The most famous natural disasters in the world. Disaster over the Black Sea

For centuries, natural disasters have haunted humanity. Some happened so long ago that scientists cannot estimate the scale of the destruction. For example, the Mediterranean island of Stroggli is believed to have been wiped off the map by a volcanic eruption around 1500 BC. The tsunami caused destroyed the entire Minoan civilization, but no one knows even the approximate number of deaths.

However, the 10 worst known disasters, mostly earthquakes and floods, killed an estimated 10 million people. This article will present the 10 deadliest natural disasters in order of increasing number of victims.

10. Earthquake in Aleppo
An earthquake in the largest Syrian city occurred on October 11, 1138. Based on geological data, modern science estimates the strength of the event at 8.5. The archives contain data on 230 thousand deaths and major destruction throughout the city. Aleppo, located in northern Syria, is part of the fault system in the Dead Sea region, which was formed as a result of the movement of the Arab and African tectonic plates.

9. Earthquake in the Indian Ocean and the tsunami it provoked
On December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.3 undersea earthquake with its epicenter off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, caused a devastating tsunami that struck the shores of several countries in south and southeast Asia. As a result of the two events, between 225 and 230 thousand people died.

8. Earthquake in Gansu
A magnitude 8.5 earthquake occurred on December 16, 1920 in Gansu, in the Ningxia province of China. According to the Catalog of World Earthquakes, updated by the International Institute of Seismology in Japan, the event claimed the lives of more than 235 thousand inhabitants.

7. Tangshan earthquake
On July 28, 1976, an earthquake of magnitude 8 occurred in China near the large industrial city of Tangshan, Hebei Province. According to the first estimates of the Chinese government, more than half of the total population (about 655 thousand) died in the city of a million, but this number was overestimated to 242 thousand.

6. Earthquake in Antakya
As a result of the earthquake that occurred in the modern Turkish city of Antakya in the spring of 526 AD (approximately from May 20 to 29), between 250 and 300 thousand people died. Following the earthquake, a large-scale fire destroyed most of the surviving buildings.

5. Cyclone in India
On November 25, 1839, an Indian cyclone hit the port village of Coringa, located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The cyclone caused a 12-meter wave that destroyed almost the entire village and most of the ships in the surrounding areas. About 20 thousand people died at sea, and the total number of victims of the cyclone was 300 thousand.

4. Cyclone Bhola
The deadliest cyclone ever to occur is considered to be Cyclone Bhola, which occurred in eastern Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh). Floods on November 12, 1970 inundated the low-lying islands off the Ganges River delta. According to rough estimates, about 500 thousand residents died from floods caused by heavy rains and river floods.

3. Shaanxi Earthquake
On January 23, 1556, the most merciless earthquake known to mankind, a magnitude 8 earthquake, occurred in Shaanxi and the border province in northern China, killing at least 830 thousand inhabitants. This number of victims reduced the population of both provinces by 60%.

2. Yellow River Spill
The Yellow River flood is considered the deadliest flood in history. The disaster occurred in September 1887, when the waters of the Yellow River broke through dams in the Chinese province of Henan. The flood destroyed some 11 major Chinese cities and hundreds of villages, leaving millions homeless. Flood waters flooded an area of ​​130 thousand square kilometers, taking the lives of 900 thousand to 2 million.

1. Floods in central China
The most destructive natural disaster was recorded in central China between July and August 1931, when a series of floods occurred as a result of the Yangtze flood. Large-scale floods killed 3.7 million people by drowning or starvation. It is believed that more than 51 million Chinese were affected by floods that year.

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Below is a list of the ten largest natural disasters in human history. The rating is based on the number of deaths.

Earthquake in Aleppo

Death toll: about 230,000

The ranking of the largest natural disasters in human history opens with the Aleppo earthquake of magnitude 8.5 on the Richter scale, which occurred in several stages near the city of Aleppo in northern Syria on October 11, 1138. It is often cited as the fourth-deadliest earthquake in history. According to the Damascus chronicler Ibn al-Qalanisi, approximately 230,000 people died as a result of this disaster.

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

Number of victims: 225,000–300,000

An underwater earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004 in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of North Sumatra, 250 kilometers southeast of the city of Banda Aceh. Considered one of the strongest earthquakes of the 20th–21st centuries. Its magnitude, according to various estimates, ranged from 9.1 to 9.3 on the Richter scale. Occurring at a depth of about 30 km, the earthquake caused a series of destructive tsunamis, the height of which exceeded 15 meters. These waves caused enormous destruction and took the lives of, according to various estimates, from 225 thousand to 300 thousand people in 14 countries. The coasts of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand were hit the hardest by the tsunami.

Death toll: 171,000–230,000

Banqiao Dam is a dam on the Zhuhe River, Henan Province, China. On August 8, 1975, due to the powerful Typhoon Nina, the dam was destroyed, thereby causing flooding and a huge wave 10 km wide and 3–7 meters high. This disaster, according to various estimates, claimed the lives of from 171,000 to 230,000 people, of whom about 26,000 died directly from the flood. The rest died from subsequent epidemics and famine. In addition, 11 million people lost their homes.

