rock ledge, as a result of which a seventy-meter hole was formed in it. At this time, most of the passengers were in the restaurant.
The right side of the liner began to sink into the water, then it was thrown onto the shallows 1 km from the crash site. There were more than 4,000 people on the ship, who were evacuated all night, but not everyone was saved: 32 people still died and a hundred were injured.
Costa Concordia - the crash through the eyes of eyewitnesses (VIDEO)
Krakatoa eruption in 1883
Natural disasters show how insignificant and helpless we are before the phenomena of nature. But all the most terrible disasters in the world are nothing compared to the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano, which occurred in 1883.
On May 20, a large smoke column could be seen over the Krakatoa volcano. At that moment, even at a distance of 160 kilometers from him, the windows of houses trembled. All nearby islands were covered with a thick layer of dust and pumice.
The eruptions continued until 27 August. The last explosion was the climax, as a result of which sound waves passed, several times rounded the entire planet. On the ships sailing in the Sunda Strait at that moment, the compasses stopped showing correctly.
These explosions submerged the entire northern part of the island. The seabed has been uplifted by the eruptions. A lot of ash from the volcano remained in the atmosphere for another two to three years.
The tsunami, whose height was thirty meters, washed away about three hundred settlements, claimed the lives of 36,000 people.
The most powerful eruption of Krakatau Volcano (VIDEO)
Earthquake in Spitak in 1988
On December 7, 1988, the list of "The best disasters in the world" was replenished with another one that occurred in the Armenian Spitak. On this tragic day, tremors literally wiped out this city from the face of the earth in just half a minute, destroyed Leninakan, Stepanavan and Kirovakan beyond recognition. In total, twenty-one cities and three hundred and fifty villages were affected.
In Spitak itself, the earthquake had a force of ten, Leninakan was hit by a force of nine, and Kirovakan by an force of eight, and almost the rest of Armenia was hit by a force of six. Seismologists have calculated that during this earthquake energy was released, corresponding to the strength of ten exploding atomic bombs. The wave that this tragedy caused was recorded by scientific laboratories almost all over the world.
This natural disaster took away 25,000 lives, 140,000 health, and 514,000 roofs over their heads. Forty percent of the industry of the republic is out of order, schools, hospitals, theaters, museums, houses of culture, roads and railways are destroyed.
The military, doctors, public figures of the whole country and abroad, both near and far, were called to help. Humanitarian aid was actively collected all over the world. Tents, field kitchens and first-aid posts were deployed throughout the area affected by the tragedy.
The saddest and most instructive thing in this situation is that the scale and victims of this terrible disaster could be many times less if the seismic activity of this region were taken into account and all buildings were built taking into account these features. The unpreparedness of rescue services also contributed.
Tragic days: earthquake in Spitak (VIDEO)
2004 tsunami Indian Ocean - Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka
In December 2004, a devastating tsunami caused by an underwater earthquake hit the coasts of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other countries. Huge waves devastated the area and brought death to 200,000 people. The most annoying thing is that most of the dead are children, since in this region there is a high proportion of children per population, in addition, children are physically weaker and less able to resist water than an adult.
Aceh in Indonesia suffered the most losses. Almost all the buildings there were destroyed, 168,000 people died.
Geographically, this earthquake was simply huge. Moved up to 1200 kilometers of rock. The shift occurred in two phases with an interval of two to three minutes.
The number of victims turned out to be so high because there was no general warning system along the entire coast of the Indian Ocean.
There is nothing worse than disasters and tragedies that deprive people of life, shelter, health, destroy industry and everything that a person has worked for many years. But it often turns out that the number of victims and destruction in such situations could be much less if everyone were conscientious about their professional duties, in some cases it was necessary to foresee an evacuation plan and a warning system for local residents. Let's hope that in the future humanity will find a way to avoid such terrible tragedies or reduce the damage from them.
Tsunami in Indonesia 2004 (VIDEO)
The volcano that destroyed ancient Pompeii cannot be responsible for the saddest natural disaster in history, despite the fact that many films have been made and many songs have been sung on the subject. Modern natural disasters claim countless human victims. Take a look at our grim list. It contains only the most terrible catastrophes of all time.
Earthquake in the Syrian city of Aleppo (1138)
Fortunately, these days the news reports do not shock us with giant faults in the Dead Sea area. Now there is a relatively stable tectonic relief. Syria experienced unprecedented cataclysms in the 12th century. Seismic activity in the north of the country lasted for almost a year and eventually resulted in a destructive cataclysm. In 1138, the city of Aleppo was destroyed to the ground, other settlements and military installations suffered. In total, the elements claimed the lives of 230,000 people.
Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami (2004)
This is the only event on the list that many of us have seen. This tragedy is considered the deadliest in modern history. It all started with a 9.3 magnitude underwater earthquake off the coast of Indonesia. Then the elements transformed into a cruel tsunami that rushed to the shores of 11 countries. In total, 225,000 people died, and about a million more inhabitants of the Indian Ocean coast were left homeless. It is sad that this happened during the heyday of the development of earthquake-resistant architectural technologies, and not in the days of thatched dugouts.
Antioch earthquake (526)
People like to compare the potential end of the world to catastrophes of biblical proportions. The earthquake in Antioch is the only natural cataclysm that is more or less close to the biblical era. This natural disaster occurred in the first millennium from the birth of Christ. The Byzantine city in the period from 20 to 29 May 526 experienced an earthquake of magnitude 7.0. Due to the high population density (which was rare for the region at the time), 250,000 people died. The fires caused by the cataclysm also contributed to the increase in the number of victims. 
Earthquake in the Chinese province of Gansu (1920)
The next natural disaster on our list has created a giant rift over 160 kilometers long. According to experts, the greatest damage was caused not by an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, but by landslides that swept entire cities underground and were the main reason that slowed down the response. According to various estimates, the cataclysm claimed the lives of 230,000 to 273,000 inhabitants.
Tangshan earthquake (1976)
Another terrible earthquake of the 20th century shows that the natural disaster itself is not so terrible as the imperfections of the infrastructure of the area in which it occurs. Aftershocks of magnitude 7.8 hit the Chinese Tangshan on the night of July 28 and instantly leveled 92 percent of residential buildings in this millionth city. The lack of food, water and other resources became the main obstacles in the rescue efforts. In addition, railway tracks and bridges were destroyed, so there was nowhere to wait for help. Many of the victims died under the rubble. 
Cyclone at Koring, India (1839)
By the early 19th century, Koringa had become the main Indian port city at the mouth of the Godavari River. On the night of November 25, 1839, this title had to be folded. The oncoming cyclone destroyed 20,000 ships and 300,000 people. Many of the victims were thrown into the open sea. Now there is a small village on the site of Koringa. 
Cyclone Bhola, Bangladesh (1970)
Natural disasters regularly hit the Bay of Bengal, but none has been more devastating than Cyclone Bhola. Hurricane wind gusts on November 11, 1970 reached 225 kilometers per hour. Due to extreme poverty in the region, no one was able to warn the population of the impending danger. As a result, the cyclone killed more than half a million lives. 
Chinese earthquake (1556)
Despite the fact that in the 16th century a system for assessing the magnitude of tremors was not yet introduced, historians have calculated that the earthquake that occurred in China in 1556 could have had a magnitude of 8.0 - 8.5. It so happened that the main blow was taken by a densely populated area. The disaster created deep canyons that permanently swallowed over 800,000 people.
Flood on the Yellow River (1887)
One of the largest rivers in the world is responsible for more deaths than all other rivers combined. In 1887, the deadliest flood was recorded, which was exacerbated by heavy rains and the destruction of dams near the city of Changshu. The flooded low-lying plains claimed the lives of about two million Chinese. 
Flood on the Yangtze River (1931)
The record-breaking natural disaster came with the onset of heavy rains and flooding on the Yangtze River in April 1931. This natural disaster, coupled with dysentery and other diseases, killed about three million lives. In addition, the destruction of rice fields caused mass starvation.
Catastrophes often occur due to an absurd coincidence of events and lead to irreparable consequences. Recently, environmental disasters have most often occurred, leaving huge scars on the body of our planet. We have prepared a selection of the largest disasters that have cost mankind record amounts. So, to your attention are the 10 largest and most expensive man-made disasters, most of which occurred during the last century.
In the first place is the most global man-made environmental disaster - the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This catastrophe cost the world 200 billion dollars, despite the fact that the liquidation work is not even half completed. On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear accident in history occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the former USSR. More than 135,000 people who lived within a 30 kilometers (19 miles) radius of the destroyed reactor - and 35,000 livestock - were evacuated; around the station, located near the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, an exclusion zone of unprecedented size was created. In this forbidden territory, nature itself had to cope with the high levels of radiation caused by the disaster. As a result, the exclusion zone essentially turned into a giant laboratory where an experiment was set up - what happens to plants and animals in conditions of catastrophic nuclear contamination of the area? Immediately after the disaster, when everyone was worried about the dire consequences of radioactive fallout for human health, few people thought about what would happen to the wildlife inside the zone - and even more so about monitoring what was happening.
