Disasters timeline
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Imperial Hotel Survives Earthquake
The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied... Read more
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Honda Point Disaster
The Navy's greatest navigational tragedy took place in September 1923 at an isolated California coastal headland locally known as Honda Point.... Read more
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Gleno's Dam Collapse
On December the 1st, 1923, the Gleno dam, located in the Scalve valley (Lombardy), collapsed. The dam, a multiple arches structure, was partially... Read more
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Castle Gate Mine Disaster
The Castle Gate mine disaster occurred on March 8, 1924, in a coal mine near the town of Castle Gate, Utah (now dismantled), located approximately... Read more
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Tri-State Tornado
In 1927, it was reported that the storm crossed Illinois at the rate of 45 mph and that the width of the destructive path varied from a 1/4 to 1/2... Read more
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Nassau Hurricane of 1926
The 1926 storm was described by the U.S. Weather Bureau in Miami as "probably the most destructive hurricane ever to strike the United States." It... Read more
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Murulla Rail Accident
On 13 September at Murulla, near Murrurundi, twenty-seven people were killed and thirty-seven injured in what the Bulletin described as 'the most... Read more
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Laurier Palace Theatre Fire
About 800 children were enjoying a Sunday matinée at the Laurier Palace Theater on St Catherine Street in Montreal. Panic struck when at 2 p.m. a... Read more
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St. Francis Dam Failure
The bold, black headlines echo down through the years, staring up from the fading, crumbling newspapers that carried the tale of death and... Read more
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Charfield Railway Disaster
At 4.28am on Saturday, October 13, 1928, the Leeds to Bristol night mail crashed under the road bridge at Charfield Station, some 20 miles south of... Read more
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Cleveland Clinic Fire
The Cleveland Clinic fire was a major structure fire at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio on May 15, 1929. It started in the basement of the... Read more
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Glen Cinema Disaster
The cinema (opened in 1901), known as 'The Glen' and 'The Royal Animated Pictures' once formed part of the Good Templar Halls (now occupied by... Read more
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Ohio Penitentiary Fire
On April 21, 1930, the Ohio Penitentiary experienced the worst disaster in its history. A terrible fire broke out in the early evening, eventually... Read more
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John B. King Drill Scow is Struck by Lightning
Thirty members of the drill scow JOHN B. KING of St. Catharines were either instantly killed or blow to death by drowning when a lightning bolt... Read more
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The British Airship R101 Crashes and Kills 48 in the Ensuing Fire
R101 was a British rigid airship completed in 1929 as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme. After initial flights, and two enlargements to the... Read more
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Millfield Mine Disaster
Besides the unseasonably cold weather and heavy snowfall that blanketed the ground, November 5, 1930 began like any other for the 191 miners... Read more
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Hawke's Bay Earthquake
The 7.9 earthquake struck at 10.46 on the morning of February 3, 1931, the first day of the school year, a beautiful summer’s day. It was felt as... Read more
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Australian National Airways Southern Cloud Crashes into Snowy Moutains, Killing 8
On 21 March 1931, the Southern Cloud departed at 8:10 AM from Sydney for Melbourne. Onboard were six passengers and two crewmembers, including... Read more
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Transcontinental & Western Air Flight 599 Crashes, Killing 8
Transcontinental and Western Air Flight 599 was a Fokker F.10 Trimotor en route from Kansas City, Missouri, to Los Angeles, California, on March... Read more
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China Flood of 1931
On this day in 1931, the Yangtze River in China peaks during a horrible flood that kills 3.7 million people directly and indirectly over the next... Read more
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Gansu Earthquake of 1932
A strong earthquake measuring 7.6 Richter scale hit Changma fort (39.7°N, 97.0°E) in Gansu Province at 10:04:27 am on December 25, 1932. The... Read more
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The City of Liverpool Aeroplane Crashes, Killing 15
In a field near Eesen, Belgium, fortnight ago a peasant looked up from his spring radishes to see the Imperial Airways liner City of Liverpool... Read more
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Diexi Earthquake of 1933
The 1933 Diexi earthquake occurred in Diexi, Mao County, Sichuan, Republic of China on August 25, 1933. This earthquake destroyed the town of... Read more
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First Proven Case of Air Sabotage
A Boeing 247 operated by United Airlines and registered as NC13304 was destroyed in midflight by a nitroglycerin bomb over Chesterton, Indiana, on... Read more
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Lagny-Pomponne Railroad Disaster
The worst rail tragedy in France's peacetime history occurred on the night of 23 December 1933 near Lagny, about seventeen miles east of Paris. The... Read more