Minoan cities buried in ash from volcano on island of Thera (Santorini)
Disaster
-1620
Sparta Earthquake; Helot Revolt
Disaster
-464
Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius burying Pompeii and Herculaneum
Disaster
79
Outbreak of plague in time of Marcus Aurelius
Disaster
166
In the siege of Kaffa, corpses of plague victims are catapulted into the city
Disaster
1347
Black Death in Europe and Asia
Disaster
1347
The "Great Fire" of London destroys about 4/5 of city
Disaster
1666
Lisbon destroyed by earthquake
Disaster
1755
Ireland's potato famine
Disaster
1845
Chicago fire burns an area 4 miles long and 3/4 miles wide
Disaster
1871
Volcanic eruption of Krakatoa
Disaster
1883
San Francisco earthquake leaves more than 200,000 homeless
Disaster
1906
A giant meteorite hits forest in Siberia burning an area 50 miles across
Earth
1908
1,517 passengers die as Titanic hits iceberg and sinks on maiden voyage
Disaster
1912
Over 3 million homes in Yokohama and Tokyo destroyed by earthquake & tsunami
Disaster
1923
Hindenburg explodes into flames to end the manufacturing of zeppelins (airships)
Transportation
1937
Mao Zedong announces "Great Leap Forward" to industrialize China
Government
1958
Silent Spring published
Earth
1962
East Pakistan hit by a cyclone that causes major flooding & 300,000 deaths
Disaster
1970
AIDS identified
Health
1981
AIDS epidemic begins in Africa
Health
1984
1984-1985 famine in Ethiopia
Disaster
1984
In December, methyl isocyanate from Union Carbide plant kills thousands in Bhopal
Disaster
1984
Challenger Space shuttle explodes after takeoff killing 7 astronauts
Transportation
1986
Chernobyl nuclear plant explodes, releasing radioactive particles into atmosphere
Earth
1986
Exxon Valdez spills 11 million gallons of oil after ship hits reef off Alaska
Earth
1989
Columbia space shuttle with 7 crew members is lost on reentry
Transportation
2003
Tsunami in Indian Ocean destroys the Aceh coast and its capital Banda Aceh
Disaster
2004
Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans with flooding from broken levees
Disaster
2005
Deepwater Horizon oil platform explodes leaving massive oil leak on ocean floor
Earth
2010
Catastrophic earthquake in Haiti destroys much of Port-au-Prince
Disaster
2010
Tsunami hits Japan killing about 15,000 people & damaging Fukushima nuclear plant
Disaster
2011
Hurricane Sandy-major storm surge damage in U.S. cities on east coast
Disaster
2012
Ebola epidemic kills thousands in West Africa and threatens global health
Health
2014