Top 10 Strangest Natural Disasters in Human History

[JonathanBelles]

While natural disasters seem to get more press coverage nowadays, they’re are nothing new. Natural disasters have influenced the course of history throughout the ages, causing famine, loss of life, and in extreme cases, the destruction of entire civilizations. While they are, thankfully, strange occurrences by design, there are times when mother nature simply outdoes even herself and creates something truly bizarre. Whether they defy explanation or simply leave us in awe at the sheer force they employ, here are 10 of the strangest natural disasters on record.

1. Lake Nyos, Cameroon, 1986: Doctors and scientists were puzzled when in August of 1986 almost 1,800 people were found dead, as well as scores of cattle and wild animals, seemingly overnight. Their bodies showed no outward signs of trauma, disease, or poisons that could have caused such widespread and immediate loss of life. With help from scientists from all over the world, it was determined that a local lake was the most likely cause of the disaster and Lake Nyos, formed in the crater of an extinct volcano, was tested. Results showed that the CO2 levels in the lake were off the charts as the volcanic chamber which had once released magma to the surface of the earth was still releasing potentially poisonous gases into the lake. The gases pooled due to the unusual stillness of Lake Nyos and when enough accumulated, the gas rose to the surface in bubbles releasing the sometimes deadly gas into the air. Heavier than the surrounding air, carbon dioxide easily suffocated those unlucky enough to be sleeping during the event. Lakes that behave in this way are incredibly rare, and scientists are working on ways to keep this deadly and silent natural disaster from happening again.

2. The Tunguska Blast, Russia, 1908: In the early morning hours of June of 1908, an explosion rocked the Siberian wilderness, burning and leveling thousands of miles of forest. Yet despite the intensity of the blast, estimated at 1,000 times the power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, there was no evidence of what caused it. Scientists suspected a comet or asteroid entering the atmosphere was to blame, but there was no impact crater and no fragments of the object were ever recovered, making it difficult to definitively prove their theories. In fact, it wasn’t until late 2001 that scientists were finally able to put this explosive mystery to rest. A team of Italian scientists using seismic records, public literature, and eye-witness accounts were able to determine a possible orbit for the object that exploded, leading them to believe that it was more than likely a low-density asteroid which would have exploded in the atmosphere, never reaching the ground but sending a deadly shock wave instead.

3. The Year Without a Summer, Europe, America and Canada, 1816: In these days of global warming and heat waves it may be hard to imagine a summer where snow is still falling in June, but for those living in the northeastern United States, Canada and Europe in 1816, it was a reality. Problems began in early May when a frost killed numerous crops causing food shortages that would come back to bite the frozen countryside, especially in Europe where famine and food riots were common. Two large blizzards blanketed Canada and New England in June, leading to great loss of life, and ice and cold weather persisted through July and August, though temperatures often alternated between cold and hot even within the same day. This freak cold wave was due largely in part to a volcanic eruption that had occurred in the previous year, causing what is known as a volcanic winter. So be careful what you wish for the next time you want your hot summer days to cool off.

4. Krakatoa Eruption, Indonesia, 1883: Krakatoa is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and in 1883 it erupted in one of the most violent volcanic events in recorded history, killing tens of thousands with ash, lava, and large tsunamis. Volcanoes erupt all the time, so why should this particular eruption be strange? It’s strange for the sheer intensity of the blast. The sound of the eruption is on record as the loudest sound ever historically reported and was heard almost 2,000 miles away in Perth, Australia. It makes sense that it was so loud, as the explosion also destroyed two thirds of the island of Krakatoa, rendering it uninhabitable (though subsequent eruptions have rebuilt part of it) as well as destroying other small surrounding islands. The impact of the explosion was felt worldwide, with waves, dust and shock waves traveling far from the site. Also interesting to note is that the dust from the explosion caused what is called a “blue moon” continuously for almost two years, rendering the old expression “once in a blue moon” meaningless.

5. Deadly Hailstorms, Bangladesh, 1986: Hail isn’t an uncommon occurrence, but most of the time hail stays small and relatively harmless. Yet every once in awhile conditions cause hail to reach considerably larger circumferences. The largest hail on record fell in the city of Gopalganj, Bangladesh in the spring of 1986, reaching sizes of over 2 pounds, killing over 92 people and helpless livestock, stripping trees, destroying crops, and leveling substandard residences. While you might encounter larger than normal hail in your lifetime, you likely won’t die from it, which is part of what makes this hail so strange.

6. New Madrid Earthquake, Missouri, 1811-1812: While the Western United States is better known for being earthquake prone, a large part of the Midwest also rides along a fault line, and while not particularly active, when it does act up it does so on a grand scale. Luckily, at the time, the area hit worst by the quake was sparsely populated, so few lives were lost, but the geologic impact was bizarre and widespread. Huge cracks split the ground, and the vibration from the earthquake actually temporality caused the Mississippi to flow backwards. There were more permanent effects as well, which reshaped the landscape of the Midwest. Cliffs along the river crumbled, tributaries dried up and rerouted, and the channel of the river was forever altered with the creation of the Kentucky Bend. Some lakes were instantly filled with sand as land masses rose, and others like Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee were formed when land suddenly sunk. And it wasn’t just the midwest that felt the quake, damage was reported in New England as well, with church bells rung in Boston and sidewalks cracked in Washington, DC. Many geologic processes are slow and take millions of years to happen, so it’s rare to see such a dramatic reshaping of the environment over such a short period of time.