The Chernobyl disaster will long remain the largest and costliest environmental disaster. In second place is the explosion of the US space shuttle Columbia, which cost $13 billion, which is 20 times less in cost and millions of times less in environmental impact. 
The Columbia shuttle was the first operational reusable orbiter. It was made in 1979 and transferred to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The shuttle Columbia was named after the sailboat that Captain Robert Gray explored the inland waters of British Columbia in May 1792. The space shuttle Columbia died in a crash on February 1, 2003, while entering the Earth's atmosphere, before landing. This was Columbia's 28th space voyage. The information from Columbia's hard drive was recovered, the causes of the crash were identified, which made it possible to avoid such disasters in the future. 
In third place is again an ecological disaster. On November 13, 2002, the oil tanker Prestige exploded, spilling 77,000 tons of fuel into the ocean, making it the largest oil spill in European history. Losses in the course of work to eliminate the oil slick amounted to 12 billion dollars. 
Fourth place - the death of the shuttle Challenger. Nothing foreshadowed the tragedy during the launch of the Challenger space shuttle on January 28, 1986, but 73 seconds after launch, it exploded. This accident cost American taxpayers $5.5 billion. 
In fifth place The explosion on the oil platform Piper Alpha - occurred on July 6, 1988, which is recognized as the most terrible disaster in the history of the oil industry. The accident cost $3.4 billion. 
Piper Alpha is the world's only burned-out oil platform. As a result of a gas leak and subsequent explosion, as well as as a result of ill-considered and indecisive actions of the personnel, 167 people out of 226 who were on the platform at that moment died, only 59 survived. Immediately after the explosion, oil and gas production was stopped on the platform, however, due to the fact that the pipelines of the platform were connected to the general network, through which hydrocarbons flowed from other platforms, and for a long time there was no production and supply of oil and gas to the pipeline. decided to stop (waiting for permission from the top management of the company), a huge amount of hydrocarbons continued to flow through pipelines, which supported the fire. 
Ecology is in sixth place again. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred on March 24, 1989. This is the largest oil spill in human history. More than 11 million gallons of oil entered the water. $2.5 billion was spent to eliminate the consequences of this ecological catastrophe. 
Seventh place - the explosion of a B-2 stealth bomber. The crash occurred on February 23, 2008, and cost US taxpayers a million and a half dollars. Fortunately, no one was hurt, only financial costs followed. 
Eighth place - Metrolink passenger train crash. The train collision that occurred on September 12, 2008 in California is more about negligence. Two trains collide, 25 dead, MetroLink loses $500 million 
In ninth place, the collision of a fuel tanker and a passenger car took place on August 26, 2004 on the Wiehltal bridge in Germany. This catastrophe, which occurred on August 26, 2004, can be attributed to accidents on the roads. They happen often, but this one surpassed everything in scale. The car, passing over the bridge at full speed, crashed into a full fuel truck going to the meeting, an explosion occurred, which practically destroyed the bridge. By the way, the restoration work of the bridge took 358 million dollars. 
The death of the Titanic closes the top ten most expensive catastrophes. The tragedy occurred on April 15, 1912 and claimed 1523 human lives. The cost of building the ship amounted to $ 7 million (in today's exchange rate - $ 150 million).
It is worth adding that the list was compiled by the American portal WreckedExotics as a result of a thorough assessment of many factors. I also advise you to study the selection about the negative impact of man on nature, where there is also something to think about.
Every year, dozens of terrible man-made disasters occur in the world, which cause significant harm to the world ecology. Today I invite you to read about a few of them in the continuation of the post.
Petrobrice is the Brazilian state oil company. The company headquarters is located in Rio de Janeiro. In July 2000, in Brazil, a disaster at an oil refinery spilled more than a million gallons of oil (about 3,180 tons) into the Iguazu River. For comparison, 50 tons of crude oil recently spilled near a resort island in Thailand.
The resulting stain moved downstream, threatening to poison the drinking water for several cities at once. The liquidators of the accident built several protective barriers, but they managed to stop the oil only at the fifth. One part of the oil was collected from the surface of the water, the other went through specially constructed diversion channels.
Petrobrice paid a $56 million fine to the state budget and $30 million to the state budget.
