Accidents & Disasters, 195-HUR
Nature isnāt always peaceful and idyllic. Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and other powerful natural phenomena can have devastating consequences on communities and regions throughout the world. But nature is far from the only instigator of large-scale misfortune; human-made disasters and tragedies, both accidental and intentional, can cause significant misery, damage, and loss of life.
Accidents & Disasters Encyclopedia Articles By Title
1957 flu pandemic
1957 flu pandemic, outbreak of influenza that was first identified in February 1957 in East Asia and that subsequently......
1968 flu pandemic
1968 flu pandemic, global outbreak of influenza that originated in China in July 1968 and lasted until 1969ā70.......
1996 Mount Everest disaster
1996 Mount Everest disaster, event that claimed the lives of eight climbers during a summit attempt on Mount Everest......
2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake, large-scale earthquake that occurred January 12, 2010, on the West Indian island of Hispaniola,......
2020 Beirut explosion
2020 Beirut explosion, deadly blast that took place on August 4, 2020, in Beirut and was one of the largest non-nuclear......
2026 Ebola outbreak in Central Africa
2026 Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, sudden, escalating spread of Ebola virus disease centered in the Ituri province......
Aberfan disaster
Aberfan disaster, mining accident that occurred at the Merthyr Vale Colliery at Aberfan, Wales, on October 21,......
Air France flight 4590
Air France flight 4590, flight of a Concorde supersonic airplane that crashed in Gonesse, a suburb of Paris, on......
Air India flight 171
Air India flight 171, flight of a passenger airliner that crashed on June 12, 2025, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India,......
Alaska earthquake of 1964
Alaska earthquake of 1964, earthquake that occurred in south-central Alaska on March 27, 1964, with a moment magnitude......
Aleppo earthquake of 1138
Aleppo earthquake of 1138, earthquake, among the deadliest ever recorded, that struck the Syrian city of Aleppo......
American Airlines flight 11
American Airlines flight 11, domestic passenger flight that was hijacked on the morning of September 11, 2001,......
American Airlines flight 191
American Airlines flight 191, flight of a passenger airliner that crashed on May 25, 1979, near Chicagoās OāHare......
American Airlines flight 587
American Airlines flight 587, flight of an Airbus A300-605R passenger airliner that crashed in Belle Harbor, New......
American Airlines flight 77
American Airlines flight 77, flight scheduled to travel from Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C.,......
Ancash earthquake of 1970
Ancash earthquake of 1970, earthquake that originated off the coast of Peru on May 31, 1970, and caused massive......
Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria, Italian passenger liner that sank on July 25ā26, 1956, after colliding with the Stockholm off the......
Andrew, Hurricane
Hurricane Andrew, tropical cyclone that ravaged The Bahamas, southern Florida, and south-central Louisiana in late......
Asia Floods of 2025
Several South and Southeast Asian countries witnessed destructive flooding in November and December of 2025, causing......
Australia floods of 2010ā11
Australia floods of 2010ā11, natural disaster that principally affected the three eastern states of Australia and......
Baikonur launchpad explosion
Baikonur launchpad explosion, explosion of a Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile on October 24, 1960, at......
Bangladesh cyclone of 1991
Bangladesh cyclone of 1991, (April 22ā30, 1991), one of the deadliest tropical cyclones ever recorded. The storm......
Bengal cyclone of 1876
Bengal cyclone of 1876, deadly cyclone that struck Bangladesh (then part of the province of Bengal in British India)......
Bengal famine of 1943
Bengal famine of 1943, famine that affected Bengal in British India in 1943. It resulted in the deaths of some......
Bermuda Triangle
Bermuda Triangle, section of the North Atlantic Ocean off North America in which more than 50 ships and 20 airplanes......
Bhopal disaster
Bhopal disaster, chemical leak in 1984 in the city of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh state, India. At the time, it was......
Bhuj earthquake of 2001
Bhuj earthquake of 2001, massive earthquake that occurred on Jan. 26, 2001, in the Indian state of Gujarat, on......
Big Blowup of 1910
Big Blowup of 1910, devastating forest fire that torched 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) in western Montana......
Bihar train disaster
Bihar train disaster, train wreck that killed hundreds of people on June 6, 1981, when a passenger train derailed......
Black Death
Black Death, pandemic that ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1351, taking a proportionately greater toll of life......
