Heavy rainfall , Thundering , Hail in Australia

Parts of south-east Queensland were lashed by hail and more than 10,000 lightning strikes as a severe thunderstorm hit the region yesterday, bringing power outages to more than 1,000 homes and businesses.



More severe storm cells had been forecast for the south east, however the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) cancelled its warning about 4:15pm.

"The immediate threat of severe thunderstorms has passed, however thunderstorms are still occurring in the area with small hail possible," it said in a statement.



More than 4,500 homes had lost power when the severe storms hit the capital about 2:30pm and moved towards the coast.

By the evening, 1,200 remained without power on the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay and the Gold Coast.



Hail fell at Esk, north-west of Brisbane, and at Kurwongbah, Morayfield and a number of Brisbane suburbs, however there are no reports of damage.





Since 2:00pm today, [to 3:30pm] there had been 10,000 lightning strikes

Flights at Brisbane Airport were delayed and there were reports of road accidents at Chermside, Greenslopes and Auchenflower

Photos : Mathew drikel
News : www.abc.net.au

Winter of terror , 1950

The Winter of Terror was the three-month period during the winter of 1950-1951when a previously unrecorded number of avalanches took place in the Alps. The series of 649 avalanches killed over 265 people and caused large amounts of damage to residential and other human-made structures.

Austria suffered most damage and loss of human life with 135 killed and many villages destroyed. Thousands of acres of economically valuable forest were also damaged during the period.

The Valais canton of Switzerland suffered 92 human deaths, approximately 500 cattle deaths, and destruction of 900 human-made structures. As in Austria, economically important forests were also damaged during the period.

The Swiss town of Andermatt in the Adula Alps was hit by six avalanches within a 60-minute period, resulting in 13 human deaths.

This period is thought to be a result of atypical weather conditions in the Alps: high precipitation due to the meeting of an Atlantic warm front with a polar cold front resulted in 3-4.5 metres of snow being deposited in a two-to-three-day period. More than 600 buildings were destroyed and over 40,000 people were buried under snow.

The Great Smog of London , 1952

The Great Smog of 1952 or Big Smoke was a severe air-pollution event that affected London during December 1952. A period of cold weather, combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants mostly from the use of coal to form a thick layer of smog over the city. It lasted from Friday 5 December to Tuesday 9 December 1952, and then dispersed quickly after a change of weather.

Although it caused major disruption due to the effect on visibility, and even penetrated indoor areas, it was not thought to be a significant event at the time, with London having experienced many smog events in the past, so-called "pea soupers". Government medical reports in the following weeks estimated that up until 8 December 4,000 people had died prematurely and 100,000 more were made ill because of the smog's effects on the human respiratory tract. More recent research suggests that the total number of fatalities was considerably greater, at about 12,000.

It is known to be the worst air-pollution event in the history of the United Kingdom, and the most significant in terms of its effect on environmental research, government regulation, and public awareness of the relationship between air quality and health. It led to several changes in practices and regulations, including the Clean Air Act 1956.

There was no panic, as London was renowned for its fog. In the weeks that ensued, however, statistics compiled by medical services found that the fog had killed 4,000 people. Most of the victims were very young or elderly, or had pre-existing respiratory problems. In February 1953, Lieutenant-Colonel Lipton suggested in the House of Commons that the fog had caused 6,000 deaths and that 25,000 more people had claimed sickness benefits in London during that period.

The cold weather preceding and during the smog meant that Londoners were burning more coal than usual to keep warm. Post-war domestic coal tended to be of a relatively low-grade, sulphurous variety (economic necessity meant that better-quality "hard" coals tended to be exported), which increased the amount of sulphur dioxide in the smoke. There were also numerous coal-fired power stations in the Greater London area, including Fulham, Battersea, Bankside, and Kingston upon Thames, all of which added to the pollution. According to the UK MetOffice, the following pollutants were emitted each day during the foggy period: 1,000 tonnes of smoke particles, 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, 140 tonnes of hydrochloric acid, 14 tonnes of fluorine compounds and 370 tonnes of sulphur dioxide.

On 4 December 1952, an anticyclone settled over a windless London, causing a temperature inversion with cold, stagnant air trapped under a layer (or "lid") of warm air. The resultant fog, mixed with chimney smoke, particulates such as those from vehicle exhausts, and other pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, formed a persistent smog, which blanketed the capital the following day. The presence of tarry particles of soot gave the smog its yellow-black colour, hence the nickname "peasouper".The absence of significant wind prevented its dispersal and allowed an unprecedented accumulation of pollutants.

