Unfortunately, these things happen. There are probably no right words to describe them, and God forbid to be in such situations.
We present to your attention the most terrible catastrophes in the world.
The worst plane crash ever
The rating "The most terrible plane crashes" is headed by Tenerife. The fatal collision of 2 Boeing-747 aircraft belonging to different companies (Boeing-747-206B - the brainchild of KLM, operated the next flight KL4805 and Boeing-747 - the property of Pan American, operated flight 1736), happened on March 27, 1977 on the island of the Canary Group , Tenerife, on the runway of Los Rodeos airport. Many people died - 583 people who were in these two planes. What exactly caused such a devastating accident? The paradox is that the imposition of unfavorable circumstances on each other played a cruel joke. 
On that ill-fated Sunday spring day, Los Rodeos airport was very congested. Both aircraft were maneuvering on a narrow runway, including complex 135-180-degree turns. Interference in radio communication with the controller and between pilots, poor weather conditions and visibility, misinterpretation of commands by the air traffic controller, the strong Spanish accent of the controller - all this inevitably led to disaster. The Boeing KLM commander did not understand the dispatcher's command to abort the takeoff, at a time when the commander of the second Boeing reported that their huge aircraft was still moving along the runway. Fourteen seconds later, the inevitable collision occurred, the fuselage of the Pan American Boeing was badly damaged, gaps formed in some places, and some passengers escaped through them. A Boeing KLM without a tail and with damaged wings fell onto the runway 150 meters from the point of impact and drove along the runway for another 300 meters. Both affected aircraft caught fire.
All 248 people from the Boeing KLM aircraft died. The second plane lost 326 passengers and nine crew members. In this most terrible plane crash, the American star of Playboy magazine, actress and model Eve Meyer, also died.
The worst man-made disaster
The worst disaster in the history of oil production is the explosion on the Piper Alpha oil platform, built in 1976. It happened on 07/06/1988. According to experts, this terrible accident cost 3.4 billion US dollars and claimed the lives of 167 people. Piper Alpha is the only burnt oil platform on Earth, owned by the American oil company Occidental Petroleum. There was a huge gas leak and, as a result, a colossal explosion. This happened as a result of the ill-considered actions of the maintenance personnel - the pipelines from the platform fed the general oil pipeline network, the supply of oil products was not stopped immediately after the disaster, waiting for the command of the higher authorities. Therefore, the fire continued due to the burning of gas and oil in the pipes, the fire even engulfed residential complexes. And those who were able to survive after the first explosion were surrounded by flames. Those who jumped into the water were saved.
The worst disaster on the water
If you remember the biggest disasters on the water, then you immediately remember the pictures from the movie "Titanic", which is based on real events in 1912. But the sinking of the Titanic is not the biggest disaster. The greatest maritime disaster was the sinking of the German ship "Wilhelm Gustlov" by a Soviet military submarine on 01/30/1945. There were almost 9,000 people on board the ship: 3,700 of them had completed elite training for military submariners, 3-4,000 representatives of the military elite who had been evacuated from Danzig. The tourist sightseeing ship was built in 1938. It was, as it seemed, an unsinkable 9-deck ocean liner, designed according to the latest technologies of that time.
Dance floors, 2 theaters, swimming pools, a church, a gym, restaurants, a cafe with a winter garden and climate control, comfortable cabins and personal apartments of Hitler himself. With a length of 208 meters, he could go half the world without refueling. He could not sink a priori. But fate decreed otherwise. Under the command of A. I. Marinesko, the crew of the Soviet submarine S-13 conducted a military operation to destroy an enemy ship. Three torpedoes fired pierced the Wilhelm Gustloff. It immediately sank in the Baltic Sea. Until now, no one in the whole world can forget the most terrible catastrophe.
The biggest environmental disaster
The most terrible catastrophe from an ecological point of view of ecology is the death of the Aral Sea, which, before the drying up, scientists called the fourth lake by world standards. Although the sea is located on the territory of the former USSR, the disaster affected the entire world. Water was taken from it in uncontrolled volumes for watering fields and gardens in order to ensure the fulfillment of political ambitions and unreasonable plans of Soviet leaders. 