Black Saturday bushfires
Black Saturday bushfires, series of bushfires in 2009 that killed 173 people, injured 500, and destroyed thousands......
Boston fire of 1872
Boston fire of 1872, devastating fire that destroyed a large area in Bostonās commercial district on Nov. 9ā10,......
Britannic
Britannic, British ocean liner that was a sister ship of the Olympic and the Titanic. Having never operated as......
Camille, Hurricane
Hurricane Camille, hurricane (tropical cyclone), one of the strongest of the 20th century, that hit the United......
Camp Fire of 2018
Camp Fire of 2018, large wildfire that scorched a portion of northern California in November 2018 and killed 85......
Carpathia
Carpathia, British passenger liner that was best known for rescuing survivors from the ship Titanic in 1912. The......
Central Texas floods of 2025
Central Texas floods of 2025, deadly flash flood event that devastated several counties in central Texas on July......
Challenger disaster
Challenger disaster, explosion of the U.S. space shuttle orbiter Challenger, shortly after its launch from Cape......
Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster, accident in 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in the Soviet Union, the worst disaster......
Chile earthquake of 1960
Chile earthquake of 1960, the largest earthquake recorded in the 20th century. Originating off the coast of southern......
Chile earthquake of 2010
Chile earthquake of 2010, severe earthquake that occurred on February 27, 2010, off the coast of south-central......
Christchurch earthquakes of 2010ā11
Christchurch earthquakes of 2010ā11, series of tremors that occurred within and near the city of Christchurch,......
Cocoanut Grove Fire
Cocoanut Grove Fire, one of the deadliest fires in American history that led to significant improvements in safety......
cod fishery collapse of 1992
cod fishery collapse of 1992, overfishing-induced crash of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) population in the western......
Columbia disaster
Columbia disaster, breakup of the U.S. space shuttle orbiter Columbia on February 1, 2003. The disaster claimed......
Costa Concordia disaster
Costa Concordia disaster, the capsizing of an Italian cruise ship on January 13, 2012, after it struck rocks off......
CourriĆØres mining disaster
CourriĆØres mining disaster, underground explosion and fire that took place in a French mine on March 10, 1906.......
crack epidemic
crack epidemic, the significant increase in the use of crack cocaine, or crack, in the United States during the......
Cyclone Freddy
Cyclone Freddy, cyclone that developed in the Southern Hemisphere northwest of Australia in February 2023 and became......
Cyclone Pam
Cyclone Pam, large and destructive tropical cyclone in the South Pacific Ocean that affected Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Kiribati,......
Cyclone Winston
Cyclone Winston, severe tropical cyclone that developed in the South Pacific Ocean in February 2016 and the most......
Dancing plague of 1518
Dancing plague of 1518, event in which hundreds of citizens of Strasbourg (then a free city within the Holy Roman......
Darling, Grace
Grace Darling was a British heroine who became famous for her participation in the rescue of shipwreck survivors.......
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill, largest marine oil spill in history, caused by an April 20, 2010, explosion on the......
Eastland disaster
Eastland disaster, capsizing of the passenger liner SS Eastland on the Chicago River in Chicago on July 24, 1915.......
Ebola outbreak of 2014ā16
outbreak of Ebola virus disease that ravaged countries in western Africa in 2014ā16 and was noted for its unprecedented......
Edmund Fitzgerald
Edmund Fitzgerald, American freighter that sank during a storm on November 10, 1975, in Lake Superior, killing......
EgyptAir flight 990
EgyptAir flight 990, flight of an EgyptAir jet airliner that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 60 miles (100......
Empire State Building B-25 crash
Empire State Building B-25 crash, accident on July 28, 1945, in which an unarmed U.S. Army Air Forces B-25 bomber......
Essex
Essex, American whaling ship that was rammed by a sperm whale on November 20, 1820, and later sank. Although all......
Estonia, sinking of the
sinking of the Estonia, disaster that occurred on September 28, 1994, when the ferry Estonia sank in the Baltic......
European heat wave of 2003
European heat wave of 2003, record high temperatures across Europe in 2003 that resulted in at least 30,000 deaths......
Exxon Valdez oil spill
Exxon Valdez oil spill, massive oil spill that occurred on March 24, 1989, in Prince William Sound, an inlet in......
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), independent U.S. government organization dedicated to disaster relief.......
