Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
On Dec 6 1917 the Mont Blanc a ship loaded with high explosives blew up in Halifax harbour. To this day it's the second biggest man made explosion in history. It killed 1500 people, injured over 9000, many of whom were blinded by glass because they were watching the ship burn in the harbour, through windows. The explosion flattened more than one Sq. mile of the city of Halifax. It also created a tidal wave that caused much damage to Dartmouth a city across the harbour from Halifax.
On Dec 6 1917 the Mont Blanc a ship loaded with high explosives blew up in Halifax harbour. To this day it's the second biggest man made explosion in history. It killed 1500 people, injured over 9000, many of whom were blinded by glass because they were watching the ship burn in the harbour, through windows. The explosion flattened more than one Sq. mile of the city of halifax. It also created a tidal wave that caused nuch damage to Dartmouth a city across the harbour from Halifax.
I never heard of this one, either.
I'm something of a historical disaster junkie, and now I've GOT to read up on all these events.
Thanks for the info, everybody. Wasn't even my thread, and I'm fascinated by the responses!
The New London School explosion occurred on March 18, 1937, when a natural gas leak caused an explosion, destroying the London School of New London, Texas. Around 300 people, mostly students, were killed.
This event led to the legal requirement in the United States that natural gas, which is normally odorless, be given an identifying smell.
In August 1959, a truck carrying two tons of dynamite exploded in downtown Roseburg (in the southwest part of the state) after a nearby building fire set off its contents. Fortunately, the blast took place at 5am, at a time when the downtown area was mostly vacant. Fourteen people died, but dozens of structures were blown apart, and had this taken place during the business day, there may have been hundreds of fatalities.
This led to much tighter regulation in Oregon over the transport and storage of industrial explosives.
In terms of environmental disasters, one of the more notable took place in 1999, when a cargo freighter named the New Carissa ran aground off the coast of southern Oregon, broke apart, then began drifting and barfing bunker oil all over the beaches.
It provided some rather dramatic footage due to the various attempts to clean it up, including the US Navy trying to burn off some of the fuel with napalm and plastic explosives.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