Over time, the coastline moved so deep into the lake that many species of fish and animals died, more than 60,000 people lost their jobs, shipping stopped, the climate changed - droughts became more frequent.
Worst nuclear disaster ever
A huge number of people are exposed to nuclear disasters. So in April 1986, one of the power units of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. Radioactive substances released into the atmosphere settled on nearby villages and cities. This accident is one of the most devastating of its kind. Hundreds of thousands of people took part in the liquidation of the accident. Several hundred people died or were injured. A thirty-kilometer exclusion zone has been formed around the nuclear power plant. So far, the scale of the disaster has not been clarified.
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No matter how far scientific and technological progress strides, catastrophes have happened, are happening and, probably, will happen for a long time to come. Some of them could have been avoided, but most of the worst events in the world were inevitable because they happened at the behest of mother nature.
Worst plane crash ever
Collision of two Boeing 747s
Humanity does not know a more terrible plane crash than the one that occurred on March 27, 1977 on the island of Tenerife, belonging to the Canary group. On this day, two Boeing 747s collided at Los Rodeo Airport, one of which belonged to KLM, the other to Pan American. This terrible tragedy claimed 583 lives. The reasons that led to this disaster is a fatal and paradoxical combination of circumstances.
Los Rodeos airport this ill-fated Sunday was seriously overloaded. The dispatcher spoke with a strong Spanish accent, and radio communications suffered from serious interference. Because of this, the Boeing commander KLM misinterpreted the command to abort the flight, which became the fatal cause of the collision of two maneuvering aircraft.
Only a few passengers managed to escape through the holes formed in the Pan American aircraft. Another Boeing lost its wings and tail, causing it to fall 150 meters from the crash site, after which it was dragged for another 300 meters. Both flying cars caught fire.
There were 248 passengers on board the Boeing KLM, none of whom survived. The Pan American plane was the site of the death of 335 people, including the entire crew, as well as the famous model and actress Yves Meyer.
The worst of man-made disasters
On July 6, 1988, the worst disaster in the history of oil production occurred in the North Sea. It took place on the Piper Alpha oil platform, which was built in 1976. The number of victims was 167 people, the company suffered a loss of about three and a half billion dollars.
The most annoying thing is that the number of victims could be much less if it were not for ordinary human stupidity. There was a large gas leak, followed by an explosion. But instead of stopping the oil supply immediately after the start of the accident, the service personnel waited for the command from the management.
The countdown went on for minutes, and soon the entire platform of the Occidental Petroleum Corporation was engulfed in fire, even the living quarters caught fire. Those who could have survived the blast were burned alive. Only those who managed to jump into the water survived.
Worst water accident ever
When the topic of tragedies on the water is touched upon, the movie Titanic involuntarily comes to mind. Moreover, such a disaster really happened. But this shipwreck is not the worst in the history of mankind.
Wilhelm Gustloff
The sinking of the German ship "Wilhelm Gustloff" is considered to be the biggest disaster that occurred on the water. The tragedy occurred on January 30, 1945. Its culprit was a submarine of the Soviet Union, which knocked out a ship that could accommodate almost 9,000 passengers.
This, at that time, the perfect product of shipbuilding, was made in 1938. It seemed unsinkable and contained 9 decks, restaurants, a winter garden, climate control, gyms, theaters, dance floors, swimming pools, a church, and even Hitler's rooms.
Its length was more than two hundred meters, it could swim half the planet without refueling. The ingenious creation could not sink without outside interference. And it happened in the person of the crew of the S-13 submarine, commanded by A. I. Marinesko. Three torpedoes were fired at the legendary ship. In a matter of minutes, he was in the abyss of the waters of the Baltic Sea. All crew members were killed, including about 8,000 representatives of the German military elite who were evacuated from Danzig.
The crash of the Wilhelm Gustloff (video)
The greatest environmental tragedy
Shrunken Aral Sea
Among all environmental disasters, the leading place is occupied by the drying up of the Aral Sea. At its best, it was the fourth largest among all the lakes in the world.
The disaster occurred due to the unreasonable use of water, which was used to water gardens and fields. The shrinkage was due to the ill-considered political ambitions and actions of the leaders of those times.