Flint water crisis
Flint water crisis, human-made public health crisis (April 2014āJune 2016) involving the municipal water supply......
Fort Stikine explosion of 1944
Fort Stikine explosion of 1944, explosion of the cargo ship Fort Stikine in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, on April......
Fukushima accident
Fukushima accident, accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi (āNumber Oneā) plant in northern Japan, the second......
Galveston hurricane of 1900
Galveston hurricane of 1900, catastrophic hurricane (tropical cyclone) that struck the island city of Galveston,......
Ganges-Brahmaputra delta cyclone
Ganges-Brahmaputra delta cyclone, catastrophic tropical cyclone that struck East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) on Nov.......
German E. coli outbreak of 2011
German E. coli outbreak of 2011, bacterial disease outbreak that began in Germany in late April 2011 and that was......
GoiĆ¢nia accident
GoiĆ¢nia accident, a radioactive disaster resulting from the discovery and subsequent mishandling of a radioactive......
Great Blizzard of 1888
Great Blizzard of 1888, winter storm that pummeled the Atlantic coast of the United States, from the Chesapeake......
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire, conflagration that began on October 8, 1871, and burned until early October 10, devastating......
Great Drought
Great Drought, climatic interval of the Holocene Epoch that affected much of what is now the western United States......
Great Famine
Great Famine, famine that occurred in Ireland in 1845ā49 when the potato crop failed in successive years. The crop......
Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London, (September 2ā5, 1666), the worst fire in Londonās history. It destroyed a large part of the......
Great Hurricane of 1780
Great Hurricane of 1780, major tropical cyclone that cut across several islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, causing......
Great Molasses Flood
Great Molasses Flood, disaster in Boston that occurred after a storage tank collapsed on January 15, 1919, sending......
Great Plague of London
Great Plague of London, epidemic of plague that ravaged London, England, from 1665 to 1666. City records indicate......
Great Smog of London
Great Smog of London, lethal smog that covered the city of London for five days, from December 5 to December 9,......
H.L. Hunley
H.L. Hunley, Confederate submarine that operated (1863ā64) during the American Civil War and was the first submarine......
Haiphong cyclone
Haiphong cyclone, (Oct. 8, 1881), one of most catastrophic natural disasters in history and the third deadliest......
Halifax explosion
Halifax explosion, devastating explosion on December 6, 1917, that occurred when a munitions ship blew up in the......
Heysel Stadium disaster
Heysel Stadium disaster, incident in which a crush of football (soccer) fans resulted in 39 deaths and some 600......
Hijacking of IC-814
The hijacking of IC-814 was the takeover of an Indian Airlines flight on December 24, 1999, by five armed militants......
Hillsborough disaster
Hillsborough disaster, incident in which a crush of football (soccer) fans ultimately resulted in 97 deaths and......
Holodomor
Holodomor, man-made famine that convulsed the Soviet republic of Ukraine from 1932 to 1933, peaking in the late......
Homeland Security, United States Department of
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in response to the catastrophic failures of......
Honkeiko colliery mining disaster
Honkeiko colliery mining disaster, deadly explosion that occurred on April 26, 1942, in a coal mine at Benxi, Liaoning......
Hooghly River Cyclone of 1737
Hooghly River Cyclone of 1737, tropical cyclone that made landfall near the lower reaches of the Hooghly River,......
Huang He floods
Huang He floods, (1887, 1931, 1938), series of devastating floods in China caused by the overflowing of the Huang......
Hurricane Dorian
Hurricane Dorian, catastrophically large tropical cyclone that was one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes......
Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey, large tropical cyclone that brought significant rainfall into the Houston, Texas, area in August......
Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Helene, large, catastrophic tropical cyclone notable for its rapid intensification that ultimately produced......
Hurricane Ian
Hurricane Ian, large tropical cyclone that brought significant wind damage and flooding to western Cuba, central......
Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma, one of the longest-lasting category 5 hurricanes on record that hit the Caribbean and the southern......
Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria, immensely powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that ravaged the island country of Dominica......
Hurricane Melissa
Hurricane Melissa, catastrophic tropical cyclone that struck the island countries of Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas......
Hurricane Michael
Hurricane Michael, large, catastrophic tropical cyclone that brought devastating wind damage, rain, and flooding......
Hurricane Milton
Hurricane Milton, powerful tropical cyclone that delivered high winds, heavy rains, and flooding to the state of......