Research suggests that additional pollution-prevention systems fitted at Battersea may have worsened the air quality, reducing the output of soot at the cost of increased sulphur dioxide, though this is not certain. Additionally, there were pollution and smoke from vehicle exhaust — particularly from steam locomotives and diesel-fuelled buses, which had replaced the recently abandoned electric tram system — and from other industrial and commercial sources.Prevailing winds had also blown heavily polluted air across the English Channel from industrial areas of Continental Europe.


Most of the deaths were caused by respiratory tract infections from hypoxia and as a result of mechanical obstruction of the air passages by pus arising from lung infections caused by the smog. The lung infections were mainly bronchopneumonia or acute purulent bronchitis superimposed upon chronic bronchitis.

More recent research suggests that the number of fatalities was considerably greater, at about 12,000.

The 2010 Haiti earthquake

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicenter near the town of Léogâne (Ouest Department), approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.

By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded. An estimated three million people were affected by the quake. Death toll estimates range from 100,000 to about 160,000 to Haitian government figures from 220,000 to 316,000 that have been widely characterized as deliberately inflated by the Haitian government. The government of Haiti estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. There has been a history of national debt, prejudicial trade policies by other countries,[citation needed] and foreign intervention into national affairs that contributed to the pre-existing poverty and poor housing conditions that exacerbated the death toll.

The earthquake caused major damage in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and other settlements in the region. Notable landmark buildings were significantly damaged or destroyed, including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly building, the Port-au-Prince Cathedral, and the main jail. Among those killed were Archbishop of Port-au-Prince Joseph Serge Miot, and opposition leader Micha Gaillard. The headquarters of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), located in the capital, collapsed, killing many, including the Mission's Chief, Hédi Annabi.

Many countries responded to appeals for humanitarian aid, pledging funds and dispatching rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel. Communication systems, air, land, and sea transport facilities, hospitals, and electrical networks had been damaged by the earthquake, which hampered rescue and aid efforts; confusion over who was in charge, air traffic congestion, and problems with prioritisation of flights further complicated early relief work. Port-au-Prince's morgues were overwhelmed with tens of thousands of bodies. These had to be buried in mass graves. As rescues tailed off, supplies, medical care and sanitation became priorities. Delays in aid distribution led to angry appeals from aid workers and survivors, and looting and sporadic violence were observed. On 22 January the United Nations noted that the emergency phase of the relief operation was drawing to a close, and on the following day the Haitian government officially called off the search for survivors.

Aftershocks

History of the main shock and aftershocks with magnitudes larger than 4.0, data from USGS

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded eight aftershocks in the two hours after the main earthquake, with magnitudes between 4.3 and 5.9. Within the first nine hours 32 aftershocks of magnitude 4.2 or greater were recorded, 12 of which measured magnitude 5.0 or greater, and on 24 January USGS reported that there had been 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater since 12 January quake.

On 20 January at 06:03 local time  the strongest aftershock since the earthquake, measuring magnitude 5.9 Mw, struck Haiti. USGS reported its epicenter was about 56 km (35 mi) WSW of Port-au-Prince,which would place it almost exactly under the coastal town of Petit-Goâve. A UN representative reported that the aftershock collapsed seven buildings in the town. According to staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which had reached Petit-Goâve for the first time the day before the aftershock, the town was estimated to have lost 15 percent of its buildings, and was suffering the same shortages of supplies and medical care as the capital. Workers from the charity Save the Children reported hearing "already weakened structures collapsing" in Port-au-Prince, but most sources reported no further significant damage to infrastructure in the city. Further casualties are thought to have been minimal since people had been sleeping in the open.There are concerns that 12 January earthquake could be the beginning of a new long-term sequence: "the whole region is fearful"; historical accounts, although not precise, suggest that there has been a sequence of quakes progressing westwards along the fault, starting with an earthquake in the Dominican Republic in 1751.

Tsunami

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning immediately after the initial quake, but quickly cancelled it. Nearly two weeks later it was reported that the beach of the small fishing town of Petit Paradis was hit by a localised tsunami shortly after the earthquake, probably as a result of an underwater slide, and this was later confirmed by researchers. At least three people were swept out to sea by the wave and were reported dead. Witnesses told reporters that the sea first retreated and a "very big wave" followed rapidly, crashing ashore and sweeping boats and debris into the ocean.

