The largest wars in terms of the number of victims.
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, which 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 re-evaluation of safety measures in nuclear energy, a drop in the price of natural uranium, and accordingly a 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 major disaster in the world, which occurred in peacetime 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 Dona 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. Swipe and the fire almost instantly caused panic among passengers; in addition, according to statements, there were no survivors on the ferry required quantity life jackets.
Only 26 people survived, of which 24 were passengers from Donya Paz 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 is also impossible not to note the fact 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. Most effective method was to prevent them from falling to the ground. To do this, adults and children shouted, hit basins, waved poles, rags, etc. This made it possible to frighten 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, 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 of the Aral Sea during the period from 1960 to 2007, the sea lost about a thousand cubic kilometers of water. 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 that occurred on April 20, 2010 oil platform Deepwater Horizon is considered one of the largest man-made disasters in history. negative influence 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 endangered 400 animal species 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 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 Ayeyarwaddy 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, it took the combined forces of many countries of the world and such international organizations like the UN, EU, UNESCO.
The largest wars in human history in terms of death toll.
The earliest war for which there is evidence from excavations took place approximately 14,000 years ago.
It is impossible to calculate the exact number of victims, since in addition to the death of soldiers on the battlefield, there is death civilians from the effects of weapons of war, as well as the death of civilians from the consequences of hostilities, for example from hunger, hypothermia, and disease.
Below is a list of the most major wars by the number of victims.
The causes of the wars listed below are very different, but the number of victims exceeds millions.
1. Civil War in Nigeria (Biafra War of Independence). The death toll is more than 1,000,000 people.
The main conflict took place between the Nigerian government forces and the separatists of the Republic of Biafra. The self-proclaimed republic was supported by a number of European states, including France, Portugal, and Spain. Nigeria was supported by England and the USSR. The UN did not recognize the self-proclaimed republic. There were enough weapons and finances on both sides. The main victims of the war were the civilian population, who died from hunger and various diseases.
2. Imjin War. The death toll is more than 1,000,000 people.
1592 - 1598. Japan made 2 attempts to invade the Korean Peninsula in 1592 and 1597. Both invasions did not lead to the seizure of territory. The first Japanese invasion involved 220,000 soldiers and several hundred warships and transport ships.
The Korean troops were defeated, but at the end of 1592, China transferred part of the army to Korea, but was defeated; in 1593, China transferred another part of the army, which managed to achieve some success. Peace was concluded. The second invasion in 1597 was not successful for Japan and in 1598 hostilities were stopped.
3. Iran–Iraq War (death toll: 1 million)
1980-1988. The longest war of the 20th century. The war began with the invasion of Iraq on September 22, 1980. The war can be called positional - trench warfare, using small arms. Chemical weapons were widely used in the war. The initiative passed from one side to the other, so in 1980 the successful offensive of the Iraqi army was stopped, and in 1981 the initiative passed to the side of Iraq. On August 20, 1988, a truce was concluded.
4. Korean War (death toll: 1.2 million)
1950-1953. War between North and South Korea. The war began with an invasion North Korea to the territory South Korea. Despite North Korean support Soviet Union, Stalin opposed the war because he feared that this conflict could lead to World War 3 and even nuclear war. On July 27, 1953, a ceasefire agreement was concluded.
5. Mexican Revolution (1,000,000 to 2,000,000 death toll)
1910-1917. The revolution fundamentally changed Mexico's culture and government policies. But at that time the population of Mexico was 15,000,000 people and losses during the revolution were significant. The preconditions for the revolution were very different, but as a result, at the cost of millions of victims, Mexico strengthened its sovereignty and weakened its dependence on the United States.
6. Conquests of Chaka's army. First half of the 19th century. (death toll 2,000,000)
The local ruler Chaka (1787 - 1828) founded the state of KwaZulu. He assembled and armed a large army that conquered disputed territories. The army plundered and devastated the tribes in the occupied territories. The victims were local Aboriginal tribes.
7. Goguryeo-Sui Wars (2,000,000 dead)
These wars include a number of wars between Chinese Empire Sui and the Korean state of Goguryeo. The wars took place on the following dates:
· war of 598
· war of 612
· war of 613
· war of 614
Ultimately, the Koreans managed to repel the advance of Chinese troops and win.
The total number of casualties is much higher because civilian casualties are not taken into account.