7. Snake Invasion, St. Pierre, Martinique, 1902: A combination of geologic and natural phenomena led to this strange event in 1902. Volcanic activity in the “Bald Mountain” of Martinique wasn’t unusual, so few people noticed when tremors and ventholes began occurring in April. By May, however, ash was raining down and the awful smell of sulfur permeated the air, forcing thousands of fer-de lance snakes from their mountainside homes. The poisonous snakes took up residence in human quarters, killing over 50 people and countless animals before being largely destroyed by feral cats and soldiers. The Guerin Sugar Works, two miles northwest of St. Pierre, was also affected when invaded by swarms of speckled ants and foot-long centipedes, which bit unfortunate horses and workers who tried to subdue them. Unfortunately, the calming of animal and insect populations wouldn’t make much difference, as a few weeks later the volcano sent a wave of boiling mud down the mountainside setting off the chain of events resulting in the cataclysmic eruption of Mt. Pelée killing all but two of the 30,000 residents of St. Pierre.

8. Tri State Tornado, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, 1925: Regular tornadoes are dangerous enough, but the tornado that passed through these three states in March of 1925 makes all others wimpy in comparison. The tornado traveled over 219 miles and was one of the strongest ever recorded, setting the standard for a level 5 twister on the Fujita scale. Theory on tornadoes and supercell storms suggests that a journey of this distance is impossible, but reports confirm that this tornado did in fact traverse three different states without stopping, killing almost 700, injuring over 2,000 and doing what at the time was $16.5 million worth of property damage.

9. The Chandka Forest Elephant Stampede, India, 1972: The spring of 1972 found the Chandka forest area in the depths of an extended drought. To make matters worse, the region was then hit by a searing heat wave. This caused the local elephants, normally docile and not a threat to humans in the area, frenzied by the lack of water and food, to become a danger to local farmers, so much so that many were afraid to leave their homes. The situation persisted well into summer and the elephants, finally broken by the heat went berserk and stampeded through five different villages, causing 24 deaths and destroying everything in their paths. Interestingly enough, this area, much wetter today, is now an elephant reserve where tourists can get a close up view of the region’s elephants.

10. Great Smog, London, 1952: While this is not an entirely natural event, the environment did play a big role in setting off the chain of events that brought it on. Early in December of 1952, a heavy and cold fog moved into the London area. Due to the increased coldness of the weather, Londoners began burning more coal to warm their homes. The pollution released by burning the coal didn’t escape into the environment, however. It was trapped by the inversion layer formed by the dense mass of cold air hanging over the city. These pollutants built up over the course of four days until the smog became so thick that driving became impossible. Staying indoors wasn’t any help either, as the smoke easily entered homes and even caused concerts and plays to be canceled as attendees couldn’t see the stage through the smoke. At the time, there was no big panic over the smog. Yet in the weeks that followed, over 4,000 people died, and another 8,000 in the months that followed, all from respiratory problems caused or aggravated by the pollution. The lives were not lost in vain, however, as the deaths promoted the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1956 and people became more aware of their affect on environmental occurrences.


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[wyq614]

thank you for sharing this knowledge with us

[Cyclone1]

I love top ten lists, and this is one of the best I've ever seen!

[HURAKAN]

Very interesting list. I knew most of the events in the list and agree that the burst of CO2 in Lake Nyos was one of the most horrific and tragic natural events in human history. Before this event this kind of CO2 explosion was almost unheard.

I would disagree with #2 because asteroid or comet impacts are nothing new on Earth. Although not on that scale, they occur almost daily. Most burn in the atmosphere as their minute bodies collide with the planet but others are big enough to hit the surface. We have been very lucky that so far no medium-size asteroid has hit a major city.

[lurkey]

While natural disasters seem to get more press coverage nowadays, they’re are nothing new. Natural disasters have influenced the course of history throughout the ages, causing famine, loss of life, and in extreme cases, the destruction of entire civilizations. While they are, thankfully, strange occurrences by design, there are times when mother nature simply outdoes even herself and creates something truly bizarre. Whether they defy explanation or simply leave us in awe at the sheer force they employ, here are 10 of the strangest natural disasters on record.

