On August 29th 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, as a Category 4 hurricane. Despite being only the third most powerful storm of the 2005 hurricane season, Katrina was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States. After briefly coming ashore in southern Florida on August 25 as a … Continue reading
On July 16th 1990, more than 1,000 people were killed when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Luzon Island in the Philippines. The massive tremor wreaked havoc across a sizeable portion of Luzon, the country’s largest island, with Baguio City suffering the most devastating effects. The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 4:26 p.m., was north … Continue reading
On May 23rd 1960, a tsunami caused by an earthquake off the coast of Chile travelled across the Pacific Ocean and killed 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii. The massive 8.5-magnitude quake had killed thousands in Chile the previous day. The earthquake, involving a severe plate shift, caused a large displacement of water off the coast … Continue reading
On April 18th 1906, at 5:13 am., an earthquake estimated at about 8.0 on the Richter scale struck San Francisco, California, killing hundreds of people as it toppled numerous buildings. The quake was caused by a slip of the San Andreas Fault over a segment about 275 miles long, and shock waves could be felt … Continue reading
On March 8th 1669, Mount Etna, on the island of Sicily in modern-day Italy, began rumbling. Multiple eruptions over the next few weeks killed more than 20,000 people and left thousands more homeless. Most of the victims could have saved themselves by fleeing, but stayed, in a vain attempt to save their city. Mount Etna … Continue reading