Comments on: Top 10 Bizarre Disasters

By: Big Papa

Big Papa — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:57:54 +0000

Snakes don’t slither, they actually crawl.
Just had to throw that in there, I’m really picky about topics over reptiles, since I keep a few choice ones myself.

By: MacDimples

MacDimples — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:24:19 +0000

Can I get sources for the Saint Pierre Snake Invasion?

I tried googling it and I can’t find anything.
Awesome story.
Cheers

By: Erickarthik

Erickarthik — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:20:12 +0000

I think Bhopal tragedy needs to be on that list. Lots of people lost everything and are continuing to live a life of hopelessness and misery

By: Jem

Jem — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:38:42 +0000

My father was a spectator at the Gillingham Park Fête fire. Having seen the display on a number of previous occasions, he quickly saw that something was wrong as usually the drama was played for laughs and the cries he heard were in earnest.

Unfortunately, the organisers did not realise the very real threat, and so failed to summon the Fire Brigade who were waiting some distance off-stage to make their dramatic entrance with bells ringing for the heroic rescue of the Sea Scouts and firemen inside.

My father with one or two other spectator pushed past the stewards and raised the alarm alas too late. The mock building had been primed to burn impressively and was engulfed within a few minutes.

My father and others stood aghast as they watched the tragedy unfold while others in the crowd continued to applaud enthusiastically, oblivious of what they were witnessing. There is a window in the local church of St Augustine in memory of those who died.

By: Flood

Flood — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:16:28 +0000

The Johnstown Flood of 1889 left some 2000+ dead in a small town in Pennsylvania. A privately owned dam ruptured after heavy rains and flooded the valley below it. The town of Johnstown was decimated. There are some fascinating books about it and great images on Google. Some of the owners of the dam were among the wealthiest steel and railroad men of the 19th century and they weren’t even expected to pay reparations or compensation to the families of the deceased. Imagine that happening these days? Nope, not a chance.

By: shmexiholz

shmexiholz — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 00:54:35 +0000

The Chernobyl Incident is also a disaster that killed thousands of people, and many people were permenantly injured and many deformed babies were born due to the mothers exposure to radiation. That radioactive town will have to be deserted for hundreds of years (thousands, maybe even millions) until the radiation go into the ground or disappears, but i duno, but just imagine when its finally safe to go back how much research will be done on how we lived, we may even discover from households what certain people did, maybe even posessions they wanted to keep hidden, but one day they might make a suit or a camera on a mechanism (like sending a satellite or a planet rover)to the area so the “no one going there for another few centuries seems a bit farfetched (except the radiation will take millions of years to vanish.

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:59:57 +0000

Great list…I love this site! Really interesting and tragic stuff. My only critique is never, ever to justify death (#6…”Fortunately…only 11 people died.”) As a journalist, maybe I’m tainted, but death is always tragic, whether it’s 10 or 10,000 lives. Still, great research though!

By: Hillery

Hillery — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:11:17 +0000

Laurier Palace Theatre Fire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurier_Palace_Theatre_Fire

Panic kills 78 children. Like the Shiloh fire (in that there was no real fire), but all the victims were children. Had to add that.

By: bootlicker

bootlicker — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:56:36 +0000

Sammi: How does living in Birmingham make you an expert? I live in Salt Lake City, but that doesn’t make me an expert on its history. You might want to check this NY Times article from 1902: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C01E2D91E3BE733A25752C2A96F9C946397D6CF

By: nuriko

nuriko — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:57:58 +0000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhilSports_Arena_stampede – this really happened…