Number of victims: 242,419

The Tangshan earthquake, measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale, is the deadliest earthquake of the 20th century. It happened on July 28, 1976 in the Chinese city of Tangshan at 3:42 local time. Its hypocenter was located near the millionaire industrial city at a depth of 22 km. The 7.1 aftershocks caused even more damage. According to the Chinese government, the number of victims was 242,419 people, but according to other sources, about 800,000 inhabitants died, and another 164,000 were seriously injured. The earthquake also affected settlements located 150 kilometers from the epicenter, including Tianjin and Beijing. More than 5,000,000 houses were completely destroyed.

Flood in Kaifeng

Death toll: 300,000–378,000

The Kaifeng flood is a man-made disaster that primarily struck Kaifeng. This city is located on the southern bank of the Yellow River in the Chinese province of Henan. In 1642, the city was flooded by the Yellow River after the Ming Dynasty army opened the dams to prevent the advance of Li Zicheng's troops. Then the flood and subsequent famine and plague killed about 300,000–378,000 people.

Indian cyclone – 1839

Death toll: over 300,000

Fifth place in the ranking of the largest natural disasters in history is occupied by the Indian cyclone of 1839. On November 16, 1839, a 12-meter wave caused by a powerful storm completely destroyed the large port city of Coringa, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. More than 300,000 people died then. After the disaster, the city was never rebuilt. Nowadays in its place there is a small village with a population (2011) of 12,495 inhabitants.

Death toll: approximately 830,000

This earthquake, measuring approximately 8.0 magnitude, occurred on January 23, 1556, in the Shaanxi province of China, during the Ming Dynasty. More than 97 districts were affected by it, everything was destroyed in an area of ​​840 km, and in some areas 60% of the population died. In total, the China earthquake killed approximately 830,000 people, more than any other earthquake in human history. The huge number of victims is due to the fact that the majority of the population of the province lived in loess caves, which were destroyed or flooded by mudflows immediately after the first tremors.

Number of victims: 300,000–500,000

the most destructive tropical cyclone in history, which struck the territories of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and the Indian state of West Bengal on November 12, 1970. It killed an estimated 300,000–500,000 people, mostly as a result of a 9m high surge that swamped many low-lying islands in the Ganges delta. The sub-districts of Thani and Tazumuddin were the hardest hit by the cyclone, killing more than 45% of the population.

Death toll: about 900,000

This devastating flood occurred on September 28, 1887 in Henan Province, China. The torrential rains that fell here for many days were to blame. Due to the rains, the water level in the Yellow River rose and destroyed a dam near the city of Zhengzhou. The water quickly spread throughout northern China, covering an area of ​​approximately 130,000 square meters. km, taking the lives of about 900 thousand people, and leaving approximately 2 million homeless.

Number of victims: 145,000–4,000,000

The world's largest natural disaster is the Chinese flood, or more precisely a series of floods that occurred in 1931 in South-Central China. This disaster was preceded by a drought that lasted from 1928 to 1930. However, the following winter was very snowy, there was a lot of rain in the spring, and during the summer months, the country suffered from heavy rains. All these facts contributed to the fact that the three largest rivers in China: the Yangtze, Huaihe, and Yellow River overflowed their banks, taking the lives of, according to various sources, from 145 thousand to 4 million people. Also, the largest natural disaster in history caused epidemics of cholera and typhoid, and also led to famine, during which cases of infanticide and cannibalism were recorded.

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We can speculate about how things might have ended if some catastrophe had not occurred, but the variables are so small and there are so many of them that we will never know the right answer. Like a weather forecast (which, after all, looks into the future), we can only make a guess based on the information we receive, which is very limited. Let's take a look at 10 natural disasters from our past, and then imagine what the world would look like without them. You might be interested in the articles 10 Most Expensive Terrorist Attacks in Human History.

10. Lake Agassiz Outbreak, North America

Around 14,500 years ago, the planet's climate was beginning to emerge from the last Great Ice Age. And as temperatures began to rise, the Arctic ice mass covering much of the Northern Hemisphere began to melt. Fast forward 1,600 years to the center of northern North America (what is now parts of North Dakota, Minnesota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario), which was under a huge proglacial lake formed by meltwater that was blocked by a wall of ice or other natural dam. Approximate area of ​​273,000 sq. km, Lake Agassiz was larger than any lake currently existing in the world, approximately the size of the Black Sea.

Then, for some reason, the dam broke and all the fresh water from the lake rushed into the Arctic Ocean through the Mackenzie River valley. And even if the flood itself was not severe enough, its consequences likely killed off the megafauna of North America, as well as the people of the Clovis culture. The insane amount of fresh water flooding the Arctic Ocean has significantly weakened the Atlantic “conveyor” by 30% or more. Along this conveyor, warm water reaches the Arctic, where, cooling, it sinks to the bottom and returns south along the ocean floor. With a new influx of fresh water from Lake Agassiz, the cycle slowed and the Northern Hemisphere returned to near-icy temperatures for 1,200 years, in a period known as the Younger Dryas. The end of this period, about 11,500 years ago, was even more abrupt than its beginning, when temperatures in Greenland rose 18 degrees Fahrenheit in just 10 years.