On September 21, 2001, an explosion occurred at the AZF chemical plant in Toulouse, France, the consequences of which are considered one of the largest man-made disasters. Exploded 300 tons of ammonium nitrate (salt of nitric acid), which were in the warehouse of finished products. According to the official version, the management of the plant is to blame, which did not ensure the safe storage of an explosive substance.
The consequences of the disaster were gigantic: 30 people died, the total number of wounded was more than 300, thousands of houses and buildings were destroyed or damaged, including almost 80 schools, 2 universities, 185 kindergartens, 40,000 people were left without a roof over their heads, more than 130 enterprises have actually ceased their activities. The total amount of damage is 3 billion euros.
On November 13, 2002, off the coast of Spain, the oil tanker Prestige fell into a severe storm, in the holds of which there were more than 77,000 tons of fuel oil. As a result of the storm, a crack about 50 meters long formed in the ship's hull. On November 19, the tanker broke in half and sank. As a result of the disaster, 63,000 tons of fuel oil fell into the sea.
Cleaning the sea and coasts from fuel oil cost 12 billion dollars, the full damage to the ecosystem cannot be estimated.
On August 26, 2004, a fuel truck carrying 32,000 liters of fuel fell off a 100-meter-high Wiehltal bridge near Cologne in western Germany. After the fall, the tanker exploded. The culprit of the accident was a sports car that skidded on a slippery road, which caused the fuel tanker to skid.
This accident is considered one of the most costly man-made disasters in history - temporary repairs to the bridge cost $40 million, and full reconstruction - $318 million.
On March 19, 2007, a methane explosion at the Ulyanovsk mine in the Kemerovo region killed 110 people. Following the first explosion, four more explosions followed in 5-7 seconds, which caused extensive collapses in the workings in several places at once. The chief engineer and almost all the management of the mine died. This accident is the largest in Russian coal mining over the past 75 years.
On August 17, 2009, a man-made disaster occurred at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP, located on the Yenisei River. This happened during the repair of one of the HPP's hydroelectric units. As a result of the accident, the 3rd and 4th water conduits were destroyed, the wall was destroyed and the engine room was flooded. 9 out of 10 hydraulic turbines were completely out of order, the hydroelectric power station was stopped.
Due to the accident, the power supply to the Siberian regions was disrupted, including the limited supply of electricity in Tomsk, and several Siberian aluminum smelters were cut off. As a result of the disaster, 75 people died and 13 were injured.
Damage from the accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP exceeded 7.3 billion rubles, including environmental damage. The other day in Khakassia, a trial began on the case of a man-made disaster at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station in 2009.
October 4, 2010 in the west of Hungary there was a major environmental disaster. At a large aluminum smelter, an explosion destroyed the dam of a reservoir of toxic waste - the so-called red mud. About 1.1 million cubic meters of caustic substance flooded the cities of Kolontar and Decever, 160 kilometers west of Budapest, with a 3-meter stream.
Red mud is a residue that forms during the production of alumina. When it comes into contact with the skin, it acts on it like an alkali. As a result of the disaster, 10 people died, about 150 received various injuries and burns.
April 22, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of the US state of Louisiana, after an explosion that killed 11 people and a 36-hour fire, the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform sank.
The oil leak was stopped only on August 4, 2010. About 5 million barrels of crude oil spilled into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The platform on which the accident occurred belonged to a Swiss company, and at the time of the man-made disaster, the platform was operated by British Petroleum.
On March 11, 2011, in the northeast of Japan, at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant, after a strong earthquake, the largest accident in the last 25 years after the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant occurred. Following earthquakes of magnitude 9.0, a huge tsunami wave came to the coast, which damaged 4 of the 6 reactors of the nuclear power plant and disabled the cooling system, which led to a series of hydrogen explosions, melting the core.
The total emissions of iodine-131 and caesium-137 after the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant amounted to 900,000 terabecquerels, which does not exceed 20% of the emissions after the Chernobyl accident in 1986, which then amounted to 5.2 million terabecquerels.
Experts estimated the total damage from the accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant at $74 billion. The complete elimination of the accident, including the dismantling of the reactors, will take about 40 years.
NPP "Fukushima-1"
On July 11, 2011, an explosion occurred at a naval base near Limassol in Cyprus, which claimed 13 lives and brought the island nation to the brink of economic crisis, destroying the island's largest power plant.
Investigators accused the President of the Republic, Dimitris Christofias, of negligently handling the problem of storing ammunition confiscated in 2009 from the Monchegorsk ship on suspicion of arms smuggling to Iran. In fact, the ammunition was stored right on the ground on the territory of the naval base and detonated due to the high temperature.