Gradually, the coast line moved far inland, which led to the extinction of most species of flora and fauna. In addition, droughts began to increase, the climate changed significantly, navigation became impossible, and more than sixty people were left without work.
Where did the Aral Sea disappear: strange symbols on the dried bottom (VIDEO)
Nuclear disaster
What could be worse than a nuclear catastrophe? The lifeless kilometers of the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl region are the embodiment of these fears. The accident occurred in 1986, when one of the power units of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded early in April morning.
Chernobyl 1986
This tragedy claimed several hundred lives of tow trucks, thousands died over the next ten years. And how many people were forced to leave their homes, only God knows ...
Children of these people are still born with developmental anomalies. The atmosphere, land and water around the nuclear power plant are contaminated with radioactive substances.
The level of radiation in this region is still thousands of times higher than normal. No one knows how long it will take for people to settle in these places. The scale of this disaster is still not fully known.
Chernobyl accident 1986: Chernobyl, Pripyat - liquidation (VIDEO)
Disaster over the Black Sea: Tu-154 of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation crashed
The crash of the Tu-154 of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Not so long ago, there was a crash of a Tu-154 aircraft of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, heading to Syria. It claimed the lives of 64 talented artists of the Alexandrov Ensemble, nine well-known leading TV channels, the head of a charitable organization - the famous Doctor Lisa, eight military men, two civil servants, and all crew members. In total, 92 people died in this terrible plane crash.
On this tragic morning in December 2016, the plane refueled at Adler, but crashed unexpectedly shortly after takeoff. The investigation was conducted for a long time, because it was necessary to know what was the cause of the Tu-154 crash.
The commission investigating the causes of the accident, among the circumstances that led to the disaster, called the overload of the aircraft, crew fatigue and the low professional level of training and organization of the flight.
The results of the investigation of the Tu-154 crash of the Ministry of Defense of Russia (VIDEO)
Submarine "Kursk"
Submarine "Kursk"
The crash of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, which killed 118 people on board, occurred in 2000 in the Barents Sea. This is the second largest accident in the history of the Russian submarine fleet after the B-37 disaster.
On August 12, as planned, preparations began for mock attacks. The last recorded actions on the boat were recorded at 11.15.
A few hours before the tragedy, the crew commander was informed about the cotton, which he did not pay attention to. Then the boat shook violently, which was associated with the inclusion of the antenna of the radar station. After that, the captain of the boat did not get in touch anymore. At 23.00 the situation on the submarine was declared as emergency, which was reported to the leadership of the fleet and the country. On the morning of the next day, as a result of search work, the Kursk was found at the bottom of the sea at a depth of 108 m.
The official version of the cause of the tragedy is the explosion of a training torpedo, which occurred as a result of a fuel leak.
Submarine Kursk: what really happened? (VIDEO)
The crash of the ship "Admiral Nakhimov"
The collapse of the passenger ship "Admiral Nakhimov" occurred in August 1981 near Novorossiysk. There were 1234 people on board the ship, 423 of whom lost their lives on that ill-fated day. It is known that Vladimir Vinokur and Lev Leshchenko were late for this flight.
At 23:12, the ship collided with the dry cargo ship Pyotr Vasev, as a result of which the electric generator was flooded and the light went out on the Nakhimov. The ship became uncontrollable and continued to move forward by inertia. As a result of the collision, a hole of up to eighty square meters was formed in the starboard side. Panic began among the passengers, many climbed onto the port side and thus went down to the water.
Almost a thousand people ended up in the water, who, moreover, got dirty with fuel oil and paint. Eight minutes after the collision, the ship sank.
Steamboat Admiral Nakhimov: the wreck of the ship - Russian Titanic (VIDEO)
Oil platform that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico
The worst environmental disasters in the world in 2010 were supplemented by another one that happened in the Gulf of Mexico, eighty kilometers from Louisiana. This is one of the most dangerous man-made accidents for the environment. It happened on April 20 at the Deepwater Horizon oil platform.
As a result of pipe rupture, about five million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.