9. Eruptions of the Siberian Traps, Central Russia

Approximately 252 million years ago, planet Earth looked very different compared to today. Life was as alien as it gets, and all the continents were pushed together to form a single super-continent known as Pangea. Evolution followed the usual path, with life flourishing on land and in the sea. Then, as if out of nowhere, everything changed in one geological instant.

In the far north of Pangea, where Siberia is now located, a super-volcano of biblical proportions began to erupt. The eruption was incredibly strong and destructive, covering an area of ​​almost 2.7 million square meters. km (roughly equal to the continental United States) and was covered with a layer of lava 1.5 km thick. Just over 800,000 sq. km of this layer can still be seen in a region called Siberian traps.

The eruption itself and the subsequent destructive lava flows became only the catalyst for an irreversible chain of events that destroyed 75% of all life on earth and more than 95% of all sea creatures. This apocalyptic event, known as the Great Dying, marked the transition between the Permian and Triassic periods. The immediate effect of the super-volcano completely devastated the Northern Hemisphere, turning the air into veritable acidity and throwing the entire food chain into complete chaos. The eruption was followed by a centuries-long volcanic winter, killing 10% of all species on earth. After the dust settled, the planet's climate immediately entered a phase of global warming, the overall temperature rose by 5 degrees Celsius, which led to the extinction of another 35% of all land creatures.

The oceans were nearby, and the water absorbed large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, turning it into carbonic acid. As temperatures rose, oxygen-depleted water from the ocean floor began to expand and rise from the depths, leaving all marine life stranded. Huge amounts of methane hydrate, found even today on the ocean floor, rose to the surface due to warming waters, thereby increasing the planet's temperature by another 5 degrees Celsius. At that time, almost all marine species became extinct, and only the strongest living creatures managed to survive. This event is the largest mass extinction event on Earth. But by now our production is emitting four times more CO2 into the atmosphere than the supervolcano did many millions of years ago, and most of the above effects are already beginning to occur.

8. Sturegga landslide, Norwegian Sea

About 8,000 years ago, 100 km off the northern coast of modern Norway, a huge piece of land roughly the size of Iceland broke off the European continental shelf and sank into the depths of the Norwegian Sea. This process was most likely caused by an earthquake, which destabilized the methane hydrates located on the seabed, 1,350 cubic kilometers of sediment were distributed over more than 1,600 kilometers of the ocean floor, covering an area of ​​about 59,000 square kilometers. km. The ensuing tsunami caused a landslide that wreaked havoc on all nearby landmasses.

Since the planet was just emerging from the previous Ice Age, sea levels were 14 meters lower than today. Even so, deposits left by the Sturegga landslide were found as far as 80 km inland in some places and 6 meters above today's high tide. The territories of modern Scotland, England, Norway, Iceland, the Faroe, Orkney and Shetland Islands, Greenland, Ireland and the Netherlands were seriously damaged by waves 25 meters high.

The last piece of land that once connected the British Isles to mainland Europe, known as Doggerland, was completely submerged, creating the North Sea we know today. This was not the first or last time this happened; several other small landslides off the coast of modern Norway occurred between 50,000 and 6,000 years ago. Oil and gas companies take special precautions to avoid accidentally triggering such an event.

7.Eruption of Laki, Iceland

Iceland sits directly on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where two large tectonic plates are moving away from each other. This makes the island nation one of the most volcanically active regions in the world. In 1783, a 29-kilometer fissure on the island's surface, known as Laki's Fissure, was ripped open by an eruption. Along the entire length of the volcano, 130 craters were formed, which erupted 5.4 cubic meters. km of basalt lava for 8 months. Incomparable in size and destruction to what occurred in Siberia 252 million years ago, the Laki eruption had very similar features, and was the largest volcanic eruption in the last 500 years. Thanks to a network of underground tunnels known as lava tubes, molten rock spread hundreds of kilometers from the fault and wiped out 20 villages.

However, Lucky's most destructive effect was not the lava itself, but the toxic gases released into the atmosphere. About 8 million tons of hydrogen fluoride and 120 million tons of sulfur dioxide were released, poisoning the air and creating acid rain. As a result, three quarters of the sheep and more than half of all cattle in Iceland died. Due to famine and disease, more than 20% of Iceland's population died over the next few months. In addition, sulfur dioxide spread across much of the Northern Hemisphere, blocking out the sun's rays and plunging the planet into a mini-volcanic winter. Europe suffered the most from this eruption, causing crop failures and famine, leading to the infamous French Revolution.

The rest of the world was also affected by the eruption. North America suffered its longest and harshest winter, one-sixth of Egypt's population died of starvation, and the monsoon season was disorganized, affecting even regions as far away as India and Southeast Asia.

6. Super tornado outbreak, 2011, central USA

In general, tornadoes have left few traces of their existence over a long period of time. Their effects can be devastating, but from an archaeological point of view, not much evidence of tornadoes can be found. However, the largest and most destructive tornado event in human history took place in 2011 at the area colloquially known as “ tornado alley” in the USA and Canada.