8. Religious Wars in France (death toll 2,000,000 to 4,000,000)
The religious wars in France are also known as the Huguenot Wars. Occurred between 1562 and 1598. They arose on religious grounds as a result of the conflict between Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots). In 1998, the Edict of Nantes was adopted, which legalized freedom of religion. On August 24, 1572, Catholics staged a mass massacre of Protestants, first in Paris and then throughout France. This happened on the eve of the feast of St. Barthomey, this day went down in history as St. Bartholomew's Night, on that day more than 30,000 people died in Paris.
9. Second Congo War (killed from 2,400,000 to 5,400,000)
The deadliest war in the history of modern Africa, also known as the African War World War And Great War Africa. The war lasted from 1998 to 2003, involving 9 states and more than 20 separate armed groups. The main victims of the war were the civilian population, who died due to disease and hunger.
10. Napoleonic Wars (death toll 3,000,000 to 6,000,000)
The Napoleonic Wars were an armed conflict between France, led by Napoleon Bonaparte, and a number of European states, including Russia. Thanks to Russia, Napoleon’s army was defeated. By various sources different data on victims are given, but greatest quantity Scientists believe that the number of victims, including civilians, from famine and epidemics reaches 5,000,000 people.
11. Thirty Years' War (death toll 3,000,000 to 11,500,000)
1618 - 1648. The war began as a conflict between Catholics and Protestants in the collapsing Holy Roman Empire, but gradually a number of other states were drawn into it. The number of victims from the Thirty Years' War, according to most scientists, is 8,000,000 people.
12. Chinese Civil War (death toll 8,000,000)
The Chinese Civil War was fought between forces loyal to the Kuomintang ( political party Republic of China) and forces loyal to the Communist Party of China. The war began in 1927, and it essentially ended when major active fighting ceased in 1950. Although historians give the end date of the war as December 22, 1936, the conflict eventually led to the formation of two de facto states, the Republic of China (now known as Taiwan) and the Chinese People's Republic in mainland China. During the war, both sides carried out mass atrocities.
13. Russian Civil War (killed between 7,000,000 and 12,000,000)
1917 - 1922. The struggle for power of various political trends and armed groups. But mainly the two largest and most organized forces fought - the Red Army and White Army. The Russian Civil War is considered the greatest national catastrophe in Europe in the entire history of its existence. The main victims of war are the civilian population.
14. Wars led by Tamerlane (casualty ranged from 8,000,000 to 20,000,000)
In the second half of the 14th century, Tamerlane led cruel, bloody conquests in Western, Southern, Central Asia, in the south of Russia. Tamerlane became the most powerful ruler in the Muslim world, conquering Egypt, Syria and Ottoman Empire. Historians believe that 5% of the entire population of the Earth died at the hands of his warriors.
15. Dungan uprising (number of victims from 8,000,000 to 20,400,000 people)
1862 - 1869. The Dungan Rebellion was an ethnic and religious war between the Han Chinese (a Chinese ethnic group originally from East Asia) and Chinese Muslims. The rebels against the existing government were led by the spiritual mentors of Xinjiao, who declared jihad infidel.
16. Conquest of Northern and South America(number of victims from 8,400,000 to 148,000,000 people)
1492 - 1691. During the 200 years of colonization of America, tens of millions of the native population were killed by European colonizers. However exact number there are no casualties because there are no initial estimates of the original size of the Native American population. The conquest of America is the largest extermination of the indigenous population by other peoples in history.
17. An Lushan rebellion (casualty ranged from 13,000,000 to 36,000,000)
755 - 763 AD Revolt against the Tang Dynasty. According to scientists, up to two children of the entire Chinese population could have died during this conflict.
18. First World War (casualties: 18,000,000)
1914-1918. War between groups of states in Europe and their allies. The war claimed 11,000,000 military personnel who died directly during the fighting. 7,000,000 civilians died during the war.
19. Taiping Rebellion (casualties 20,000,000 - 30,000,000)
1850 - 1864. Peasant revolt in China. The Taiping Rebellion spread throughout China against the Manchu Qing dynasty. With the support of England and France, Qing troops brutally suppressed the rebels.
20. Manchu conquest of China (25,000,000 casualties)
1618 - 1683. The war of the Qing Dynasty, to conquer the territories of the Ming Dynasty Empire.
As a result of long wars and various battles, the Manchu dynasty managed to conquer almost all strategic territories of China. The war claimed tens of millions of human lives.