The earthquake struck in the most populated area of the country. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimated that as many as 3 million people had been affected by the quake. In mid February 2010, the Haitian government reported the death toll to have reached 230,000. However, an investigation by Radio Netherlands has questioned the official death toll, reporting an estimate of 92,000 deaths as being a more realistic figure. On the first anniversary of the earthquake, 12 January 2011, Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said the death toll from the quake was more than 316,000, raising the figures from previous estimates.

Several experts have questioned the validity of the death toll numbers; Anthony Penna, professor emeritus in environmental history at Northeastern University, warned that casualty estimates could only be a "guesstimate", and Belgian disaster response expert Claude de Ville de Goyet noted that "round numbers are a sure sign that nobody knows."Edmond Mulet, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said, "I do not think we will ever know what the death toll is from this earthquake", while the director of the Haitian Red Cross, Jean-Pierre Guiteau, noted that his organization had not had the time to count bodies, as their focus had been on the treatment of survivors

The Ajka alumina sludge spill - 2010 , Hungary

The Ajka alumina sludge spill was an industrial accident at a caustic waste reservoir chain of the Ajkai Timföldgyár alumina plant in Ajka, Veszprém County, in western Hungary. On 4 October 2010, at 12:25 CEST ,the northwestern corner of the dam of reservoir no. 10 collapsed, freeing approximately one million cubic metres (35 million cubic feet) of liquid waste from red mud lakes. The mud was released as a 1–2 m (3–7 ft) wave, flooding several nearby localities, including the village of Kolontár and the town of Devecser. Ten people died, and 150 people were injured. About 40 square kilometres (15 sq mi) of land were initially affected. The spill reached the Danube on 7 October 2010. The ruptured and weakened wall of the reservoir that released the caustic sludge is in danger of collapsing entirely, which could release an additional 500,000 cubic metres of sludge.

It was not initially clear how the containment at the reservoir had been breached, although the accident came after a particularly wet summer in Hungary, as in other parts of central Europe. Police have seized documents from the Ajkai Timföldgyár plant, although a spokesman for MAL Hungarian Aluminium , the company that operates the plant, said the last inspection of the pond had shown "nothing untoward". Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that the cause of the spill was presumably human error.

The wave of mud flooded streets in Kolontár, where seven people were confirmed dead, and Devecser, where the flow was powerful enough to move cars and vans. The cause of death of the Kolontár victims has not been formally confirmed; a spokesman for the National Directorate General for Disaster Management  said that they had probably drowned. A further six people were still missing 24 hours after the accident.

The NDGDM said that the high-pH mud was considered hazardous and would cause an alkaline reaction on contact if not washed off with clean water. The mayor of Devecser said that 80–90 people had been taken to hospital with chemical burns. Péter Jakabos, a doctor in the hospital in Győr where many of the injured had been taken, said on Magyar Televízió that it might take days for the full extent of any burns to be realised. Magyar Alumínium (MAL) said that the mud was not considered to contain toxic elements according to EU standards. Initial measurements by the NDGDM showed the sludge to be extremely basic, with a pH value of 13.

The waste extinguished all life in the Marcal river, and reached the Danube on 7 October, prompting countries located further down the river (Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine) to develop emergency plans in response.

On 11 October, the Hungarian government announced that the managing director of MAL had been arrested, to be charged with "criminal negligence leading to a public catastrophe". Also on the 11th, the government took control of MAL, appointing a commissioner to manage the company. The government planned to focus on compensation for the incident, job security, and identifying further locations at risk of accidents.

Apart from the immediate effects of the wave of red mud, there was also concern for a possible contamination of Hungary's waterways. The Torna  river runs through the affected area, and emergency workers were pouring tonnes of plaster into the waterway to try to bind the sludge and prevent it from continuing downstream. The Torna joins the Marcal  river at Karakó, in Vas County; the Marcal joins the Rába river just above Győr, in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, while the Rába itself joins the Danube at Győr.

The day after the accident, Environmental State Secretary Zoltán Illés ordered the suspension of the alumina production at the plant and the reconstruction of the dam. The following day, the chairman of the company said in a radio interview that he would like to restart production over the weekend (5–6 days after the Monday accident);the plant reopened on 15 October, with full production expected to resume by the 19th.