From April 25 to April 28, a total of 362 tornadoes were reported and confirmed by the National Weather Service in 15 States. Destructive tornadoes occurred every day, with the most active ones recorded since April 27, with 218 tornadoes recorded. Four of them were classified as EF5, the highest rating on the Fujita Tornado Scale. On average, one EF5 tornado is reported worldwide once a year or less.

A total of 348 people were killed in this outbreak, 324 of whom died directly from the tornado. The remaining 24 people were victims of flash floods, fist-sized hail or lightning strikes. Another 2,200 people were injured. The hardest hit state was Alabama, where 252 people died. The epicenter of the impact was the city of Tuscaloosa in Alabama, where an EF4 tornado with a diameter of almost 1.5 km and wind speeds of more than 200 km/h passed through residential areas of the city. Total property damage is estimated at about $11 billion, making the 2011 super tornado outbreak one of the costliest natural disasters to hit the United States.

5. Spanish flu, worldwide

At a time when the world was gripped by the horrors of the First World War, an even more merciless killer spread across the planet. The Spanish Flu, or Spanish Flu, became the deadliest pandemic in modern history, infecting 500 million people worldwide—about a third of the population—and killing between 20 and 50 million people in less than six months. As World War I gradually drew to a close in late 1918, the influenza virus was initially overlooked, especially on the battlefield, which quickly became an ideal breeding ground for the airborne disease.

For many years, scientists believed that the origins of influenza began in the trenches of France, and intensive research was carried out on this type of influenza in neutral Spain, giving it its name. spanish flu" The harsh conditions of battle were ideal for such a disease, with large numbers of people living together in squalor and often in close proximity to animals such as pigs. Moreover, the array of deadly chemicals used during World War I provided ample opportunity for the virus to mutate.

However, ten years after the war, Kansas was seriously considered as another possible breeding ground for the H1N1 influenza virus when it was discovered that 48 infantrymen had died in military camps. Later figures indicate a group of 96,000 Chinese workers who were sent to work behind British and French lines. Reports of a respiratory illness that struck northern China in November 1917 were identified a year later by Chinese health officials as identical to the Spanish flu. However, no direct connection has been found between the Chinese disease and the global Spanish flu epidemic.

The effects of the pandemic can still be felt today, 100 years later, as related strains of the virus caused epidemics in 1957, 1968, and again in 2009 and 2010 during “ swine flu crisis" None of these cases were as deadly as those at the end of the First World War, when only the isolated island of Marajó in the Brazilian Amazon delta had no outbreak reported.

4. The last breakthrough of Lake Agassiz and the flood of the Black Sea, Eastern Europe

Once again Lake Agassiz makes the list, this time due to its final drainage, which occurred about 8,200 years ago. After the last flood of this large lake mentioned above, the ice sheet formed again due to cooling caused by the entry of fresh water into the Arctic Ocean. But after 1,200 years, the planet warmed up again and the lake overflowed again. But this time Agassiz merged with another equally large lake Ojibwe. The union, however, did not last long, and this time their waters rushed into Hudson Bay. As before, the planet plunged into another period of global cooling (6200 BC). However, this time the cooling was much shorter than the Younger Dryas, lasting about 150 years. However, the sudden influx of water into the oceans has led to a rise in sea levels by as much as 4 meters.

Major floods occurred in all corners of the world: from America, Europe, Africa, Arabia, South Asia and to the Pacific Islands. A large number of submerged settlements have been found throughout the world, which can probably date back to this period. Perhaps it was during this period that myths about the global flood were born. But the biggest case of flooding occurred in Eastern Europe in the Black Sea region, which at that time was nothing more than a freshwater lake. Due to the rapid rise in sea level, the Bosporus Strait was partially destroyed and waters from the Mediterranean Sea poured into the lake, which eventually became the Black Sea. The speed at which water entered the lake, as well as its quantity, remain a matter of debate to this day.

Some believe that more than 16 cubic kilometers of water passed through the strait in a flow 200 times greater than the flow of Niagara Falls. This continued for three centuries and 96,500 square meters were flooded. km of land, the water level rose by 15 cm per day. Others believe that the flooding was gradual and only 1,240 square meters were flooded. km.

3. Zanklinsky flood and the Mediterranean Sea

Just like the Black Sea mentioned above, the Mediterranean Sea was once a lake. As the African and Eurasian tectonic plates moved closer and closer together over many millions of years, they eventually collided. About 5.6 million years ago, their initial point of contact was between the Iberian Peninsula and the northern coast of West Africa. Isolated from the Atlantic Ocean, the modern Mediterranean lake began to evaporate due to arid conditions over several hundred thousand years. In most places, the seabed was covered with a layer of salt more than a kilometer thick. This salt was blown about by the winds, wreaking havoc on the surrounding landscape.