Destroyed Mari power plant in Cyprus
Humanity will never forget about the accident on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform. The explosion and fire happened on April 20, 2010, 80 kilometers from the coast of Louisiana, at the Macondo field. The oil spill was the largest in US history and effectively ruined the Gulf of Mexico. We remembered the largest man-made and environmental disasters in the world, some of which are almost worse than the Deepwater Horizon tragedy.
Could the accident have been avoided? Technogenic disasters often occur as a result of natural disasters, but also because of worn-out equipment, greed, negligence, inattention ... The memory of them serves as an important lesson for humanity, because natural disasters can harm people, but not the planet, but technogenic threaten absolutely the whole world around.
15. Explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West - 15 victims
On April 17, 2013, an explosion occurred at a fertilizer plant in West Texas. The explosion occurred at 19:50 local time and it completely destroyed the plant, which belonged to the local company Adair Grain Inc. The explosion destroyed a school and a nursing home located next to the plant. About 75 buildings in the city of West were seriously damaged. The explosion killed 15 people, about 200 people were injured. Initially, there was a fire at the plant, and the explosion happened at the moment when firefighters were trying to cope with the fire. At least 11 firefighters have died.
According to eyewitnesses, the explosion was so strong that it could be heard about 70 km from the plant, and the US Geological Survey recorded ground vibrations of magnitude 2.1. "It was like an atomic bomb explosion," eyewitnesses said. Residents in a number of areas near the West were evacuated due to the leakage of ammonia used in the manufacture of fertilizers, the authorities warned everyone about the leakage of toxic substances. A no-fly zone was introduced over West at an altitude of up to 1 km. The city looked like a war zone...
In May 2013, a criminal case was opened on the fact of the explosion. The investigation revealed that the company had been storing the chemicals that caused the explosion in violation of safety requirements. The US Chemical Safety Committee found that the company failed to take the necessary measures to prevent fire and explosion. In addition, at that time there were no regulations that would prohibit the storage of ammonium nitrate near populated areas.
14. Flooding of Boston with molasses - 21 victims
The molasses flood in Boston happened on January 15, 1919, after a giant molasses reservoir exploded in Boston's North End, sending a wave of sugary liquid through the streets of the city at great speed. 21 people died, about 150 were hospitalized. The disaster occurred at the Purity Distilling Company distillery during Prohibition (fermented molasses was widely used to produce ethanol at the time). On the eve of the introduction of a complete ban, the owners tried to have time to make as much rum as possible ...
Apparently, due to metal fatigue in an overflowing tank with 8700 m³ of molasses, sheets of metal connected by rivets dispersed. The ground trembled, and a wave of molasses up to 2 meters high poured into the streets. The pressure of the wave was so great that it moved the freight train off the tracks. Nearby buildings were flooded to a meter high, some collapsed. People, horses, dogs got stuck in a sticky wave and died from suffocation.
A Red Cross mobile hospital was deployed in the disaster zone, a US Navy unit entered the city - the rescue operation lasted a week. The molasses was removed with sand, which absorbed the viscous mass. Although the factory owners blamed the anarchists for the explosion, the townspeople secured payments totaling $600,000 (today about $8.5 million) from them. According to Bostonians, even now, on hot days, a sugary smell of caramel emanates from old houses ...
13. Explosion at the Phillips chemical plant in 1989 - 23 victims
The explosion at the Phillips Petroleum Company chemical plant occurred on October 23, 1989, in Pasadena, Texas. Due to the oversight of the employees, a large leak of combustible gas occurred, and there was a powerful explosion, equivalent to two and a half tons of dynamite. A tank of 20,000 gallons of isobutane gas exploded and the chain reaction caused 4 more explosions.
During scheduled maintenance, the air ducts on the valves were accidentally closed. Thus, the control room displayed that the valve was open, while it was as if it were closed. This led to the formation of a cloud of steam, which exploded from the slightest spark. The initial explosion was recorded as 3.5 on the Richter scale and fragments of the explosion were found within a radius of 6 miles from the explosion.
Many of the fire hydrants failed, and the water pressure in the remaining hydrants dropped dramatically. It took firefighters more than ten hours to bring the situation under control and completely extinguish the flames. 23 people died and 314 were injured.