21. Sino-Japanese War (casualties 25,000,000 - 30,000,000)
1937 - 1945. War between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. Separate fighting began in 1931. The war ended with the defeat of Japan with the help of allied forces, mainly the USSR. The USA inflicted 2 nuclear strike across Japan, destroying the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. September 9, 1945 government Republic of China accepted the surrender from the commander of Japanese forces in China, General Okamura Yasuji.
22. Wars of the Three Kingdoms (number of casualties 36,000,000 - 40,000,000 people)
220-280 AD Not to be confused with the War (of England, Scotland and Ireland between 1639 and 1651). The war of three states - Wei, Shu and Wu for complete power in China. Each side tried to unite China under its own leadership. The bloodiest period in Chinese history, which led to millions of victims.
23. Mongol conquests (casualties 40,000,000 - 70,000,000)
1206 - 1337. Raids across the territories of Asia and of Eastern Europe with the formation of the state Golden Horde. The raids were distinguished by their cruelty. The Mongols spread the bubonic plague over vast territories, from which people died, having no immunity to this disease.
24. World War II (casualties 60,000,000 - 85,000,000)
The most brutal war in human history, when people were destroyed on racial and ethnic grounds with the help technical devices. The extermination of peoples was organized by the rulers of Germany and their allies, led by Hitler. Up to 100,000,000 troops fought on both sides of the war. With the decisive role of the USSR, Nazi Germany and its allies were defeated.
17.04.2013
Natural disasters unpredictable, destructive, unstoppable. Perhaps this is why humanity fears them most. We offer you the top rating in history, they took away great amount lives.
10. Banqiao Dam collapse, 1975
The dam was built to contain the effects of about 12 inches of rainfall daily. However, in August 1975 it became clear that this was not enough. As a result of the collision of cyclones, Typhoon Nina brought with it heavy rains - 7.46 inches per hour, which means 41.7 inches daily. In addition, due to clogging, the dam could no longer fulfill its role. Over the course of a few days, 15.738 billion tons of water burst through it, which swept through the nearby area in a deadly wave. More than 231,000 people died.
9. Earthquake in Haiyan, China, 1920
As a result of the earthquake, which is on the 9th line in the top ranking deadliest natural disasters in history, 7 provinces of China were affected. In the Hainian region alone, 73,000 people died, and more than 200,000 people died nationwide. The tremors continued for the next three years. It caused landslides and large ground cracks. The earthquake was so strong that some rivers changed course, and natural dams appeared in some.
8. Tangshan Earthquake, 1976
It occurred on July 28, 1976 and is called the strongest earthquake of the 20th century. The epicenter was the city of Tangshan, located in Hebei Province, China. In 10 seconds, practically nothing remained of a densely populated, large industrial city. The number of victims is about 220,000.
7. Antakya (Antioch) earthquake, 565
Despite the small number of details that have survived to this day, The earthquake was one of the most destructive and claimed more than 250,000 lives and caused enormous damage to the economy.
6. Indian Ocean earthquake/tsunami, 2004
Happened on December 24, 2004, just in time for Christmas. The epicenter was located off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The hardest hit countries were Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, and Thailand. The second earthquake in history with a magnitude of 9.1 -9.3. it was the cause of a number of other earthquakes around the globe, for example in Alaska. It also caused a deadly tsunami. More than 225,000 people died.
5. Indian cyclone, 1839
In 1839, an extremely large cyclone hit India. On November 25, a storm practically destroyed the city of Coringa. He literally destroyed everything he came into contact with. 2,000 ships moored at the port were wiped off the face of the earth. The city was not restored. The storm surges it attracted killed more than 300,000 people.
4. Cyclone Bola, 1970
After Cyclone Bola swept through the lands of Pakistan, more than half of the arable land was contaminated and spoiled, a small part of the rice and grains was saved, but famine could no longer be avoided. In addition, about 500,000 people died from the heavy rains and flooding that it caused. Wind force -115 meters per hour, hurricane - category 3.
3. Shaanxi Earthquake, 1556
The most destructive earthquake in history occurred on February 14, 1556 in China. Its epicenter was in the Wei River Valley and as a result, about 97 provinces were affected. Buildings were destroyed, half the people living in them were killed. According to some reports, 60% of the population of Huasqian province died. A total of 830,000 people died. The tremors continued for another six months.