Fortunately, after 300,000 years, the Mediterranean Sea became full again. The likely cause is considered to be the ongoing shift of the earth's crustal plates, which in turn caused the subsidence of the land around the Strait of Gibraltar. Over the course of several thousand years, an instant in geological terms, the Atlantic Ocean dug its way through a 200-kilometer channel. The flow of water reaching the Mediterranean basin was slow at first, but even then it was three times the flow of the Amazon River today. However, it is believed that once the channel became wide enough, the flow of water became enormous, filling the remaining 90% of the Mediterranean basin in a period of several months to two years. The rise in water level could reach 10 meters per day. This event is known as the Zanklin Flood. And even today, more than 5 million years later, the Mediterranean Sea is much saltier than the ocean due to the narrow strait that connects the two.

2. Drought in northern China, 1876-79

Between 1876 and 1879, a severe drought occurred in China, killing approximately 13 million people out of a total population of 108 million. As the world emerged from its last cooling period known as the “Little Ice Age,” drought in the Yellow River basin began in early 1876, worsening the following year's harvest with almost no rain. It was the worst drought in the region in 300 years, and certainly resulted in the largest number of casualties. Shanxi province suffered the most from the famine, killing approximately 5.5 million people out of a total population of 15 million.

This was not the first time China had faced a serious drought, and well into the 18th century the country invested heavily in storing and distributing grain to deal with such dire situations. In fact, the government has, on a number of occasions, taken effective measures to prevent severe droughts that could have led to widespread famine.

But this time the Qing state was significantly weakened by the middle of the century due to rebellions and strong British imperialism, and was completely unprepared for a crisis of this magnitude. And although both international and local aid was provided, much of rural China was left depopulated by famine, disease and migration.

1. Collision between Earth and Theia

Although this list was not compiled in any particular order, we decided to end it with a huge cataclysmic event of astronomical proportions that made our planet what it is today. And even if scientists are not 100% sure that this happened, there is good reason to believe that this is exactly what happened. About 100 million years after the planet formed due to the gradual collection of asteroids and other space debris, the young planet Earth collided with the planet Theia, a hypothetical planet in our young solar system. This planet is believed to have been about the size of Mars, or slightly smaller, and which 4.31 billion years ago flew towards Earth and crashed into pieces.

The force of the collision brought the two planets together, forming the Earth we know and love today. The pieces ejected from the collision were captured by the planet's gravitational field and then formed the Moon. The large size of the natural satellite relative to Earth strengthens the collision hypothesis. In addition, scientists analyzed lunar rocks from the three Apollo missions and compared them with volcanic rocks found in Hawaii and Arizona and found no difference in oxygen isotopes. Further evidence of the collision is that our planet's core and shell are unusually large compared to other rocky worlds in the solar system, like Theia's core and shell mixed with Earth's.

Video about possible natural disasters in the future. Life in the 21st century seems comfortable and safe, but man can control the power of nature within very modest limits. Scientists make their predictions based on research.

No matter how far scientific and technological progress goes, disasters have happened, are happening and will probably continue to happen for a long time. 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.

The worst plane crash

Collision of two Boeing 747s

Humanity does not know of a more terrible plane crash than the one that occurred on March 27, 1977 on the island of Tenerife, which belongs to the Canary group. On this day, at Los Rodeo airport, a collision occurred between two Boeing 747s, one of which belonged to KLM, the other to Pan American. This terrible tragedy claimed 583 lives. The reasons that led to this disaster are a fatal and paradoxical combination of circumstances.

Los Rodeos airport was seriously overloaded on this ill-fated Sunday. The dispatcher spoke with a strong Spanish accent, and the 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 created in the Pan American plane. The wings and tail of another Boeing fell off, which led to a fall one hundred and fifty meters from the accident site, after which it was dragged for another three hundred meters. Both flying cars caught fire.

There were 248 passengers on board the Boeing KLM, none of whom survived. The Pan American plane became the site of the death of 335 people, including the entire crew, as well as the famous model and actress Eve Meyer.

The worst man-made disaster

On July 6, 1988, the worst disaster known to 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 offensive thing is that the number of victims could have been much lower if 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 accident began, the maintenance personnel waited for management's command.

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 broached, the film “Titanic” involuntarily comes to mind. Moreover, such a catastrophe 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 rightfully considered 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 hit a ship that could accommodate almost 9,000 passengers.

This, at that time, a perfect product of shipbuilding, was made in 1938. It seemed unsinkable and housed 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 sail half the planet without refueling. The ingenious creation could not sink without outside intervention. And it happened in the person of the crew of the submarine S-13, commanded by A. I. Marinesko. Three torpedoes were fired at the legendary ship. In a matter of minutes he found himself in the abyss of the Baltic Sea. All crew members were killed, including about 8,000 representatives of the German military elite who were evacuated from Danzig.

Wreck of the Wilhelm Gustloff (video)

The greatest environmental tragedy

Shrunken Aral Sea

Among all environmental disasters, the leading place is occupied by the drying out of the Aral Sea. At its best, it was the fourth largest lake in the world.

The disaster occurred due to the unreasonable use of water used to water gardens and fields. The drying out was due to the ill-considered political ambitions and actions of the leaders of those times.

Gradually, the coastline moved far into the sea, which led to the extinction of most species of flora and fauna. In addition, droughts began to become more frequent, the climate changed significantly, shipping became impossible, and more than sixty people were left without work.

Where did the Aral Sea disappear: strange symbols on the dry bottom (VIDEO)

Nuclear disaster

What could be worse than a nuclear disaster? 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 on an April morning.