12. Fire at the pyrotechnic factory in Enschede in 2000 - 23 victims
On May 13, 2000, as a result of a fire at the pyrotechnic factory S.F. Fireworks in the Dutch city of Enschede (Enshede) was an explosion, killing 23 people, including four firefighters. The fire started in the central building and spread to two full containers of fireworks illegally stored outside the building. Several subsequent explosions occurred with the largest explosion felt as far away as 19 miles.
During the fire, a significant part of the Rombek district burned down and was destroyed - 15 streets were burned, 1,500 houses were damaged, and 400 houses were destroyed. In addition to 23 deaths, 947 people were injured and 1,250 people were left homeless. Fire crews arrived from Germany to help fight the fire.
When S.F. Fireworks built a pyrotechnic factory in 1977, it was located far from the city. As the city grew, new low-cost housing surrounded the warehouses, causing horrendous destruction, injury, and death. Most of the locals had no idea that they lived in such close proximity to the fireworks warehouse.
11. Explosion at a chemical plant in Flixboro - 64 victims
An explosion occurred in Flixborough, England on June 1, 1974, killing 28 people. The accident happened at the Nipro plant, which was engaged in the production of ammonium. The disaster caused a whopping £36 million in property damage. British industry has never known such a catastrophe. The chemical plant in Flixboro has practically ceased to exist.
A chemical plant near the village of Flixboro specialized in the production of caprolactam, the starting product for synthetic fibers.
The accident happened like this: the bypass pipeline connecting reactors 4 and 6 broke, and steam began to escape from the outlets. A cloud of cyclohexane vapors was formed, containing several tens of tons of the substance. The source of ignition of the cloud was probably the torch of the hydrogen plant. Due to an accident at the plant, an explosive mass of heated vapors was thrown into the air, for which the slightest spark was enough to ignite. 45 minutes after the accident, when the mushroom cloud reached the hydrogen plant, there was a powerful explosion. The explosion in its destructive power was equivalent to the explosion of 45 tons of TNT, detonated at a height of 45 m.
About 2,000 buildings outside the enterprise were damaged. In the village of Amcotts, across the River Trent, 73 out of 77 houses were badly damaged. In Flixboro, located at a distance of 1200 m from the center of the explosion, 72 out of 79 houses were destroyed. 64 people died from the explosion and subsequent fire, 75 people at the enterprise and outside were injured of varying severity.
Under pressure from the owners of the Nipro company, plant engineers often deviated from the established technological regulations and ignored safety requirements. The sad experience of this catastrophe showed that it is necessary for chemical plants to have a high-speed automatic fire extinguishing system that allows eliminating fires of solid chemicals no later than 3 seconds.
10 Hot Steel Spill - 35 Victims
On April 18, 2007, 32 people died and 6 were injured when a ladle containing molten steel fell at the Qinghe Special Steel Corporation plant in China. Thirty tons of liquid steel heated to 1500 degrees Celsius fell from the overhead conveyor. Liquid steel broke through the doors and windows into the adjacent room, where the shift workers were.
Perhaps the most horrifying fact that the study of this catastrophe uncovered is that it could have been prevented. The immediate cause of the accident was the misuse of substandard equipment. The investigation concluded that there were a number of safety deficiencies and breaches that contributed to the accident.
When emergency services reached the crash site, they were stopped by the heat of the molten steel and were unable to reach the victims for a long time. After the steel began to cool, they found 32 victims. Surprisingly, 6 people miraculously survived this accident, and with severe burns were taken to the hospital.
9. The collapse of the train with oil in Lac-Megantic - 47 victims
The explosion of the train with oil occurred on the evening of July 6, 2013 in the town of Lac-Megantic in Quebec, Canada. A train owned by The Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway, carrying 74 tanks of crude oil, has derailed. As a result, several tanks caught fire and exploded. It is known about 42 dead, 5 more people are missing. As a result of the fire that engulfed the city, approximately half of the buildings in the city center were destroyed.
In October 2012, epoxy materials were used on the GE C30-7 #5017 diesel locomotive during engine repair in order to complete the repair as soon as possible. In subsequent operation, these materials collapsed, the locomotive began to smoke heavily. Leaking fuels and lubricants accumulated in the turbocharger housing, which led to a fire on the night of the crash.
The train driver was Tom Harding. At 23:00 the train stopped at Nantes station, on the main track. Tom contacted the dispatcher and reported problems with the diesel, strong black exhaust; the solution of the problem with the diesel locomotive was postponed until the morning, and the driver left to spend the night in a hotel. The train with the diesel locomotive running and dangerous goods was left overnight at an unattended station. At 23:50, the 911 service received a message about a fire on the lead diesel locomotive. The compressor was not working in it, and the pressure in the brake line was decreasing. At 00:56, the pressure dropped to such a level that the hand brakes could not hold the cars and the uncontrolled train went down the slope towards Lac Megantic. At 00:14, the train derailed at a speed of 105 km/h and ended up in the city center. Cars derailed, explosions followed, and burning oil spilled along the railroad.
