dirtyprettything

2005 was no happy meal, that I can tell you...

Jan. 6, Aiken County, S.C.: a 42-car freight train collided with a smaller train parked on a siding, resulting in a leak of chlorine gas that killed 9 and led to the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents.
Jan. 7, Bolognina di Crevalcore, Italy: in heavy fog, a passenger train travelling from Palermo to Messina collided with a freight train near Modena, killing 14.
Jan. 613, Calif. to Penn.: in California, a low-pressure system with drenching rains and heavy snows at higher elevations, dumped up to 11 inches of rain and caused a large mudslide in La Conchita, killing 10. Total storm-related deaths reached 25. Los Angeles has had 17 inches of rain since Dec. 27, 2004. The same system piled up more than 4 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevadas on Saturday, stranding an Amtrak train and closing roads and airports. Since the end of December, the Reno-Lake Tahoe area has up to 19 feet of snow, the most since 1916. In Arizona 7 people died from storms and 7 of 15 counties were declared states of emergency. More heavy weather from Indiana to Pittsburgh caused flooding all along the Ohio River where state emergencies have been declared for 56 of 88 counties in Ohio. Three people died in a Pittsburgh tug boat accident and 5 in Ohio from storm-related causes.
Jan. 812, Europe: wild storms battered many European countries, leaving 19 dead. High winds and flooding left people without power and shut down ferries, trains, and highways.
Jan. 2223, eastern United States: strong snow storms swept across the Midwest to the Atlantic coast, killing 20 people. A blizzard blanketed parts of the Northeast with snow depths up to 38 in north and south of Boston and the entire island of Nantucket lost power. By the end of January, Boston had the snowiest month on record with a total of 43.1 inches of snow.
Jan. 25, Wai, India: a stampede at a Hindu procession to the Mandhara Devi shrine killed 250 and injured 200 more. The worst accident at a Hindu festival was in 1954 when 8000 pilgrims died during a stampede.
Feb. 3, Kabul, Afghanistan: an Afghan Kam Air, Boeing 737, from Herat to Kabul crashed in the mountains due to bad weather, killing 105, including 6 from the United States.
Feb. 613, Pakistan: heavy flooding from snows and rain killed more than 460 people and left thousands more missing. The Shadi Kor dam in Baluchistan province broke on Feb. 10, leaving many homeless.
Feb. 14, Liaoning province, China: a gas explosion killed 209 miners at the Sunjiawan mine. It was the deadliest reported mine disaster in China since 1949.
Feb. 22, Zarand, Iran: a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in central Iran shook more than 40 villages, killing at least 612 people, injuring over 1,400, and destroying villages that had many mudbrick houses.
Feb. 1723, Calif.: a series of storms caused flooding, landslides, and avalanches, killing at least 9 people, damaging many roads, and forcing the evacuation of many homes. More than 9 in of rain fell in downtown Los Angeles.
Feb., South East Asia: extreme winter weather including cold, snowfall, avalanches, and flooding in Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan killed more than 1,400 people in the last month and a half. Due to the lack of communications actual numbers were hard to confirm.
Mar. 9, Mabini, Philippines: food poisoning killed 29 school children after they ate food from a local vendor.
Mar. 15, Arctic coast, Russia: a Russian twin-engine Antonov-24 plane, on route from Siberia, crashed 1,100 miles northeast of Moscow as it tried to make an emergency landing, killing 28 of the 52 people on board.
Mar. 19, Baluchistan province, Pakistan: five bombs exploded at religious shrines where Shiite Muslims gathered, killing at least 44. The previous week another bombing, which was the result of fighting between renegade tribesmen and government forces, killed 30.
Mar. 20, Kyushu, Japan: a magnitude 7.0 earthquake destroyed homes, killed 1, and injured 500.
Mar. 1822, Afghanistan: heavy rains and melting snows killed more than 200 and left thousands homeless. This followed what was already the worst winter in years that had killed several hundred people.
Mar. 23, Texas City, Tex.: an explosion in the country's third-largest oil refinery killed 14 and injured 70.