Chernobyl 1986

This tragedy claimed the lives of several hundred tow truck workers, and thousands died over the next ten years. And only God knows how many people were forced to leave their homes...

The 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.

Radiation levels in this region are 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 Russian Ministry of Defense crashed

Crash of Tu-154 of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Not long ago there was a crash of a Tu-154 aircraft of the Russian Ministry of Defense en route to Syria. It claimed the lives of 64 talented artists of the Alexandrov ensemble, nine famous leading TV channels, the head of a charitable organization - the famous Doctor Lisa, eight military personnel, two civil servants, and all crew members. A total of 92 people died in this terrible plane crash.

On this tragic morning in December 2016, the plane refueled in Adler, but unexpectedly crashed just after takeoff. The investigation took a long time, because it was necessary to know what the cause of the Tu-154 crash was.

The commission that investigated the causes of the accident named overloading of the plane, fatigue of the crew and low professional level of training and organization of the flight among the circumstances leading to the disaster.

Results of the investigation into the Tu-154 crash of the Russian Ministry of Defense (VIDEO)

Submarine "Kursk"

Submarine "Kursk"

The sinking of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, in which 118 people on board were killed, occurred in 2000 in the Barents Sea. This is the second largest accident in the history of the Russian submarine fleet after the disaster on the B-37.

On August 12, as planned, preparations for training attacks began. The last written confirmed 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 attributed to the activation of the radar station antenna. After that, the boat captain no longer contacted us. At 23.00 the situation on the submarine was declared as an emergency, which was reported to the leadership of the fleet and the country. The next morning, as a result of search operations, 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)

Wreck of the ship "Admiral Nakhimov"

The wreck of the passenger ship "Admiral Nakhimov" occurred in August 1981 near Novorossiysk. There were 1,234 people on board the ship, 423 of whom lost their lives on that fateful 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 "Peter Vasev", as a result of which the electric generator was flooded and the power 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 left side and thus descended into the water.

Almost a thousand people ended up in the water, and they were also dirty with fuel oil and paint. Eight minutes after the collision, the ship sank.

Steamship Admiral Nakhimov: shipwreck - Russian Titanic (VIDEO)

Oil platform that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico

The worst environmental disasters in the world in 2010 were joined by another one that occurred 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 on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform.

As a result of pipe rupture, about five million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.

A spot measuring 75,000 square meters formed in the bay. km, which amounted to five percent of its total area. The disaster took the lives of 11 people and injured 17.

Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico (VIDEO)

Concordia crash

On January 14, 2012, the list of the worst incidents in the world was supplemented with one more. Near Italian Tuscany, the cruise ship Costa Concordia ran into a rock ledge, leaving a hole seventy meters in size. At this time, most of the passengers were in the restaurant.

The right side of the liner began to submerge in the water, then it was thrown onto a sandbank 1 km from the crash site. There were more than 4,000 people on the ship who were evacuated throughout the night, but not everyone was saved: 32 people were still killed and a hundred were injured.

Costa Concordia – the crash through the eyes of eyewitnesses (VIDEO)

Eruption of Krakatoa in 1883

Natural disasters show how insignificant and helpless we are in the face of natural phenomena. But all the worst 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 above the Krakatoa volcano. At that moment, even at a distance of 160 kilometers from him, the windows of houses began to tremble. All the nearby islands were covered with a thick layer of dust and pumice.

Eruptions continued until August 27. The final explosion culminated in sound waves that circled the entire planet several times. At that moment, the compasses on the ships sailing in the Sunda Strait stopped showing correctly.

These explosions led to the submersion of the entire northern part of the island. The seabed rose as a result of the eruptions. Much ash from the volcano remained in the atmosphere for another two to three years.

The tsunami, which was thirty meters high, washed away about three hundred settlements and killed 36,000 people.

The most powerful eruption of Krakatoa Volcano (VIDEO)

Earthquake in Spitak in 1988

On December 7, 1988, the list of “Best Disasters in the World” was replenished with another one that occurred in the Armenian Spitak. On this tragic day, tremors literally “wiped” this city from the face of the earth in just half a minute, destroying 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 struck by a force of nine, and Kirovakan was struck by a force of eight, and almost the rest of Armenia was struck by a force of six. Seismologists estimate that this earthquake released the energy equivalent to the force of ten exploding atomic bombs. The wave that this tragedy caused was recorded by scientific laboratories almost all over the world.

This natural disaster deprived 25,000 people of their lives, 140,000 of their health, and 514,000 of their homes. Forty percent of the republic's industry was out of order, schools, hospitals, theaters, museums, cultural centers, roads and railways were destroyed.

Military personnel, doctors, and public figures throughout the country and abroad, both near and far, were called to help. Humanitarian aid was actively collected around the world. Tents, field kitchens and first aid stations were set up throughout the area affected by the tragedy.

The saddest and most instructive thing about this situation is that the scale and casualties of this terrible disaster could have been many times smaller if the seismic activity of the region had been taken into account and all buildings had been built taking these features into account. The lack of preparedness of the rescue services also contributed.