People in a nearby cafe, feeling the tremors of the earth, decided that an earthquake had begun and hid under the tables, as a result, they did not have time to escape from the fire ... This railway accident became one of the deadliest in Canada.
8. The accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP - at least 75 victims
The accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is an industrial man-made disaster that occurred on August 17, 2009 - a "rainy day" for the Russian hydropower industry. As a result of the accident, 75 people died, serious damage was caused to the equipment and premises of the station, and electricity production was suspended. The consequences of the accident affected the ecological situation in the water area adjacent to the HPP, the social and economic spheres of the region.
At the time of the accident, the HPP was carrying a load of 4100 MW, out of 10 hydroelectric units, 9 were in operation. At 8:13 local time on August 17, hydroelectric unit No. 2 was destroyed, with significant volumes of water flowing through the shaft of the hydroelectric unit under high pressure. The power plant personnel, who were in the engine room, heard a loud bang and saw the release of a powerful column of water.
Streams of water quickly flooded the engine room and the rooms below it. All hydroelectric power plants were flooded, while working GAs experienced short circuits (their flashes are clearly visible on the amateur video of the disaster), which put them out of action.
The non-obviousness of the causes of the accident (according to the Minister of Energy of Russia Shmatko, “this is the largest and most incomprehensible hydropower accident that has ever been in the world”) caused a number of versions that were not confirmed (from terrorism to a water hammer). The most probable cause of the accident is the fatigue failure of the studs that occurred during the operation of the hydraulic unit No. 2 with a temporary impeller and an unacceptable level of vibration in 1981-83.
7. Explosion on the "Piper Alpha" - 167 victims
On July 6, 1988, the Piper Alpha oil platform in the North Sea was destroyed by an explosion. The Piper Alpha platform, installed in 1976, was the largest structure on the Piper site, owned by the Scottish company Occidental Petroleum. The platform was located 200 km northeast of Aberdeen and served as the site's oil production control center. The platform included a heliport and accommodation for 200 oilmen working in shifts. On July 6, an unexpected explosion occurred on the Piper Alpha. The fire that engulfed the platform did not even give the staff the opportunity to send an SOS signal.
As a result of a gas leak and subsequent explosion, 167 people out of 226 who were on the platform at that moment died, only 59 survived. It took 3 weeks to extinguish the fire, with strong winds (80 mph) and 70 foot waves. The final cause of the explosion could not be established. According to the most popular version, there was a gas leak on the platform, as a result of which a small spark was enough to start a fire. The accident on the Piper Alpha platform led to serious criticism and subsequent revision of the safety standards for oil production in the North Sea.
6. Fire in Tianjin Binhai - 170 victims
On the night of August 12, 2015, two explosions broke out at a container storage area in the port of Tianjin. At 22:50 local time, reports of a fire began to arrive at the warehouses of the Zhuihai company, which transports hazardous chemicals, located in the port of Tianjin. As investigators later found out, it was caused by spontaneous combustion of nitrocellulose dried and heated in the summer sun. Within 30 seconds of the first explosion, a second one occurred - a container of ammonium nitrate. The local seismological service estimated the power of the first explosion at 3 tons of TNT equivalent, the second at 21 tons. Firefighters arrived at the scene for a long time could not stop the spread of fire. The fires raged for several days and there were 8 more explosions. The explosions created a huge crater.
The explosions resulted in the death of 173 people, 797 injured, and 8 people are missing. . Thousands of Toyota, Renault, Volkswagen, Kia and Hyundai vehicles were damaged. 7,533 containers, 12,428 vehicles and 304 buildings were destroyed or damaged. In addition to death and destruction, damage totaled $9 billion. Three apartment buildings were found to have been built within a one-kilometer radius of the chemical warehouse, which is prohibited by Chinese law. Authorities have charged 11 officials from the city of Tianjin in connection with the bombing. They are accused of negligence and abuse of power.
5. Val di Stave, dam burst - 268 victims
In northern Italy, over the village of Stave, the Val di Stave dam collapsed on July 19, 1985. The accident destroyed 8 bridges, 63 buildings, 268 people died. After the crash, an investigation determined that there had been poor maintenance and a low operational safety margin.