2. Yellow River Flood, 1887
The Yellow River in China is extremely susceptible to flooding and overflowing its banks. In 1887, this resulted in the flooding of 50,000 square miles around. According to some estimates, the flood claimed the lives of 900,000 – 2,000,000 people. Farmers, knowing the characteristics of the river, built dams that saved them from the annual floods, but that year, the water swept away both the farmers and their houses.
1. Flood of central China, 1931
According to statistics, the flood that occurred in 1931 became the most terrible in history. After a long drought, 7 cyclones came to China at once, bringing with them hundreds of liters of rain. As a result, three rivers overflowed their banks. The flood killed 4 million people.
TASS DOSSIER. On November 17, the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, said that the A321 crash over the Sinai, where more than 220 people died, was a terrorist attack. According to him, traces of foreign-made explosives were found on the wreckage of the plane and things.
Less than two weeks after the events in Egypt, terrorists carried out a series of attacks in Paris. 129 people were killed and over 350 were injured. It is the second deadliest terrorist attack in Europe after Madrid, when 190 people were killed in train station bombings in 2004.
Listed below are the 10 largest terrorist attacks in the world by death toll, excluding attacks that occurred in countries where there was military conflict at the time. In eight cases, the attacks were carried out by radical Islamist groups.
The September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA. 2996 dead
On September 11, 2001, in the United States, suicide bombers from the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda hijacked passenger planes and crashed them into two towers of the World War II. shopping center(New York) and to the Pentagon building - the headquarters of the US Department of Defense (Arlington County, Virginia). The fourth hijacked airliner crashed near Shanksville (Pennsylvania). As a result of this world's largest series of terrorist attacks, 2 thousand 996 people were killed and over 6 thousand people were injured. The organizer of the terrorist attack was the al-Qaeda group and its leader Osama bin Laden.
Beslan. Russia. 335 dead
On September 1, 2004, in Beslan (North Ossetia-Alania), militants led by Ruslan Khuchbarov (“Rasul”) captured more than 1 thousand 100 students from school number 1, their relatives and teachers. On September 2, after negotiations with the ex-president of the Republic of Ingushetia, Ruslan Aushev, the bandits released 25 women and children. On September 3, shooting and explosions began at the school, which forced an assault. Most of the hostages were released, 335 people died. Among the dead were 186 children, 17 teachers and school staff, 10 employees of the Russian FSB, two employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The militants were destroyed, only one survived - Nurpashi Kulaev (in 2006 sentenced to death penalty, commuted to life imprisonment due to the moratorium on executions). International terrorist Shamil Basayev (liquidated in 2006) took responsibility for the terrorist attack.
Boeing 747 Air India. 329 dead
On June 23, 1985, an Air India Boeing 747 passenger plane, flying flight AI182 on the route Montreal (Canada) - London - Delhi, crashed in the waters Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ireland. The cause of the disaster was the explosion of a bomb planted in luggage by Indian Sikh extremists. All 329 people on board (307 passengers and 22 crew members) were killed in the disaster. Canadian citizen Inderjit Singh Reyat was sentenced to 5 years in prison on charges of participating in the preparation of a terrorist attack in 2003. Prior to this, he served a 10-year prison sentence for preparing an explosion at Narita Airport (Japan), which occurred on the same day as the VT-EFO disaster. Reyat was later charged with perjury and sentenced to 9 years in prison in 2011.
Boko Haram attack in Nigeria. More than 300 dead
On May 5-6, 2014, gunmen killed over 300 residents in a night attack on the town of Gamboru, Borno State. Survivors fled to neighboring Cameroon. Most of the city was destroyed.
Lockerbie attack. 270 dead
On December 21, 1988, a Pan Am (USA) Boeing 747 passenger plane, operating scheduled flight 103 on the route Frankfurt am Main - London - New York - Detroit, crashed in the air over Lockerbie (Scotland). A bomb placed in luggage exploded on board. All 243 passengers and 16 crew members on board, as well as 11 people on the ground, were killed. In 1991, two Libyan citizens were accused of organizing an explosion. In 1999, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi agreed to hand over both suspects to a Dutch court. One of them, Abdelbasset Ali al-Megrahi, was found guilty on January 31, 2001 and sentenced to life imprisonment (released in 2009 due to a fatal illness diagnosed in him, died in 2012). In 2003, the Libyan authorities admitted responsibility for the terrorist attack and paid compensation in the total amount of 2.7 billion US dollars - 10 million dollars for each person killed.