Tragic days: earthquake in Spitak (VIDEO)

2004 Tsunami Indian Ocean - Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka

In December 2004, a devastating tsunami of terrible force caused by an underwater earthquake hit the coasts of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other countries. Huge waves devastated the area and killed 200,000 people. The most offensive thing is that most of the dead are children, since in this region there is a high proportion of children to the population, moreover, children are physically weaker and less able to resist water than an adult.

Aceh province in Indonesia suffered the greatest losses. Almost all buildings there were destroyed, 168,000 people died.

Geographically, this earthquake was simply huge. Up to 1200 kilometers of rock have moved. The shift occurred in two phases with an interval of two to three minutes.

The number of victims was so high because there was no common warning system along the entire Indian Ocean coast.

There is nothing worse than disasters and tragedies that deprive people of life, shelter, health, destroy industry and everything that a person has worked on for many years. But it often turns out that the number of casualties and destruction in such situations could have been much less if everyone had been conscientious about their professional responsibilities; in some cases, it was necessary to provide in advance 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)

Sometimes it is quite difficult to assess the scale of a particular global catastrophe, because the consequences of some of them can appear many years after the incident itself.

In this article we will present the 10 worst disasters in the world that were not caused by deliberate actions. Among them are incidents that occurred on water, in the air, and on land.

Fukushima accident

The disaster that occurred on March 11, 2011, simultaneously combines the features of man-made and natural disasters. A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of nine and the subsequent tsunami caused a failure of the power supply system of the Daiichi nuclear plant, as a result of which the cooling process of reactors with nuclear fuel was stopped.

In addition to the monstrous destruction that was caused by the earthquake and tsunami, this incident led to serious radioactive contamination of the territory and water area. In addition, the Japanese authorities had to evacuate more than two hundred thousand people due to the high likelihood of severe illness due to exposure to severe radiation. The combination of all these consequences gives the right to the Fukushima accident to be called one of the worst disasters in the world in the twenty-first century.

The total damage from the accident is estimated at $100 billion. This amount includes the costs of eliminating the consequences and paying compensation. But we must not forget that work to eliminate the consequences of the disaster is still ongoing, which accordingly increases this amount.

In 2013, the Fukushima nuclear power plant was officially closed, and only work to eliminate the consequences of the accident is being carried out on its territory. Experts believe that it will take at least forty years to clean up the building and the contaminated area.

The consequences of the Fukushima accident are a reassessment of safety measures in the nuclear energy industry, a drop in the price of natural uranium, and a corresponding decrease in the prices of shares of uranium mining companies.

Collision at Los Rodeos Airport

Perhaps the world's worst aircraft accident occurred in the Canary Islands (Tenerife) in 1977. At Los Rodeos airport, two Boeing 747 airliners, which belonged to KLM and Pan American, collided on the runway. As a result, 583 out of 644 people died, including both passengers and airline crews.

One of the main reasons for this situation was the terrorist attack at Las Palmas airport, which was carried out by terrorists from the MPAIAC organization (Movimiento por la Autodeterminación e Independencia del Archipiélago Canario). The terrorist attack itself did not cause any casualties, but the airport administration closed the airport and stopped accepting planes, fearing further incidents.

Because of this, Los Rodeos became congested as it was diverted by planes that were bound for Las Palmas, in particular two Boeing 747 flights PA1736 and KL4805. At the same time, one cannot fail to note the fact that the plane owned by Pan

American had enough fuel to land at another airport, but the pilots obeyed the air traffic controller's orders.

The cause of the collision itself was fog, which severely limited visibility, as well as difficulties in negotiations between controllers and pilots, which were caused by the thick accents of the controllers, and the fact that the pilots were constantly interrupting each other.

Collision between Dona Paz and tanker Vector

On December 20, 1987, the Philippine-registered passenger ferry Doña Paz collided with the oil tanker Vector, resulting in the world's worst peacetime disaster on the water.

At the time of the collision, the ferry was following its standard Manila-Catbalogan route, which it travels twice a week. On December 20, 1987, at about 06:30, the Doña Paz sailed from Tacloban bound for Manila. At approximately 10:30 p.m., the ferry was passing through the Tablas Strait near Marinduque, and survivors reported clear but rough seas.

The collision occurred after the passengers had fallen asleep; the ferry collided with the Vector tanker, which was transporting gasoline and oil products. Immediately after the collision, a strong fire broke out due to the fact that oil products spilled into the sea. The strong impact and fire almost instantly caused panic among passengers; in addition, according to survivors, there were not the required number of life jackets on the ferry.

Only 26 people survived, of which 24 were Donya Paz passengers and two people from the Vector tanker.

Mass poisoning in Iraq 1971

At the end of 1971, a shipment of grain treated with methylmercury was imported into Iraq from Mexico. Of course, the grain was not intended to be processed into food, and was to be used only for planting. Unfortunately, the local population did not know Spanish, and accordingly all the warning signs that read “Do not eat.”

It should also be noted that the grain was delivered to Iraq late, since the planting season had already passed. All this led to the fact that in some villages grain treated with methylmercury began to be eaten.