In the upper of the two dams, rainfall made the drainage pipe less efficient and clogged. Water continued to flow into the reservoir and the pressure in the damaged pipe increased, which also caused pressure on the coastal rock. The water began to seep into the soil, liquefy into mud, and weaken the banks until, finally, erosion occurred. In just 30 seconds, water and mud flows from the upper dam broke through and poured into the lower dam.
4. The collapse of the waste heap in Nambii - 300 victims
By the 1990s, Nambiya, a mining town in southeast Ecuador, had a reputation for being an "aggressive eco-environment". The local mountains were pitted with miners, riddled with holes from mining, the air is humid and filled with chemicals, toxic gases from the mine and a huge waste heap.
On May 9, 1993, much of the coal slag mountain at the end of the valley collapsed, killing about 300 people in a landslide. 10,000 people lived in the village on an area of about 1 square mile. Most of the city's houses were built right at the entrance to the mine tunnel. Experts have long warned that the mountain has become almost hollow. They said that further coal mining would lead to landslides, and after several days of heavy rains, the soil softened, and the worst predictions came true.
3. Texas explosion - 581 victims
A man-made disaster happened on April 16, 1947 in the port of Texas City, USA. A fire aboard the French ship Grandcamp detonated about 2,100 tons of ammonium nitrate (ammonium nitrate), which led to a chain reaction of fires and explosions on nearby ships and oil storage facilities.
The tragedy killed at least 581 people (including all but one Texas City Fire Department), over 5,000 people were injured, and 1,784 were hospitalized. The port and a significant part of the city were completely destroyed, many enterprises were razed to the ground or burned down. More than 1,100 vehicles were damaged and 362 freight cars were wrecked - property damage was estimated at $100 million. These events sparked the first class action lawsuit against the US government.
The Court found the Federal Government guilty of criminal negligence committed by government agencies and their representatives involved in the production, packaging and labeling of ammonium nitrate, aggravated by gross errors in its transportation, storage, loading and fire fighting measures. 1,394 compensations were paid out, totaling about $17 million.
2. Bhopal disaster - up to 160,000 victims
This is one of the worst man-made disasters in the Indian city of Bhopal. As a result of an accident at a chemical plant owned by the American chemical company Union Carbide, and producing pesticides, the poisonous substance methyl isocyanate was released. It was stored at the factory in three tanks partially dug into the ground, each of which could hold about 60,000 liters of liquid.
The cause of the tragedy was an emergency release of methyl isocyanate vapor, which heated above the boiling point in the factory tank, which led to an increase in pressure and a rupture of the emergency valve. As a result, on December 3, 1984, about 42 tons of toxic fumes were released into the atmosphere. A cloud of methyl isocyanate covered the nearby slums and the railway station, located 2 km away.
The Bhopal disaster is the largest in terms of the number of victims in modern history, resulting in the immediate death of at least 18 thousand people, of which 3 thousand died on the day of the accident, and 15 thousand in subsequent years. According to other sources, the total number of victims is estimated at 150-600 thousand people. A large number of victims is explained by the high population density, untimely informing residents about the accident, lack of medical staff, as well as adverse weather conditions - a cloud of heavy vapors was carried by the wind.
Union Carbide, responsible for the tragedy, paid the victims $470 million in an out-of-court settlement in 1987 in exchange for a waiver of claims. In 2010, an Indian court found seven former Union Carbide Indian executives guilty of negligence resulting in loss of life. The convicts were sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 100,000 rupees (approximately $2,100).
1. Tragedy at the Banqiao Dam - 171,000 dead
The designers of the dam cannot even be blamed for this catastrophe, it was designed for severe floods, but this one was completely unprecedented. In August 1975, a typhoon broke through the Banqiao Dam in western China, killing about 171,000 people. The dam was built in the 1950s to generate electricity and prevent floods. Engineers have developed it with a margin of safety for a thousand years.
But on those fateful days in early August 1975, Typhoon Nina immediately produced over 40 inches of rain, more than the area's annual rainfall total in just one day. After several days of even heavier rains, the dam gave way and was washed away on 8 August.
The break of the dam caused a wave 33 feet high, 7 miles wide, which traveled at a speed of 30 miles per hour. In total, more than 60 dams and additional reservoirs were destroyed due to the destruction of the Banqiao Dam. The flood destroyed 5,960,000 buildings, killed 26,000 people immediately and another 145,000 died later as a result of famine and epidemics due to natural disaster.