Bombay attacks. India. 257 dead
On March 12, 1993, 13 car bombs were simultaneously detonated in crowded areas of Bombay (now Mumbai). The terrorist attack killed 257 people and injured over 700. The investigation established that the organizers of the explosions were Islamic terrorists. The attack was a response to earlier clashes between Muslims and Hindus in the city. One of the organizers, Yakub Memon, was sentenced to death, which was carried out on July 30, 2015. Two of his accomplices are wanted.
Airplane A321 "Kogalymavia". 224 dead
October 31, 2015 passenger aircraft Airbus A321-231 ( registration number EI-ETJ) Russian airline Metrojet ("Kogalymavia"), flying flight 9268 from Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) to St. Petersburg, crashed 100 km from the city of El-Arish in the north of the Sinai Peninsula. There were 224 people on board - 217 passengers and seven crew members, all of whom died.
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised that those responsible and those involved in the terrorist attack on the plane would be found and punished. “We must do this without a statute of limitations, know them all by name. We will look for them wherever they are hiding. We will find them anywhere on the planet and punish them,” Putin assured.
Bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. 224 dead
August 7, 1998 in Nairobi (capital of Kenya) and Dar es Salaam ( former capital Tanzania) two terrorist attacks occurred simultaneously, targeting the US embassies in these countries. Parked trucks filled with explosives exploded near the embassies. A total of 224 people died, of which 12 were US citizens, the rest were local residents. The organizer of the explosions was the al-Qaeda group.
Terrorist attacks in Mumbai. India. 209 dead
On July 11, 2006, Islamic terrorists detonated explosive devices hidden in pressure cookers in the carriages of seven local trains in the suburbs of Mumbai (Khar Road, Bandra, Jogeshwari, Mahim, Borivli, Matunga stations " and "Mira Road"). The terrorist attack occurred during evening hour peak. 209 people were killed and more than 700 were injured. At the end of the investigation into the crime, the court sentenced 12 people to various prison terms, 5 of them were sentenced to death.
Terrorist attack in Bali. Indonesia. 202 dead
On October 12, 2002, a suicide attack and car bomb explosion near nightclubs in the resort town of Kuta (Bali) killed 202 people, 164 of them foreign tourists. 209 people were injured. About 30 people were arrested in connection with the terrorist attack. In 2003, an Indonesian court recognized a number of members of the Jamaah Islamiyah organization as the organizers of the terrorist attack. In 2008, three of them - Abdul Aziz, also known as Imam Samudra, Amrozi bin Nurhasim and Ali (Muklas) Gurfon - were executed by court. Muklas' brother Ali Imron was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Al-Qaeda mentioned in the material is included in the Unified Federal List of Organizations Recognized in accordance with the Law Russian Federation terrorist. Their activities on the territory of the Russian Federation are prohibited.
Today, the world's attention is drawn to Chile, where a large-scale eruption of the Calbuco volcano began. It's time to remember 7 biggest natural disasters recent years to know what the future may hold. Nature is attacking people, just as people used to attack nature.
Eruption of Calbuco volcano. Chile
Mount Calbuco in Chile is a fairly active volcano. However, its last eruption took place more than forty years ago - in 1972, and even then it lasted only one hour. But on April 22, 2015, everything changed for the worse. Calbuco literally exploded, releasing volcanic ash to a height of several kilometers.
On the Internet you can find a huge number of videos about this amazingly beautiful spectacle. However, it is pleasant to enjoy the view only through a computer, being thousands of kilometers away from the scene. In reality, being near Calbuco is scary and deadly.
The Chilean government decided to resettle all people within a radius of 20 kilometers from the volcano. And this is only the first measure. It is not yet known how long the eruption will last and what actual damage it will cause. But this will definitely be an amount of several billion dollars.
Earthquake in Haiti
On January 12, 2010, Haiti suffered a disaster of unprecedented scale. Several tremors occurred, the main one of magnitude 7. As a result, almost the entire country was in ruins. Even the presidential palace, one of the most majestic and permanent buildings in Haiti.
According to official data, more than 222 thousand people died during the earthquake and after it, and 311 thousand suffered varying degrees of damage. At the same time, millions of Haitians were left homeless.