A 75,000 sq. km, which is 5% of its total area. The disaster took the lives of 11 people, 17 were injured.
Catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico (VIDEO)
The crash of the Concordia
On January 14, 2012, the list of the most terrible incidents in the world was replenished with one more. Near the Italian Tuscany, the cruise ship Costa Concordia ran into a rock ledge, as a result of which a seventy-meter hole was formed in it. At this time, most of the passengers were in the restaurant.
The right side of the liner began to sink into the water, then it was thrown onto the shallows 1 km from the crash site. There were more than 4,000 people on the ship, who were evacuated all night, but not everyone was saved: 32 people still died and a hundred were injured.
Costa Concordia - the crash through the eyes of eyewitnesses (VIDEO)
Krakatoa eruption in 1883
Natural disasters show how insignificant and helpless we are before the phenomena of nature. But all the most terrible disasters in the world are nothing compared to the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano, which occurred in 1883.
On May 20, a large smoke column could be seen over the Krakatoa volcano. At that moment, even at a distance of 160 kilometers from him, the windows of houses trembled. All nearby islands were covered with a thick layer of dust and pumice.
The eruptions continued until 27 August. The last explosion was the climax, as a result of which sound waves passed, several times rounded the entire planet. On the ships sailing in the Sunda Strait at that moment, the compasses stopped showing correctly.
These explosions submerged the entire northern part of the island. The seabed has been uplifted by the eruptions. A lot of ash from the volcano remained in the atmosphere for another two to three years.
The tsunami, whose height was thirty meters, washed away about three hundred settlements, claimed the lives of 36,000 people.
The most powerful eruption of Krakatau Volcano (VIDEO)
Earthquake in Spitak in 1988
On December 7, 1988, the list of "The best disasters in the world" was replenished with another one that occurred in the Armenian Spitak. On this tragic day, tremors literally wiped out this city from the face of the earth in just half a minute, destroyed Leninakan, Stepanavan and Kirovakan beyond recognition. In total, twenty-one cities and three hundred and fifty villages were affected.
In Spitak itself, the earthquake had a force of ten, Leninakan was hit by a force of nine, and Kirovakan by an force of eight, and almost the rest of Armenia was hit by a force of six. Seismologists have calculated that during this earthquake energy was released, corresponding to the strength of ten exploding atomic bombs. The wave that this tragedy caused was recorded by scientific laboratories almost all over the world.
This natural disaster took away 25,000 lives, 140,000 health, and 514,000 roofs over their heads. Forty percent of the industry of the republic is out of order, schools, hospitals, theaters, museums, houses of culture, roads and railways are destroyed.
The military, doctors, public figures of the whole country and abroad, both near and far, were called to help. Humanitarian aid was actively collected all over the world. Tents, field kitchens and first-aid posts were deployed throughout the area affected by the tragedy.
The saddest and most instructive thing in this situation is that the scale and victims of this terrible disaster could be many times less if the seismic activity of this region were taken into account and all buildings were built taking into account these features. The unpreparedness of rescue services also contributed.
Tragic days: earthquake in Spitak (VIDEO)
2004 tsunami Indian Ocean - Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka
In December 2004, a devastating tsunami caused by an underwater earthquake hit the coasts of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other countries. Huge waves devastated the area and brought death to 200,000 people. The most annoying thing is that most of the dead are children, since in this region there is a high proportion of children per population, in addition, children are physically weaker and less able to resist water than an adult.
Aceh in Indonesia suffered the most losses. Almost all the buildings there were destroyed, 168,000 people died.
Geographically, this earthquake was simply huge. Moved up to 1200 kilometers of rock. The shift occurred in two phases with an interval of two to three minutes.
The number of victims turned out to be so high because there was no general warning system along the entire coast of the Indian Ocean.
There is nothing worse than disasters and tragedies that deprive people of life, shelter, health, destroy industry and everything that a person has worked for many years. But it often turns out that the number of victims and destruction in such situations could be much less if everyone were conscientious about their professional duties, in some cases it was necessary to foresee an evacuation plan and a warning system for local residents. Let's hope that in the future humanity will find a way to avoid such terrible tragedies or reduce the damage from them.