The Hungarian government initially estimated that cleanup would take at least a year and cost tens of millions of dollars.

The Hungarian Government activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism for urgent international assistance at 7:36PM on 7 October. The European Union Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC) communicated the request for expert assistance to the 30 participating countries (27 EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway).

By 12 October, a secondary dam beyond the remainder of the original had been almost entirely completed, after being built to contain additional sludge that was expected to overflow after another portion of the original dam collapsed.

On 13 October, the government nationalized the company, the bill making this possible having been passed by the Parliament one day earlier.

The London Beer Flood 1814

The London Beer Flood happened on 17 October 1814 in the parish of St. Giles, London, England. At the Meux and Company Brewery on Tottenham Court Road, a huge vat containing over 135,000 imperial gallons (610,000 L) of beer ruptured, causing other vats in the same building to succumb in a domino effect. As a result, more than 323,000 imperial gallons (1,470,000 L) of beer burst out and gushed into the streets. The wave of beer destroyed two homes and crumbled the wall of the Tavistock Arms Pub, trapping teenage employee Eleanor Cooper under the rubble.[4] Within minutes neighbouring George Street and New Street were swamped with alcohol, killing a mother and daughter who were taking tea, and surging through a room of people gathered for a wake

The brewery was among the poor houses and tenements of the St Giles Rookery, where whole families lived in basement rooms that quickly filled with beer. At least eight people were known to have drowned in the flood or died from injuries.

The brewery was eventually taken to court over the accident, but the disaster was ruled to be an Act of God by the judge and jury, leaving no one responsible. The company found it difficult to cope with the financial implications of the disaster, with a significant loss of sales made worse because they had already paid duty on the beer. They made a successful application to Parliament reclaiming the duty which allowed them to continue trading.

The brewery was demolished in 1922, and today, the Dominion Theatre occupies a part of the site of the former brewery. In 2012, a local tavern, the "Holborn Whippet", has started to mark this event with a vat of porter brewed especially for the day.

Honolulu molasses spill

The Honolulu molasses spill refers to a spill of 1,400 tons of molasses into Honolulu Harbor in September 2013. The spill was discovered on September 9, 2013. It was caused by a faulty pipe, for which the shipping company Matson Navigation Co. took responsibility. Molasses is an unregulated product, and neither Matson nor government officials had a contingency plan to respond to a molasses spill. Natural currents and weather are expected to eventually dilute and flush the molasses out of the harbor and a nearby lagoon.

Divers in the harbor area reported that all sea life was killed by the molasses, which instantly sank to the bottom of the harbor and caused widespread de-oxygenation. Various species of coral were injured or killed, and more than 26,000 fish and other marine species suffocated and died.

Molasses is produced from sugar cane at the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. on Maui and is shipped to the mainland to be processed and sold. Matson has been transporting molasses from Honolulu Harbor for 30 years and currently ships it about once a week.

On September 20, 2013 the Hawaii Department of Transportation issued an order that all businesses which pump products through port pipelines must provide the state with documentation about pipeline inspections and spill response plans. Previously no such reporting had been required. The first such plan was filed October 18 by Kahului Trucking & Storage, a subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin. Since such spills are almost impossible to clean up, the plan focuses on prevention and early detection, with regular inspections of pipelines and hourly monitoring of transmission operations.

The Great Molasses Flood , 1919

The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster or the Great Boston Molasses Flood, occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. A large molasses storage tank burst, and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150. The event has entered local folklore, and for decades afterward residents claimed that on hot summer days the area still smelled of molasses.

The disaster occurred at the Purity Distilling Company facility on January 15, 1919. The temperature had risen above 40 °F (4.4 °C), climbing rapidly from the frigid temperatures of the preceding days.

Molasses can be fermented to produce rum and ethanol, the active ingredient in other alcoholic beverages and a key component in the manufacturing of munitions. The stored molasses was awaiting transfer to the Purity plant situated between Willow Street and what is now named Evereteze Way, in Cambridge.