After eating this grain, symptoms such as numbness of the limbs, loss of vision, and loss of coordination were observed. As a result of criminal negligence, about one hundred thousand people received mercury poisoning, of whom about six thousand died.

This incident led the World Health Organization to monitor grain circulation more closely and take the labeling of potentially hazardous products more seriously.

Mass destruction of sparrows in China

Despite the fact that we do not include in our list disasters caused by the deliberate actions of people, this case is an exception, since it was caused by banal stupidity and insufficient knowledge of ecology. Nevertheless, this incident fully deserves the title of one of the most terrible disasters in the world.

As part of the “Great Leap Forward” economic policy, a large-scale fight against agricultural pests was carried out, among which the Chinese authorities identified the four most terrible ones - mosquitoes, rats, flies and sparrows.

Employees of the Chinese Research Institute of Zoology calculated that because of sparrows, the amount of grain that could feed about thirty-five million people was lost during the year. Based on this, a plan was developed to exterminate these birds, which was approved by Mao Zedong on March 18, 1958.

All the peasants began to actively hunt birds. The most effective method was to keep them from falling to the ground. To do this, adults and children shouted, hit basins, waved poles, rags, etc. This made it possible to scare the sparrows and prevent them from landing on the ground for fifteen minutes. As a result, the birds simply dropped dead.

After a year of hunting sparrows, the harvest really increased. However, later caterpillars, locusts, and other pests that ate the shoots began to actively breed. This led to the fact that after another year, harvests fell sharply, and famine occurred, which led to the death of 10 to 30 million people.

Piper Alpha oil rig disaster

The Piper Alpha platform was built in 1975, and oil production started on it in 1976. Over time, it was converted for gas production. However, on July 6, 1988, a gas leak occurred, which led to an explosion.

Due to indecisive and ill-considered actions of the personnel, 167 people out of 226 on the platform died.

Of course, after this event, oil and gas production on this platform was completely stopped. Insured losses totaled approximately US$3.4 billion. This is one of the most famous disasters in the world associated with the oil industry.

Death of the Aral Sea

This incident is the biggest environmental disaster on the territory of the former Soviet Union. The Aral Sea was once the fourth largest lake, after the Caspian Sea, Lake Superior in North America, and Lake Victoria in Africa. Now in its place is the Aralkum desert.

The reason for the disappearance of the Aral Sea is the creation of new irrigation canals for agricultural enterprises in Turkmenistan, which took water from the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers. Because of this, the lake has retreated greatly from the shore, which has led to the exposure of the bottom covered with sea salt, pesticides and chemicals.

Due to natural evaporation, the Aral Sea lost about a thousand cubic kilometers of water between 1960 and 2007. In 1989, the reservoir split into two parts, and in 2003, the volume of water was about 10% of its original volume.

The result of this incident was serious changes in climate and landscape. In addition, of the 178 species of vertebrate animals that lived in the Aral Sea, only 38 remain;

Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion

The explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform that occurred on April 20, 2010 is considered one of the largest man-made disasters in terms of its negative impact on the environmental situation. 11 people died directly from the explosion and 17 were injured. Two more people died during the liquidation of the consequences of the disaster.

Due to the fact that the explosion damaged pipes at a depth of 1,500 meters, approximately five million barrels of oil spilled into the sea over 152 days, creating a slick with an area of ​​75,000 kilometers; in addition, 1,770 kilometers of coastline were polluted.

The oil spill threatened 400 species of animals and also led to a fishing ban.

Eruption of Mont Pele volcano

On May 8, 1902, one of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in human history occurred. This incident led to the emergence of a new classification of volcanic eruptions, and changed the attitude of many scientists to volcanology.

The volcano awakened back in April 1902, and within a month, hot vapors and gases, as well as lava, accumulated inside. A month later, a huge grayish cloud burst out at the foot of the volcano. The peculiarity of this eruption is that the lava did not come out from the top, but from side craters that were located on the slopes. As a result of a powerful explosion, one of the main ports of the island of Martinique, the city of Saint-Pierre, was completely destroyed. The disaster claimed the lives of thirty thousand people.

Tropical Cyclone Nargis

This disaster unfolded as follows:

• Cyclone Nargis formed on April 27, 2008, in the Bay of Bengal, and initially moved towards the coast of India, in a northwest direction;
• On April 28, it stops moving, but the wind speed in the spiral vortices began to increase significantly. Because of this, the cyclone began to be classified as a hurricane;
• On April 29, the wind speed reached 160 kilometers per hour, and the cyclone resumed movement, but in a northeast direction;
• On May 1, the wind direction changed to the east, and at the same time the wind was constantly increasing;
• On May 2, the wind speed reached 215 kilometers per hour, and at noon it reached the coast of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Province.

According to the UN, 1.5 million people were injured as a result of the violence, of whom 90 thousand died and 56 thousand were missing. In addition, the major city of Yangon was seriously damaged, and many settlements were completely destroyed. Part of the country was left without telephone communications, internet and electricity. The streets were littered with debris, debris from buildings and trees.

To eliminate the consequences of this disaster, the united forces of many countries of the world and international organizations such as the UN, EU, and UNESCO were needed.