Tsunami in Indonesia 2004 (VIDEO)
Major disasters of the 20th century. Titanic and Wilhelm Gustlow
Perhaps the most famous maritime disaster of the last century was the shipwreck of the Titanic cruise ship in 1912. As a result, 1,523 people died.
However, this disaster is far from the biggest if you look at the number of deaths. The greatest maritime disaster that has ever happened can be called the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustlov liner by a Soviet submarine during World War II (in January 1945).
According to the most conservative estimates, the losses amounted to about 9,500 people.
Holifax's Atomic Bomb
December 6, 1917. That morning, the French military transport Mont Blanc entered the harbor of the Canadian port city of Halifax, en route from New York to Bordeaux. While entering the port, the Mont Blanc collided with the Norwegian cargo steamer Imo, which was just leaving Halifax.
In the holds of the French transport was ... 3,000 tons of explosives intended for the war with Germany! As a result of the collision, a strong fire broke out on the Mont Blanc.
After unsuccessful attempts to put out the fire, the crew began to hastily evacuate the ship.
And on the embankment of the city, crowds of people who came to stare at the fire were already gathering.
At 9 o'clock in the morning there was an explosion, which the world did not know before the advent of the atomic bomb. The explosion to the bottom exposed the bay - the water under the ship seemed to part.
Dozens of ships in the port sank. Almost all port and coastal facilities within a radius of five hundred meters were literally blown away by the shock wave. More than 3,000 people died that day, 2,000 were missing, and about 9,000 people were injured.
All that remains of the bomb ship is a 100-kilogram piece of the hull that flew as far as 22 kilometers!
The only photograph of the explosion in the port of Halifax on December 6, 1917. The picture was taken from a distance of 20 km.
Major disasters of the 20th century. G Orc Hour "Maxim Gorky"
On May 18, 1935, the largest aircraft of that time, the Maxim Gorky, took off from the Moscow airfield at Khodynskoye Pole. This celestial giant was built as the flagship of a special propaganda air squadron.
The plane was amazing. Length - more than 30 meters, wingspan - 63 meters, 8 motors. The aircraft could take on board 72 passengers and crew members, which was a record figure for the aviation of those years.
On that day, 11 crew members and 36 passengers were on board the plane - employees of a Moscow aviation institute with their families. A few minutes after takeoff, an escort fighter crashed into Maxim Gorky.
The fighter pilot made a mistake in performing a complex maneuver. He was ordered specifically for the press to perform a “dead loop” around a giant aircraft ... The window dressing cost the lives of 47 people.
Major disasters of the 20th century. Superfire on a superairship
May 6, 1937 in New Jersey (USA) there was a catastrophe of the German super-airship "Hindenburg". The airship had unimaginable dimensions: length - 245 meters, diameter - about 40 meters, volume - 200 thousand cubic meters of hydrogen!
It was the largest aircraft in the history of aeronautics.
He took on board about a hundred passengers and crew members, developed a speed of up to 140 kilometers per hour and could stay in the air for several days. The Hindenburg was on its 18th transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to New York. The landing site was Leyhurst, a suburb of New York. However, during landing, a fire broke out on the airship. The flame in 34 seconds completely destroyed the "pride and greatness of Germany." The tragedy claimed the lives of 35 people. With this catastrophe began the rapid decline of the era of passenger airships.
The airship caught fire while docking with the mooring mast.
Major disasters of the 20th century. Admiral's death
And yet the biggest disaster in the history of aeronautics occurred on April 4, 1933. During a storm in the Atlantic Ocean, the Akron airship, which belonged to the US Navy, crashed. Of the 76 people on board, 73 were killed.
Akron was one of the largest airships in the world.
So he could carry five aircraft. As Akron flew past the Barnegat Lighthouse in New Jersey, a strong wind picked up. The airship sank and collapsed on impact with the water. 73 people died. Only three managed to escape. This disaster was the end point of the service of airships in the fleet. After all, the main supporter of this, Admiral Moffet, died on the Akron.