Modern downtown Boston with molasses flood area circled
At about 12:30 in the afternoon near Keany Square, at 529 Commercial Street, a molasses tank 50 ft (15 m) tall, 90 ft (27 m) in diameter, and containing as much as 2,300,000 US gal (8,700 m3), collapsed. Witnesses reported, variously, that as it collapsed, they felt the ground shake and heard a roar, a long rumble similar to the passing of an elevated train, a tremendous crashing, a deep growling, or a thunderclap-like bang! and, as the rivets shot out of the tank, a machine-gun-like rat-tat-tat sound.

The collapse unleashed a wave of molasses 25 feet (7.6 m) high at its peak, moving at 35 miles per hour (56 km/h).The molasses wave was of sufficient force to damage the girders of the adjacent Boston Elevated Railway's Atlantic Avenue structure and tip a railroad car momentarily off the tracks. Author Stephen Puleo describes how nearby buildings were swept off their foundations and crushed. Several blocks were flooded to a depth of 2 to 3 feet (60 to 90 cm). Puleo quotes a Boston
Molasses, waist deep, covered the street and swirled and bubbled about the wreckage ... Here and there struggled a form—whether it was animal or human being was impossible to tell. Only an upheaval, a thrashing about in the sticky mass, showed where any life was ... Horses died like so many flies on sticky fly-paper. The more they struggled, the deeper in the mess they were ensnared. Human beings—men and women—suffered likewise.

Damage to the Boston Elevated Railway due to the flood
The Boston Globe reported that people "were picked up by a rush of air and hurled many feet." Others had debris hurled at them from the rush of sweet-smelling air. A truck was picked up and hurled into Boston Harbor. Approximately 150 were injured; 21 people and several horses were killed—some were crushed and drowned by the molasses. The wounded included people, horses, and dogs; coughing fits became one of the most common ailments after the initial blast. In a 1983 article for Smithsonian, Edwards Park wrote of one child's experience:

... Anthony di Stasio, walking homeward with his sisters from the Michelangelo School, was picked up by the wave and carried, tumbling on its crest, almost as though he were surfing. Then he grounded and the molasses rolled him like a pebble as the wave diminished. He heard his mother call his name and couldn't answer, his throat was so clogged with the smothering goo. He passed out, then opened his eyes to find three of his four sisters staring at him.


Several factors that occurred on that day and the previous days might have contributed to the disaster. The tank was constructed poorly and tested insufficiently. Due to fermentation occurring within the tank, carbon dioxide production might have raised the internal pressure. The rise in local temperatures that occurred over the previous day also would have assisted in building this pressure. Records show that the air temperature rose from 2 to 41 °F (−17 to 5.0 °C) over that period. The failure occurred from a manhole cover near the base of the tank, and it is possible that a fatigue crack there grew to the point of criticality. The hoop stress is greatest near the base of a filled cylindrical tank.

The tank had been filled to capacity only eight times since it was built a few years previously, putting the walls under an intermittent, cyclical load. Several authors say that the Purity Distilling Company was (or may have been) trying to outrace Prohibition in the United States; the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified the next day (January 16, 1919), and would take effect one year later

An inquiry after the disaster revealed that Arthur Jell, who oversaw the construction, neglected basic safety tests, such as filling the tank with water to check for leaks. When filled with molasses, the tank leaked so badly that it was painted brown to hide the leaks. Local residents collected leaked molasses for their homes.

An investigation first published in 2014, applying modern engineering analysis, found that the steel was not only half as thick as it should have been for a tank of its size, even with the lax standards of the day, but it also lacked manganese, and was made more brittle as a result

16 september , Chile earthquake

The 2015 Illapel earthquake occurred 46 km (29 mi) offshore Illapel, Chile on September 16 at 19:54:33 Chile Standard Time with a moment magnitude of 8.3. It was caused by thrust faulting along the boundary between the Nazca and South American plates.Four aftershocks have taken place so far.

The Chilean government reported 5 casualties. Another 20 people were injured. Tsunami watches, warnings, and advisories were issued in Ecuador, Peru, New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Hawaii and California. A wave 4.5 m (15 ft) high was observed along the coast of Coquimbo and the cities of Coquimbo, Tongoy and Concón reported flooding. Chilean authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of the coast due to tsunami risk. The undersecretary for the ministry of the interior and public security reported that the evacuation affected one million people across the country. The evacuation order was later cancelled.

Illapel, an inland city of some 30,000 residents, was reported immediately to be without electricity or drinking water. Tall buildings swayed and car alarms were set off in Buenos Aires, 1,110 km away.

