The Worst World Disasters of All Time. Kevin Baker
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and it then started destroying crops in Ireland as well. The disease was unlike anything previously seen, and lasted much longer than previous diseases. Because of the deep economic divide and the high reliance on potatoes, Ireland suffered dearly from this Blight.
The UK government was slow to respond, and by 1847 it created soup kitchen programs to help Irish people cope. However, Britain suffered a banking crisis and those programs all but came to a halt not long after. As a result, many Irish people were left with bitterness towards Britain for not helping them through the crisis. Many were convinced that the Blight was a direct result of the colonial policies of Great Britain, and it fuelled a lot of resentment for years.
12 – Nagasaki Atomic Bomb
Nagasaki Fat Man bomb mushroom cloud.
Date: August 9th, 1945.
Location: Nagasaki, Japan.
Disaster Type: Nuclear explosion.
Fatalities: 80,000 deaths as well as radiation poisoning.
Resulting Damage: Destroyed a large part of the town and irradiated areas within a 1.6 km radius.
In 1945, World War II was all but over in Europe, with the allied forces having invaded Germany and put an end to conflict in the Western theatre. But in the Pacific, Japan was standing strong. Despite several losses, the Japanese Empire refused to surrender as ordered by the allied forces. It was thus decided by the American government to use nuclear weapons as a means to bring the war to a quick end. This included the initial bombing of Hiroshima, along with a number of other planned bombings, followed by ground and naval attacks.
After the initial atomic bomb was released, Japan was still refusing the unconditional surrender that the United States and the Soviet Union were demanding. Instead, the Empire wanted some concessions, including the preservation of their empire, no occupation of Japanese soil, and the delegation of punishment for war crimes. In the days that followed, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and the American military prepared a second atomic bomb for delivery.
Initially, Nagasaki was not the target for Fat Man, the nuclear weapon prepared for delivery. The initial target was Kokura and on August 9th, a formation of six planes flew in its direction. The Brockscar was the delivery plane and had a mission to drop the bomb if weather conditions permitted it. However, after three passes over the city, the thick cloud cover did not allow the bomb to be dropped. So instead, they headed to a secondary target, the port city of Nagasaki.
This town was an old city with wooden constructions, but it was a strategic port for goods and merchandise. When the B-29 planes reached the city around 8 AM, an air raid siren was sounded, but then the all-clear signal was given shortly after. Seeing only a few planes, the Japanese forces likely guessed that these were scout planes. By 11 AM, the Brockscar was circling over the city, and a last minute break in the clouds allowed American forces to drop the bomb.
The Fat Man bomb had a core of 6.5 kg of plutonium giving it a yield of 21 kt. The nuclear device exploded above ground at 11:01 killing over 40,000 people instantly. It also destroyed a large part of the town and irradiated an area of around 1.6 km in circumference. By the end of 1945, estimates placed the number of dead from the bomb at 80,000. Japan protested the atomic bombings the next day through a communiqué to the government of the US, but this had no impact. This attack was the second strike but many more were already being planned, with the next attack being scheduled for August 19th. But by August 14th, the Emperor of Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, bringing the war to an end.
13 – Hiroshima Atomic Bomb
Mushroom cloud from the dropping of Little Boy.
Date: 6th August, 1945.
Location: Hiroshima, Japan.
Disaster Type: Nuclear explosion.
Fatalities: 90,000 – 166,000 deaths as well as radiation poisoning.
Resulting Damage: A 3.5 kilometres in diameter shock wave of fire, blast effects and radiation.
The war had ended in the west, with the European front being an Allied victory and Germany in ruins. Both the Soviets and western allies had completed their offensives against Hitler and had reached Berlin, yet in the Pacific, the war was still going on. The allies had the upper hand, and Japan was having a hard time continuing to fight, but the Japanese Empire had always been patriotic and proud, and the Emperor refused to surrender. The prospect in front of the Americans was a long and arduous battle that would involve sending troops by air and sea onto the Japanese islands, and fighting all the way to the capital.
So instead, the US government was working on a secret project to end the war in one quick decisive blow. Continuing some of the early works that Germany had started with nuclear power, the Manhattan project was headed by a team of scientists in the Nevada desert, where they constructed and tested the first atomic bombs ever conceived. The project cost billions of dollars and involved one of the largest and most secretive crews ever assembled.
Even though Germany had surrendered back in May of 1945, by early August, Japan was still fighting. The first bomb meant for delivery, Little Boy, was a 64 kg device with the power of 16 kt. Hiroshima was selected as the target for its industrial and military significance. Several military camps were situated around the city, and the US government thought that this would be a good demonstration of the bomb's power. So on the morning of August 6th, the Enola Gay lifted off along with 6 other support planes and headed towards Japan, intent on bombing the city.
Thirty minutes before delivery, the bomb was armed in the plane and the safety devices removed. At 8:15 the plane flew over the city and dropped the bomb from a clear sky. It detonated 600 meters above the city and instantly killed almost 80,000 people from the blast itself and the fires that were ignited by the intense heat. Estimates say that over 90,000 – 166,000 people died from this nuclear attack, including disturbing long term health effects from the radiation.
All radio signals were cut from Hiroshima on the day of the bombing, and it took a scout plane to go down there and survey what had happened for the Emperor to learn about the bombing. Yet despite the intense devastation, and President Truman making an announcement along with an ultimatum for Japan to surrender, Japan did not surrender. It would take the Soviet armies declaring war on Japan, and a second atomic bombing, before the war would truly end.
14 – Chernobyl
Pripyat, Ukraine, abandoned city near Chernobyl - Image author: Slawojar
Date: 26th April, 1986.
Location: Pripyat, Ukraine.
Disaster Type: Nuclear power plant accident.
Fatalities: A predicted eventual death toll of around 4000+ people.
Resulting Damage: A 30 kilometre radius of irradiated land which will be unsafe for human life for the next 20,000 years.
On the 26th of April 1986 a severe nuclear accident occurred in the Chernobyl nuclear plant located in Ukraine. The explosion and fire created released a large amount of radiation into the atmosphere and the surrounding area. It is considered to be the worst nuclear accident of all time, so far.
The radiation spread throughout many parts of the USSR and to Europe as well. During the accident over 500,000 workers worked to secure the reactor and it cost over 18 billion rubles to contain it. The death toll is not fully known as 31 people were reported killed but this figure is disputed. The long-term impacts such as cancer and deformities have claimed more lives.
The accident occurred at reactor number four after a systems