Major disasters of the 20th century. Mercedes victims
The biggest accident in the history of motor racing occurred in 1955 at Le Mans (France). A Mercedes-Benz driven by famous racer Pierre Levegh crashed into the stands at high speed and exploded. 83 people died, including Pierre Levegh.
Major disasters of the 20th century. Boeing to Boeing
On March 27, 1977, two Boeing 747s collided at Tenerife Airport (Canary Islands), killing 583 people. This plane crash was the largest in terms of the number of victims in the history of civil aviation.
And the largest plane crash in the history of Soviet aviation occurred on July 10, 1985. As a result of a crew error, the Aeroflot Tu-154 went into a tailspin and crashed near the city of Uchkuduk (Uzbekistan). All 200 people on board were killed ...
Major disasters of the 20th century. 73 seconds of Challenger
On January 28, 1986, the largest catastrophe in the history of astronautics occurred. On that day, the Challenger spacecraft with seven astronauts on board was launched from the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome (Florida, USA). This event received special attention. TV broadcasters broadcast this launch directly from the cosmodrome.
The crew included two women. One of them, teacher Krista McAuliffe, was supposed to teach a geography lesson for the first time in the history of mankind while in low Earth orbit. In addition to thousands of spectators, President Ronald Reagan and his wife were also present at Cape Canaveral.
At the 73rd second of the flight, at an altitude of 17,000 meters, due to a malfunction in the engines, the Challenger exploded. Several hundred tons of rocket fuel incinerated the ship in the blink of an eye, leaving the astronauts no chance of salvation.
Fifteen years later, on February 1, 2003, another American space shuttle, the Shuttle Columbia, broke apart while returning from orbit. All seven crew members on board were killed.
Major disasters of the 20th century. Disappeared area
On June 4, 1988, a powerful deafening explosion was heard on the northwestern outskirts of the city of Arzamas.
Three wagons of freight train No. 3115 exploded, en route to Arzamas-16 from Dzerzhinsk. The wagons contained about 118 tons of explosives intended for mining enterprises. As a result of the explosion of monstrous force, 1530 residential buildings were swept off the face of the earth, a huge funnel with a diameter of 52 meters and a depth of 26 meters (the height of a nine-story building) was formed.
The blast wave lifted into the air everything in the region of half a kilometer from the epicenter. In a matter of seconds, a whole neighborhood of Zheleznodorozhnikov was wiped off the face of the earth.
According to the most rough estimates, 1,500–2,000 people suffered that day.
Major disasters of the 20th century. deadly cloud
On June 4, 1989, the largest railway accident in the history of Russia and the USSR occurred near Ufa. At the time of the passage of two passenger trains, there was an explosion of gas that oozed from the pipe of a nearby pipeline.
According to official data, 573 people died (according to other sources - 645), 623 became disabled, having received severe burns and bodily injuries. There were 181 children among the dead. The power of the explosion was estimated at 300 tons of trinitrotoluene. The fire caused by the explosion covered an area of about 250 hectares.
PS.
It is impossible not to mention another catastrophe that occurred on September 11, 2001. On the morning of this day, a group of 19 terrorists captured 4 aircraft at once. Two of them were aimed at the towers of the World Trade Center, which led to the complete destruction of skyscrapers. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon near Washington, and another crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Then 246 people died in the planes. In total, as a result of the global attack of terrorists, 2977 people became victims. Footage of those events spread around the world.
There have always been catastrophes: environmental, man-made. A lot has happened in the last hundred years.
Biggest water disasters
People have been crossing the seas and oceans for hundreds of years. During this time there were many shipwrecks.
So, for example, in 1915, a German submarine fired a torpedo and blew up a British passenger liner. It happened near the Irish coast. The ship sank within minutes. About 1200 people died.
In 1944, the year the disaster occurred right in the port of Bombay. During the unloading of the ship there was a powerful explosion. The cargo ship contained explosives, gold bars, sulfur, timber and cotton. It was the burning cotton, scattered within a radius of one kilometer, that caused the fire of all ships in the port, warehouses and even many city facilities. The city burned for two weeks. 1300 people died, more than 2000 were injured. The port entered its working mode only 7 months after the disaster.