Chile is one of the most earthquake-prone countries of the planet. In 2014, an 8.2-magnitude quake struck near the city of Iquique. In 2010, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake brought massive devastation to Central Chile, killing over 500 people and costing the country's economy an estimated US$15–30 billion.

1918 Cloquet Fire

The 1918 Cloquet fire was a massive fire in northern Minnesota, United States in October, 1918, caused by sparks on the local railroads and dry conditions. The fire left much of western Carlton County devastated, mostly affecting Moose Lake, Cloquet, andKettle River. Cloquet was hit the hardest by the fires. It was the worst natural disaster in Minnesota history in terms of the number of lives lost in a single day. In total, 453 lives were lost and 52,000 people were injured or displaced, 38 communities were destroyed, 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) were burned, and $73 million (US$ 1.145 billion in 2015) in property damage was suffered. Thirteen million dollars in Federal aid was disbursed.

Many instances of mass deaths were reported. For example, in Moose Lake, an Associated Press Correspondent reported seeing seventy-five bodies piled in a burned building. On a road leading out of Moose Lake, "100 bodies were strewn here and there", according to The New York Times. A relief worker reported that there were thirty bodies piled in a heap in a cellar between Moose Lake and Kettle River.

Among other structures, the Duluth Country Club and the Children's Home were both a complete loss. Within Carlton and southern Saint Louis counties the towns of Brookston, Arnold, and Moose Lake were completely destroyed.Cloquet and its surrounding cities were known for the great deforestation caused by the fire.

On October 10, 1918, two men working near a railroad siding northwest of Cloquet saw a passenger train pass by the siding, and soon thereafter discovered a fire burning through grass and piles of wood. The fire could not be contained, and by October 12, fires had spread through northern Minnesota.

When asked about the scene at Cloquet after the fact, Albert Michaud, a special Police Officer in Cloquet was quoted by The New York Times,

“ "At 6 o'clock last night, a forest ranger gave warning that unless the wind died down the townspeople would have to flee...The scene at the station was indescribable. There came a rush of wind and the entire town was in flames. The trains pulled out with the fires blazing closely behind them. Women wept and clung to their children, while others cried frantically for their missing ones. The flames licked at the cars. Windows in the coaches were broken by the heat. The engineers and firemen alternately stoked, to give the boilers all the fuel they could stand."

Early reports of the fire circulated rumors that the fires were intentionally started by "enemy agents", but Cloquet Fire Chief F.J. Longren later confirmed that such rumors were false. One cause of the fire is believed to be from sparks from the railroad tracks that lit the dry timber, but the rapid progression of the fire through northern Minnesota was caused by factors such as drought conditions, high winds, and a lack of firefighting equipment.

2010 Kalapana Lava Disaster

Kalapanais a town and region in the Puna District on the Island of Hawaiʻi in the Hawaiian Islands and can be reached either by Hawaii Route 130 from Pāhoa or by Hawaii Route 137.

In 1986, lava flows from the Kupaianaha vent of Kīlauea destroyed and partly buried most of the town, as well as Kalapana Gardens and nearby Royal Gardens subdivisions. The lava flow that destroyed Kalapana erupted from the southeast rift zone of Kīlauea. Along with the destruction of Kalapana were those of the nearby town of Kaimū and Kaimū Bay, both of which now lie buried beneath more than 50 feet of lava. The lava flow also created a new coastline.

Although most access to the town has been cut off, a few people still live there, but mostly need to get in and out by 4-wheel drive vehicles.

In July 2010, lava from Kīlauea continued into the Kalapana region destroying a home that was only 5 years old, leaving 35 homes remaining in the Kalapana Gardens Subdivision. The latest flow partly covered the 1986-1992 flow field again, while attracting thousands of visitors a day.

1964 Alaskan earthquake

The 1964 Alaskan earthquake, also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 P.M. AST on Good Friday, March 27.Across south-central Alaska, ground fissures, collapsing structures, and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 139 deaths.

Lasting four minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the magnitude 9.3 megathrust earthquake was the most powerful recorded in U.S. and North American history. Soil liquefaction, fissures, landslides, and other ground failures caused major structural damage in several communities and much damage to property. Anchorage sustained great destruction or damage to many inadequately earthquake engineered houses, buildings, and infrastructure (paved streets, sidewalks, water and sewer mains, electrical systems, and other man-made equipment), particularly in the several landslide zones along Knik Arm. Two hundred miles southwest, some areas near Kodiak were permanently raised by 30 feet (9.1 m). Southeast of Anchorage, areas around the head of Turnagain Arm near Girdwood and Portage dropped as much as 8 feet (2.4 m), requiring reconstruction and fill to raise the Seward Highway above the new high tide mark.

