biggest man made disasters to date?

Question

any out there that is still very well known and can beat the titanic?

Answer 1

How about dropping the nukes on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? That would appear to have been much worse than the Titanic, don't you think?

Answer 2

World War II to my mind is the greatest single man-made disaster in human history. It is estimated that some 63 million people (3% of the world's population) died in the war, with countless more injured. The scale of human suffering was unprecedented in human history. One of the "great" battles of the war , Stalingrad, was the single bloodiest conflict in human history. Lasting for a period of 8 months it was characterised by appalling brutality. The aftermath of the war was equally devastating: Large parts of Europe and Asia were thoroughly decimated.

Furthermore WWII was the direct cause of the Cold War between the West and The Soviet Union, which in turn, fuelled the nuclear race and dragged in the new nations of Asia and Africa into the fray. Unfortunately, even today, we still live with the social consequences of WWII.

Answer 3

The Halifax Explosion
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/AtoZ/HalExpl.html
http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-70-971/disasters_tragedies/halifax_explosion/

Chernobyl Disaster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster

Great Smog of 1952 (London)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smog_of_1952

WTC Attacks
http://money.cnn.com/2001/09/12/worldbiz/ins/

Hiroshima/Nagasaki Nuclear Bombings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

Bhopal Disaster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_Disaster

Lagos Armory Explosion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagos_armoury_explosion

Peshtigo Fire
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peshtigo_Fire

RMS Lusitania Sinking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lusitania

RMS Lancastria Sinking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMT_Lancastria

SS Cap Arcona Sinking
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap_Arcona

Exxon Valdez Spill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill

Texas City Disaster
http://www.answers.com/topic/texas-city-disaster

Baghdad Bridge Stampede
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Aaimmah_bridge_stampede

Answer 4

I can see where your man is going regarding the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki......into that same category you could therefore include the Holocaust, and many other disgusting instances of man's inhumanity to man.

But I think the intent of the question is disasters that have occurred outside the context of war. In other words, an unintentional occurrence.

I think that the worst instance of this was the Bhopal disaster of December 3rd, 1984 in Utter Pradesh, India.

The accidental release of the chemical methyl isocyanate from the Union Carbide plant led (according to the BBC) to an initial death toll of 3,000 people, with a further 15,000 people dying later as a result. Greenpeace says that the figure is more likely to be in excess of 20,000.

Answer 5

How about the levees breaking in New Orleans after Katrina...that looks like a big screw up to me that cost a lot more in lives and money than the Titanic. I know you are thinking..."that was a natural disaster," but reports after the event proved that a lot of those problems were known and preventable...and the pumps in the city that never worked (just thought of that). All I can think of right now!

Answer 6

I think you'd have to include the famines that occurred in the Soviet Union and also in China following upon the forced collectivization of agriculture in those countries. In both cases the death toll was in the tens of millions. And you could add the potato famine in Ireland, which while the result of a potato virus, went on to cause the preventable deaths of at least half a million people on the doorstep of a the world's wealthiest country (at the time). But in terms of 'personal' responsibility (as opposed to a collective failing to responded adequately) the Soviet and Chinese death tolls could be attributed to an ideology held and promulgated by one man, in each case.

Answer 7

The nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl in the Soviet Union back in the 80s. Global Warming is still a work in progress.

Answer 8

Sure, start with the irreversable global warming, and the pollution of the oceans and air, the depletion of the ozone layer and other natural resources. Combine this with the over population of humans. This is a dying planet is that bad enough?

Answer 9

What about oil spillages, such as the torre canyon disaster? Exon valdise oil spillage? twin towers? Global warming? I could go on and on and on.
Man is very irresponsible towards the planet and its inhabitants!

Answer 10

there is a good quote "we are destroyed by our own creations"

chernobyl beats titanic. its much more tragic. i am reading a book and its quite horrible.

same with atomic bomb in WWII.