The most famous and large-scale disaster on the water is the collapse of the famous Titanic. He went under water during his first voyage. The giant was unable to change course when an iceberg appeared directly in front of him. The liner sank, and with it one and a half thousand people.
At the end of 1917, the French and Norwegian ships collided - Mont Blanc and Imo. The French ship was fully loaded with explosives. A powerful explosion, along with the port, destroyed part of the city of Halifax. The consequences of this explosion in human lives: 2,000 dead and 9,000 injured. This explosion is considered the most powerful until the advent of nuclear weapons.
In 1916, the Germans torpedoed a French ship. 3130 people died. After the attack on the German hospital afloat "General Steuben" 3,600 people died.
At the beginning of 1945, a submarine under the command of Marinesko launched a torpedo into the German liner Wilhelm Gustlov, which was carrying passengers. At least 9,000 people died.
The largest disasters in Russia
Several disasters occurred on the territory of our country, which, in terms of their scale, are considered the largest in the history of the existence of the state. These include an accident on the railway near Ufa. An accident occurred on the pipeline, which was located next to the railway track. As a result of the fuel mixture accumulated in the air, an explosion occurred at the moment when the passenger trains met. 654 people died and about 1,000 were injured.
On the territory of Russia also occurred the largest environmental disaster not only in the country, but throughout the world. We are talking about the Aral Sea, which has practically dried up. This was facilitated by many factors, including social and soil. The Aral Sea disappeared in some half a century. In the 60s of the last century, the fresh waters of the tributaries of the Aral Sea were used in many areas in agriculture. By the way, the Aral Sea was considered one of the largest lakes in the world. Now dry land takes its place.
Another indelible mark on the history of the fatherland was left by the flood in 2012 in the city of Krymsk, Krasnodar Territory. Then, in two days, as much precipitation fell as falls in 5 months. Due to the natural disaster, 179 people died, and 34,000 local residents were affected.
The largest nuclear disaster
The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in April 1986 entered the history of not only the Soviet Union, but the whole world. The power unit of the station exploded. As a result, there was a powerful release of radiation into the atmosphere. To date, within a radius of 30 km from the epicenter of the explosion is considered an exclusion zone. There is still no exact data on the consequences of this terrible catastrophe.
Also, a nuclear explosion occurred in 2011, when the nuclear reactor at Fukushima-1 failed. It happened because of a strong earthquake in Japan. A huge amount of radiation entered the atmosphere.
The biggest disasters in the history of mankind
In 2010, an oil platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. After a stunning fire, the platform quickly went under water, but the oil poured into the ocean for another 152 days. According to scientists, the area covered with oil slick amounted to 75,000 square kilometers.
The most terrible global catastrophe in terms of the number of deaths was the explosion of a chemical plant. It happened in the Indian city of Bhapol in 1984. 18 thousand people died, a large number of people were exposed to radiation.
In 1666, a fire broke out in London, which is still considered the most powerful fire in history. The fire wiped out 70,000 houses and claimed the lives of 80,000 residents of the city. It took 4 days to put out the fire.
Catastrophes have been known since ancient times - these are volcanic eruptions, and powerful earthquakes, and tornadoes. In the last century, there have been many water disasters and terrible nuclear disasters.
Worst water disasters
Man has been sailing on sailboats, boats, ships across the vastness of the oceans and seas for hundreds of years. During this time, there have been a huge number of disasters, shipwrecks and accidents.In 1915, a British passenger liner was torpedoed by a German submarine. The ship sank in eighteen minutes, being at a distance of thirteen kilometers from the coast of Ireland. One thousand one hundred and ninety-eight people died.
In April 1944, a terrible disaster occurred in the port of Bombay. It all started with the fact that when unloading a single-screw steamer, which was loaded with gross violations of safety regulations, there was a strong explosion. It is known that the ship had one and a half tons of explosives, several tons of cotton, sulfur, wood, gold bars. After the first explosion, there was a second. The burning cotton scattered in a radius of almost a kilometer. Almost all ships, warehouses were burning, fires started in the city. It took only two weeks to put them out. As a result, about two and a half thousand people ended up in hospitals, and one thousand three hundred and seventy-six people were killed. The port was restored only after seven months.