In Prince William Sound, Port Valdez suffered a massive underwater landslide, resulting in the deaths of 30 people between the collapse of the Valdez city harbor and docks, and inside the ship that was docked there at the time. Nearby, a 27-foot (8.2 m) tsunami destroyed the village of Chenega, killing 23 of the 68 people who lived there; survivors out-ran the wave, climbing to high ground. Post-quake tsunamis severely affected Whittier, Seward, Kodiak, and other Alaskan communities, as well as people and property in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California. Tsunamis also caused damage in Hawaii and Japan. Evidence of motion directly related to the earthquake was reported from all over the earth.

As a result of the earthquake, 139 people are believed to have died: Fifteen died as a result of the earthquake itself, 106 died from the subsequent tsunami in Alaska, 5 died from the tsunami in Oregon, and 13 died from the tsunami in California. The quake was a reported XI on the modified Mercalli Intensity scale "indicating major structural damage, and ground fissures and failures".Property damage was estimated at about $311 million($2.28 billion in current U.S. dollars).

1991 Mt. Pinatubo Volcano Eruption

Mount Pinatubo  is an active stratovolcano in the Cabusilan Mountains on the island of Luzon, near the tripoint of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac, and Pampanga. Before the volcanic activities of 1991, its eruptive history was unknown to most people. It was heavily eroded, inconspicuous and obscured from view. It was covered with dense forest which supported a population of several thousand indigenous people, the Aetas, who fled to the mountains during the Spanish conquest of the Philippines.

The volcano's Plinian / Ultra-Plinian eruption on 15 June 1991 produced the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century after the 1912 eruption of Novarupta in the Alaska Peninsula. Complicating the eruption was the arrival of Typhoon Yunya (Diding), bringing a lethal mix of ash and rain to areas surrounding the volcano. Successful predictions at the onset of the climactic eruption led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from the surrounding areas, saving many lives, but the surrounding areas were severely damaged by pyroclastic flows, ash deposits, and subsequently, by the lahars caused by rainwaters re-mobilizing earlier volcanic deposits causing extensive destruction to infrastructure and changing the river systems months to years after the eruption.

The effects of the eruption were felt worldwide. It ejected roughly 10,000,000,000 tonnes (1.1×1010 short tons) or 10 km3(2.4 cu mi) of magma, and 20,000,000 tonnes (22,000,000 short tons) SO

2, bringing vast quantities of minerals and metals to the surface environment. It injected more particulate into the stratosphere than any eruption since Krakatoa in 1883. Over the following months, the aerosols formed a global layer of sulfuric acid haze. Global temperatures dropped by about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) in the years 1991-93 and ozone depletion temporarily increased substantially.

A reported 847 people were killed by the eruption, mostly by roofs collapsing under the weight of accumulated wet ash, a hazard amplified by the simultaneous arrival of Typhoon Yunya. The evacuation in the days before the eruption certainly saved tens of thousands of lives, and has been hailed as a great success for volcanology and eruption prediction. However, damage to healthcare facilities and the spread of illnesses in relocation facilities due to poor sanitation led to rising death tolls in the months after the eruption.

After the eruption, about 500,000 people continue to live within 40 km (25 mi) of the mountain, with population centers including the 150,000 in Angeles City and 30,000 at Clark Freeport Zone.

Space disasters, Solar Flare

SPACE DISASTERS

Fallen trees caused by the Tunguska meteoroid of the Tunguska event in June 1908.

Impact events

Asteroids that impact the Earth have led to several major extinction events, including one that created the Chicxulub crater 64.9 million years ago and associated with the demise of the dinosaurs. Scientists estimate that the likelihood of death for a living human from a global impact event is comparable to death from airliner crash. One of the notable impact events in modern times was the Tunguska event in June 1908.

