DISASTERS

Hurricanes

Galveston Texas Sept 9 1900 estimated deaths 6.000 to 12,000

New Orleans (Katrina)

Tsunami

Krakatau (alt Krakatoa): Volcanic eruption in Sunda Strait 1883 estimated deaths: 36,000

Fukushima: March 3 2011 Northeast part (Tohoku) of Honshu Island Japan Estimated 5,625 dead and 4,823 missing = 20,448 presumed dead

Indonsian: Dec 26 2004. Undersea earthquake near Sumatra. Death toll was estimated at 174,296 with 108,221 missing. The combined total is 282,517

Santorini about 1600 BCE Aegean Sea (Greece) Destroyed post Minoan civilization

Famous Mysteries and Sinkings

Mary Celeste: famous ship found sailing in the Atlantic with no one on board

Titanic: Famous liner, struck iceberg and sank on maiden voyage, April 15, 1912. Over 1500 lives lost

Andrea Doria: On July 25, 1956 the Italian liner Andrea Doria and the MS Stockholm collide off Nantucket Mass. The Andea Doria sank and 46 people were killed. One of the worst accidents in American waters.

Lusitania: British liner sunk by Germans May 7, 1915. 1100 fatalities out of 1900

Costa Concordia: Large cruise ship ran aground off Giglio in Italy on January 13, 2012, killing 32 passengers. Led to largest marine salvage job in the world. The captain of the Costa Concordia, Francesco Schettino, was found guilty of manslaughter and other charges related to the ship's fatal wreck in January 2012. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Normandie: Seized by US authorities to convert it to a troop ship. The ship was officially claimed to have burned as a result of sparks from a welder's torch. The FDNY pumped huge amounts into the ship and flooded it causing further problems. The designer who was present, was barred from the ship and his solutions on how to save the ship were ignored. There was talk of sabotage and also that organized crime sabotaged the vessel in order to get "Lucky" Luciano out of jail. His release would "guarantee" there would be no acts of sabotage on the waterfront.