The most famous of the disasters on the water is the death of the Titanic. Colliding with an iceberg during the first voyage, the ship sank. More than one and a half thousand people died.
In December 1917, near the city of Halifax, the French warship Mont Blanc collided with the Norwegian ship Imo. There was a strong explosion, which led to the destruction of not only the port, but also part of the city. The fact is that Mont Blanc was loaded exclusively with explosives. About two thousand people died, nine thousand were injured. This is the most powerful explosion of the pre-nuclear era.
Three thousand one hundred and thirty people died on a French cruiser after a torpedo attack by a German submarine in 1916. As a result of the torpedoing of the German floating hospital "General Steuben", about three thousand six hundred and eight people died.
In December 1987, a Philippine passenger ferry named Dona Paz collided with the tanker Vector. Four thousand three hundred and seventy-five people died in the process.
In May 1945, a tragedy occurred in the Baltic Sea, which claimed the lives of about eight thousand people. The cargo ship "Tilbek" and the liner "Cap Arkona" came under fire from British aircraft. As a result of the torpedoing of the Goya ship by a Soviet submarine in the spring of 1945, six thousand nine hundred people died.
"Wilhelm Gustlov" - the so-called German passenger liner, sunk by a submarine under the command of Marinesco in January 1945. The exact number of victims is unknown, approximately - it is nine thousand people.
The worst disasters in Russia
There are several terrible catastrophes that have occurred on the territory of Russia. So, in June 1989, one of the largest railway accidents in Russia occurred near Ufa. There was a massive explosion as two passenger trains passed. An unlimited cloud of fuel-air mixture exploded, which was formed due to an accident on a nearby pipeline. According to some sources, five hundred and seventy-five people died, according to others - six hundred and forty-five. Another six hundred people were wounded. 
The death of the Aral Sea is considered the worst environmental disaster in the territory of the former USSR. For a number of reasons: soil, social, biological, the Aral Sea has almost completely dried up in fifty years. Most of its tributaries in the sixties were used for irrigation and some other agricultural needs. The Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world. Since the inflow of fresh water was significantly reduced, the lake gradually died.
In the summer of 2012, a massive flood occurred in the Krasnodar Territory. It is considered the largest disaster in Russia. For two days in July, a five-month rainfall fell. The city of Krymsk was almost completely washed away by water. Officially, 179 people were declared dead, of which 159 were residents of Krymsk. More than 34 thousand local residents suffered.
The worst nuclear disasters
A huge number of people are exposed to nuclear disasters. So in April 1986, one of the power units of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded. Radioactive substances released into the atmosphere settled on nearby villages and cities. This accident is one of the most devastating of its kind. Hundreds of thousands of people took part in the liquidation of the accident. Several hundred people died or were injured. A thirty-kilometer exclusion zone has been formed around the nuclear power plant. So far, the scale of the disaster has not been clarified.In Japan in March 2011, an explosion occurred at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant during an earthquake. Because of this, a large amount of radioactive substances entered the atmosphere. At first, officials hushed up the scale of the disaster.
After the Chernobyl disaster, the most significant nuclear accident is considered to have occurred in 1999 in the Japanese city of Tokaimura. An accident occurred at a uranium processing plant. Six hundred people were exposed to radiation, four people died.
The worst disaster in human history
The explosion of an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 is considered the most destructive catastrophe for the biosphere in the entire history of mankind. The platform itself went under water after the explosion. As a result, a huge amount of oil products got into the oceans. The spill lasted one hundred and fifty-two days. The oil film covered an area equal to seventy-five thousand square kilometers in the Gulf of Mexico. 
In terms of the number of victims, the largest disaster is considered to be that in December 1984, the year occurred in India in the city of Bhapol. There was a chemical leak at one of the factories. Eighteen thousand people died. Until now, the causes of this catastrophe have not been fully elucidated.
It is impossible not to say about the most terrible fire that occurred in London in 1666. The fire spread at lightning speed throughout the city, about seventy thousand houses were destroyed, about eighty thousand people died. The fire continued for four days.
Terrible are not only disasters, but also entertainment. The site has a rating of the scariest rides in the world.
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