SOLAR FLARE

A solar flare is a phenomenon where the sun suddenly releases a great amount of solar radiation, much more than normal. Some known solar flares include:

An X20 event on August 16, 1989

A similar flare on April 2, 2001

The most powerful flare ever recorded, on November 4, 2003, estimated at between X40 and X45

The most powerful flare in the past 500 years is believed to have occurred in September 1859

Wildfires

WILDFIRES

Wildfires are large fires which often start in wildland areas. Common causes include lightning and drought but wildfires may also be started by human negligence or arson. They can spread to populated areas and can thus be a threat to humans and property, as well as wildlife.

Notable cases of wildfires were the 1871 Peshtigo Fire in the United States, which killed at least 1700 people, and the 2009 Victorian bushfires in Australia.

HEALTH DISASTERS

Epidemics

The A H5N1 virus, which causes Avian influenza

An epidemic is an outbreak of a contractible disease that spreads through a human population. A pandemic is an epidemic whose spread is global. There have been many epidemics throughout history, such as the Black Death. In the last hundred years, significant pandemics include:

The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, killing an estimated 50 million people worldwide

The 1957–58 Asian flu pandemic, which killed an estimated 1 million people

The 1968–69 Hong Kong water flu pandemic

The 2002-3 SARS pandemic

The AIDS pandemic, beginning in 1959

The H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu) Pandemic 2009–2010

Other diseases that spread more slowly, but are still considered to be global health emergencies by the WHO, include:

XDR TB, a strain of tuberculosis that is extensively resistant to drug treatments

Malaria, which kills an estimated 1.6 million people each year

Ebola virus disease, which has claimed hundreds of victims in Africa in several outbreaks.

Heat waves, Tornadoes

HEAT WAVES

A heat wave is a period of unusually and excessively hot weather. The worst heat wave in recent history was the European Heat Wave of 2003.

A summer heat wave in Victoria, Australia, created conditions which fuelled the massive bushfires in 2009. Melbourne experienced three days in a row of temperatures exceeding 40°C (104°F) with some regional areas sweltering through much higher temperatures. The bushfires, collectively known as "Black Saturday", were partly the act of arsonists.

The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer resulted in severe heat waves, which killed over 2,000 people. It resulted in hundreds of wildfires which causing widespread air pollution, and burned thousands of square miles of forest.

Heat waves can occur in the ocean as well as on land with significant effects (often on a large scale) e.g. coral bleaching.

TORNADOS

An exceptionally clearly developed single-cell Cumulonimbus incus Big displaying the classic anvil shape; associated gusts may occur from the direct proximity to several times the height of the cloud.
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is also referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider sense, to refer to any closed low pressure circulation. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris and dust. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour (177 km/h), are approximately 250 feet (80 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating. The most extreme tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than 300 mph (480 km/h), stretch more than two miles (3 km) across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (perhaps more than 100 km).

Well-known historical tornadoes include:

The Tri-State Tornado of 1925, which killed over 600 people in the United States;
The Daulatpur-Saturia Tornado of 1989, which killed roughly 1,300 people in Bangladesh.

Droughts,Hailstorms

DROUGHTS

Affected areas in the western Sahel belt during the 2012 drought.

Drought is unusual dryness of soil, resulting in crop failure and shortage of water for other uses, caused by significantly lower rainfall than average over a prolonged period. Hot dry winds, high temperatures and consequent evaporation of moisture from the ground can contribute to conditions of drought.

Well-known historical droughts include:

1900 India killing between 250,000 to 3.25 million.

1921–22 Soviet Union in which over 5 million perished from starvation due to drought[citation needed].

1928–30 Northwest China resulting in over 3 million deaths by famine[citation needed].

1936 and 1941 Sichuan Province China resulting in 5 million and 2.5 million deaths respectively[citation needed].

The 1997–2009 Millenium Drought in Australian led to a water supply crisis across much of the country. As a result many desalination plants were built for the first time (see list).

In 2006, Sichuan Province China experienced its worst drought in modern times with nearly 8 million people and over 7 million cattle facing water shortages[citation needed].

12-year drought that was devastating southwest Western Australia, southeast South Australia, Victoria and northern Tasmania was "very severe and without historical precedent".

In 2011, the State of Texas lived under a drought emergency declaration for the entire calendar year. The drought caused the Bastrop fires.

HAILSTORMS


A large hailstone, about 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter
Hailstorms are falls of rain drops that arrive as ice, rather than melting before they hit the ground. A particularly damaging hailstorm hit Munich, Germany, on July 12, 1984, causing about 2 billion dollars in insurance claims.