This is not to say that magnitude 7 is something unprecedented in the history of seismic observations. The scale of destruction turned out to be so enormous due to the high deterioration of the infrastructure in Haiti, as well as due to the extremely low quality of absolutely all buildings. In addition, the local population itself was in no hurry to provide first aid to the victims, as well as to participate in clearing the rubble and restoring the country.
As a result, an international military contingent was sent to Haiti, which took over control of the state in the first time after the earthquake, when the traditional authorities were paralyzed and extremely corrupt.
Tsunami in the Pacific Ocean
Until December 26, 2004, the vast majority of the world's inhabitants knew about tsunamis exclusively from textbooks and disaster films. However, that day will forever remain in the memory of Humanity because huge wave, which covered the coasts of dozens of states in the Indian Ocean.
It all started with major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1-9.3 that occurred just north of the island of Sumatra. It caused a gigantic wave up to 15 meters high, which spread in all directions of the ocean and wiped out hundreds of settlements, as well as world-famous seaside resorts.
Tsunami covered coastal zones in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, South Africa, Madagascar, Kenya, Maldives, Seychelles, Oman and other countries on the coast Indian Ocean. Statisticians counted more than 300 thousand dead in this disaster. At the same time, the bodies of many were never found - the wave carried them into the open ocean.
The consequences of this disaster are colossal. In many places, infrastructure was never fully rebuilt after the 2004 tsunami.
Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption
The unpronounceable Icelandic name Eyjafjallajökull has become one of the most popular words in 2010 year. And all thanks to the eruption of a volcano in the mountain range with this name.Paradoxically, not a single person died during this eruption. But this natural disaster seriously disrupted business life around the world, primarily in Europe. After all, a huge amount of volcanic ash thrown into the sky from the mouth of Eyjafjallajökull completely paralyzed air traffic in the Old World. The natural disaster destabilized the lives of millions of people in Europe itself, as well as in North America.
Thousands of flights, both passenger and cargo, were cancelled. Daily airline losses during that period amounted to more than $200 million.
Earthquake in China's Sichuan province
As in the case of the earthquake in Haiti, the huge number of victims after a similar disaster in the Chinese province of Sichuan, which occurred there on May 12, 2008, is due to low level capital buildings.
As a result of the main earthquake of magnitude 8, as well as subsequent smaller tremors, more than 69 thousand people died in Sichuan, 18 thousand were missing, and 288 thousand were injured.
At the same time, the government of the People's Republic of China greatly limited international assistance in the disaster zone; it tried to solve the problem with my own hands. According to experts, the Chinese thus wanted to hide the real scale of what happened.
For publishing real data about deaths and destruction, as well as for articles about corruption that led to such huge numbers of losses, the Chinese authorities even sent the most famous contemporary Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, to prison for several months.
Hurricane Katrina
However, the scale of the consequences of a natural disaster does not always directly depend on the quality of construction in a particular region, as well as on the presence or absence of corruption there. An example of this is Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Southeast coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico at the end of August 2005.
The main impact of Hurricane Katrina fell on the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. Rising water levels in several places broke the dam protecting New Orleans, and about 80 percent of the city was under water. At this moment, entire areas were destroyed, infrastructure facilities, transport interchanges and communications were destroyed.
The population that refused or did not have time to evacuate took refuge on the roofs of houses. The main gathering place for people was the famous Superdome stadium. But it also turned into a trap, because it was no longer possible to get out of it.
The hurricane killed 1,836 people and left more than a million homeless. Damage from this natural disaster estimated at $125 billion. At the same time, New Orleans has not been able to return to a full-fledged normal life in ten years - the city's population is still about a third less than the 2005 level.
March 11, 2011 at Pacific Ocean east of the island Tremors with a magnitude of 9-9.1 occurred in Honshu, which led to the appearance of a huge tsunami wave up to 7 meters high. It hit Japan, washing away many coastal objects and going tens of kilometers inland.
IN different parts After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, fires started and infrastructure, including industrial, was destroyed. In total, almost 16 thousand people died as a result of this disaster, and economic losses amounted to about 309 billion dollars.
But this turned out to be not the worst thing. The world knows about the 2011 disaster in Japan, primarily because of the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant, which occurred as a result of a tsunami wave hitting it.
More than four years have passed since this accident, but the operation at the nuclear power plant is still ongoing. And the nearest settlements were resettled forever. This is how Japan got its own.
A large-scale natural disaster is one of the options for the death of our Civilization. We have collected.