1. Lake Nyos, Cameroon, 1986: Doctors and scientists were puzzled when in August of 1986 almost 1,800 people were found dead, as well as scores of cattle and wild animals, seemingly overnight. Their bodies showed no outward signs of trauma, disease, or poisons that could have caused such widespread and immediate loss of life. With help from scientists from all over the world, it was determined that a local lake was the most likely cause of the disaster and Lake Nyos, formed in the crater of an extinct volcano, was tested. Results showed that the CO2 levels in the lake were off the charts as the volcanic chamber which had once released magma to the surface of the earth was still releasing potentially poisonous gases into the lake. The gases pooled due to the unusual stillness of Lake Nyos and when enough accumulated, the gas rose to the surface in bubbles releasing the sometimes deadly gas into the air. Heavier than the surrounding air, carbon dioxide easily suffocated those unlucky enough to be sleeping during the event. Lakes that behave in this way are incredibly rare, and scientists are working on ways to keep this deadly and silent natural disaster from happening again.

This was on Mega Diasters on the History Channel. They were discussing the possibility of frozen methane currently trapped under the Pacific Ocean making it's way to the surface. They were hypothesing that huge slate of frozen methane could melt and force its way to the surface. If I remember right, the methane is then iginated by lightning causing a huge explosion.

They now have CO2 monitors at the lake and several lakes in Africa and South America that are craters of extinct volcanoes.

3. The Year Without a Summer, Europe, America and Canada, 1816: In these days of global warming and heat waves it may be hard to imagine a summer where snow is still falling in June, but for those living in the northeastern United States, Canada and Europe in 1816, it was a reality. Problems began in early May when a frost killed numerous crops causing food shortages that would come back to bite the frozen countryside, especially in Europe where famine and food riots were common. Two large blizzards blanketed Canada and New England in June, leading to great loss of life, and ice and cold weather persisted through July and August, though temperatures often alternated between cold and hot even within the same day. This freak cold wave was due largely in part to a volcanic eruption that had occurred in the previous year, causing what is known as a volcanic winter. So be careful what you wish for the next time you want your hot summer days to cool off.

Did you know that Frankenstein was inspired by the "The Year Without a Summer" Mary Shelley was at a chalet in Swizterland during a blizzard (in July!!) and was challenged by Percy Shelly and Lord Byron to write the story.

[Squarethecircle]

I would disagree with #2 because asteroid or comet impacts are nothing new on Earth. Although not on that scale, they occur almost daily. Most burn in the atmosphere as their minute bodies collide with the planet but others are big enough to hit the surface. We have been very lucky that so far no medium-size asteroid has hit a major city.

Not exactly. Never before in recorded history had anything close to this happened. Not only was it a huge explosion, but the thing that makes it number two are the absolutely bizarre circumstances. If you've ever seen pictures of the aftermath, you would probably see what I mean.

[Stephanie]

Thank you for sharing this! It was very fascinating. I have heard about a few of those disasters.

[Cryomaniac]

I would disagree with #2 because asteroid or comet impacts are nothing new on Earth. Although not on that scale, they occur almost daily. Most burn in the atmosphere as their minute bodies collide with the planet but others are big enough to hit the surface. We have been very lucky that so far no medium-size asteroid has hit a major city.

Not exactly. Never before in recorded history had anything close to this happened. Not only was it a huge explosion, but the thing that makes it number two are the absolutely bizarre circumstances. If you've ever seen pictures of the aftermath, you would probably see what I mean.

I agree, I've seen the pictures, and that was a wierd as f- event.

[funster]

I think global warming caused the hail event. I'm worried we might see more killer hail in the future.

[lurkey]

I think global warming caused the hail event. .

Not necessarily. . . There have been bizarre hailstorms in the past (one in 9th century India or in 1947 Sydney, Australia. It was probably just one those freak act of nature.

[funster]

I think global warming caused the hail event. .

Not necessarily. . . There have been bizarre hailstorms in the past (one in 9th century India or in 1947 Sydney, Australia. It was probably just one those freaks acts of nature.

You are probably right. Thanks for those interesting links.

[HurricaneBill]

It's been long speculated that the Tri-State Tornado was in fact, a family of tornadoes. Usually, this is the case with tornadoes in the past that had very long tracks.

However, results of a recent reanalysis of the Tri-State Tornado showed that there was most likely only one tornado.

What many tend to forget is that the Tri-State Tornado was part of an outbreak of at least 9 tornadoes. There were most likely other tornadoes that went unreported.

Of the 9 tornadoes, 7 were killers. The Tri-State tornado killed 695 people. The other tornadoes killed a total of 52 people. With a death toll of 747, this was the deadliest outbreak in U.S. history.

[Cyclone1]

695? Wow... that's always the statistic about this tornado I forget. I guess my mind goes straight to the unusually long track and high speed.

[Cyclenall]

If a 8 hour radar loop of the Tri-state tornado existed, I'd pay to see it. I would love to see a colour photo of it too and video. I think I know what it may have looked like because the witnesses described it as a "rolling fog" which I've seen other videos of twisters that look like that.

[Ptarmigan]

Interesting list and freaky at the same time, especially Lake Nyos. Imagine a lake that kills people. I am familiar all the diaster. I didn't know the Tri-State tornado was one tornado. I never thought they could travel that far. That's interesting stuff.