What is a disaster? This is an event that can be varied. As a result, many people die and great destruction occurs. Catastrophes, especially large ones, have always become the focus of attention of many people. Unfortunately, along with the development of technology, their scale is constantly increasing both in terms of the number of casu alties among people and the damage caused to the environment.
Any catastrophe is an emergency and is subject to careful study so that in the future humanity can avoid a repetition of the tragedy. The "best" catastrophes left a special mark in history, causing a huge negative economic effect, not to mention the ruined human lives.
The sinking of the Titanic
Everyone heard about the disaster. They can happen on land, in water and even in the sky.
The Titanic is the most famous wreck with more than 1,500 dead, and the economic loss from the disaster, in terms of modern purchasing power, exceeds $150 million. The liner sank while making its first ocean voyage at the beginning of the 20th century. At that moment hepositioned as the largest passenger ship. The owners called it "unsinkable".
The direct culprit of the tragedy was a giant iceberg that pierced the side of the ship like a giant knife. From the impact of such a force, the rivets weakened, water began to flow into the gaps between the metal sheets. Over 2,000 people were on board, of which only 706 survived.
Fuel truck explosion in Germany
Recent history is no less rich in man-made disasters than the events of a century ago. In August 2004, a car accident occurred in Germany, causing $358 million in damage to adjacent infrastructure. A fuel truck with a trailer, following the bridge overpass, as a result of a collision with a car, rammed the protective fence of the bridge and collapsed from a height of a hundred meters, after which it exploded.
Fortunately, private households located in the vicinity of the bridge were not damaged. When wondering what a disaster is, many people begin to cry. For some of them, the accident on the road turned into a real tragedy.
MetroLink passenger train collided with freight train
Railway transport is one of the most emergency areas in any state. No exception - and developed Western countries with computer security systems on railway tracks.
In the fall of 2008, in the vicinity of Los Angeles, United States, an express passenger train, ignoring the prohibition signal of the semaphore, allowedcollision with an oncoming freight train. The train driver was responsible for the tragedy, who did not notice the stop signal, as he was busy with his mobile phone.
The disaster caused the death of 25 people, and 135 received injuries of varying severity. Damage amounted to half a billion dollars.
B-2 Ste alth bomber crash
Military equipment often causes man-made disasters. Most often, military aviation objects fall and crash. In February 2008, on the island of Guam, USA, while performing a training flight, a B-2 crashed. The accident occurred while the aircraft was climbing due to a faulty on-board computer. The bomber abruptly lost speed, hit the ground and caught fire. The pilot managed to eject and thereby save his life.
The damage from the death of the aircraft amounted to 1.4 billion dollars. It's good when no one dies during a disaster. You can find a list of the "best" and most terrifying in this article.
Exxon Valdez accident
Man-made disasters often lead not only to human casu alties and damage to infrastructure, but also cause major environmental pollution, causing enormous damage to the environment.
In the spring of 1989 in Alaska, a tanker loaded with oil products collided with a rocky reef and received a hole through which oil and other toxic substances entered the water.
Researchers found that as a result of the disaster,biocenosis of the adjacent water area. The number of commercial fish species has decreased. Full restoration of the environment will take several decades.
Accident at the Piper Alpha oil platform
In the summer of 1988, a massive gas explosion occurred on this oil platform, killing nearly 200 people. The large number of victims is partly due to the human factor - the uncoordinated work of the staff and belated measures. Despite the fact that production was stopped on the platform immediately after the explosion, oil and gas continued to flow through the common network from other platforms that were not stopped. As a result, the fire could not be extinguished.
Total damage was at least $3.4 billion.
Explosion of shuttle shuttle Challenger
This accident is a black spot in the history of American space exploration. In the winter of 1986, almost a minute after launch, the shuttle with the astronauts crashed. All seven crew members were killed.
The explosion was caused by a technical malfunction of the solid propellant booster system. So far, the shuttle has successfully launched nine times from the ground.
The total damage caused by the disaster exceeded $2 billion. Now you can imagine what a disaster is and what scale it can reach.
Prestige tanker accident
In 2002, the structure of the Prestige tanker cracked in difficult weather conditions, resulting in a leak of oil products into open waters. When trying to tow a tanker, hebroke into two parts and sank, as a result of which all the oil being transported ended up in the sea.
Colossal damage was caused to the biocenosis. More than 300,000 birds perished, and the fish population drastically declined. Water purification required about 12 billion dollars. The year of the catastrophe matters as scientists determine the impact of oil on life in the area.
Shuttle Columbia
In the winter of 2003, the reusable spacecraft Columbia crashed with astronauts on board. As a result of the tragedy, all seven crew members died. The cause of the accident was a violation of the integrity of the skin on the wing of the shuttle.
Total damage from this man-made disaster exceeded $13 billion, excluding the cost of building a new shuttle.
Chernobyl disaster
In the spring of 1986, as a result of an explosion at the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the station was disrupted, the reactor vessel was destroyed and massive radioactive contamination of the territory. For many days after the accident, the liquidators could not cope with the leakage of radioactive substances and stop the ongoing nuclear reactions. Only thanks to the involvement of many hundreds of specialists from all over the country who sacrificed their lives, it was possible to stop the further eruption of radioactive isotopes. The Chernobyl disaster is a tragedy for the entire planet.
The consequences of the accident were felt by many countries: the blast wave circled the entire globe, and the radioactive cloud passed fromEastern Europe to USA. About 200,000 people were forced to migrate from the disaster site.
The Chernobyl disaster is one of the largest man-made accidents that occurred in peacetime.
The cause of the accident is called the human factor - a violation of safety regulations and work regulations. She was remembered for her scale and horror. The whole city turned into a ghost due to elementary negligence. More than one film was shot on this event, each of which clearly shows what a disaster is.