Mar. 28, Sumatra, Indonesian: a magnitude 8.7 earthquake, off the west coast of Sumatra, killed 1313 in the islands of Nias and Simeulue. Many buildings were destroyed and some officials feared another tsunami would occur. The same area was at the center of a huge tsunami in December that killed over 283,000 people. Officials at the U.S. Geological Survey said that yesterday's earthquake was an aftershock of December's 9.0 quake. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake was twice the power of the 8.7 magnitude quake.
April, Uige, Angola: the deadliest outbreak of Marburg, a hemorrhagic fever similar to the deadly Ebola virus, killed more than 280 people since December. Marburg is spread by bodily fluids and there is no effective treatment.
Apr. 9, Dharaji, India: more than 150 Hindu pilgrims, gathered on the banks of the Narmada River, were killed when a dam upstream was opened without warning.
Apr. 11, Savar, Bangladesh: the collapse of a nine-story garment factory due to faulty construction killed 73. The owner and director were jailed for negligence.
Apr. 15, Paris, France: a fire caused by candles in a Paris hotel, whose rooms were rented as temporary housing, killed 24 people of which 10 were children.
Apr. 25, Osaka, Japan: a commuter train derailed and hit an apartment building near Osaka, killing at least 107 and injuring 460. It's the worst Japanese train accident since 1963. The accident was allegedly caused by the driver, who was trying to get the train back on schedule. approaching a curve at excessive speeds.
Apr. 27, Plogahawela, Sri Lanka: a commuter train plowed into a passenger bus that was trying to pass the barriers at a crossing in Plogahawela, killing at least 35.
May 18, Los Barros Range, Chile: a fierce snow storm in the Los Barros range of the Andes mountains killed at least 46 soldiers on training on an army exercise.
June, Southern China: widespread flooding for the month of June, particularly in southern China, killed 536 people. In addition the floods damaged dikes, reservoirs, roads, rail lines, and millions of acres of crops.
June 813, Pensacola, Fl.: the first tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season,Arlene, made landfall in Pensacola June 8th, dropping heavy rainfall on the lower Mississippi valley.
June 12, Northwest China: a flash flood, triggered by torrential rains, swept through an elementary school in Ning'an, in northeast Heilongjiang province, killing at least 117 of which 105 were children.
June 13, Chile: a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Chile and Peru about 940 miles north of Santiago, killing 11.
June 1819, Calgary, Alberta, Canada: flooding of the Elbow and Bow rivers, from a week of rain, impacted hundreds of homes, forcing the evacuation of more than 1,500.
June 19, N.D: strong thunderstorms and 100 mph winds battered North Dakota.
July 7, London England: four bombs exploded in three subway stations and on one double-decker bus during the morning rush hour, killing 52 people plus 4 bombers, and wounding more than 700. Three of the four suicide bombers were Muslims of ethnic Pakistani origin born in Britain. A group calling itself the Secret Organization of al-Qaeda in Europe claimed responsibility on a web site, asserting that the attacks were a retaliation for Britain's involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This was the first suicide bombing in Western Europe. Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian, was mistakenly shot as one of the suspects. In Sept. a tape by al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.
July 10, Pensacola Fl.: Hurricane Dennis made landfall near Pensacola, Florida with 120 mph winds and 10 ft storm surges, leaving thousands without electricity. Dennis killed at least 40 people in Haiti, 16 in Cuba, and 1 in Jamaica as it swept through those islands destroying thousands of homes. This was the fifth hurricane to hit Florida in less than a year. The Florida Panhandle was severely damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
July 13, Ghotki. Pakistan: three trains collide near Ghotki as the Karachi Express driver misread a signal and rammed the Quetta Express. Derailed carriages were then hit by a third train. At least 128 were killed and 170 injured.
July 18, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico: Hurricane Emily made landfall at Cozumel, a resort town, and blasted the Yucatan Peninsula with 135 mph winds. Thousands lost power and many crops were damaged but the death toll was low due to the emergency measures instituted since Hurricane Gilbert killed 327 people in 1988. Emily was the second Category 4 hurricane this season. Emily swept out to the Gulf of Mexico, regained strength, and returned on July 20th to hit the northeastern coast of Mexico.
July 21, London England: four bombs partially detonated but did not explode on three trains and a bus in London exactly two weeks after the July 7th bombings.
July 31, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt: Sharm el-Sheikh, an Egyptian resort, was hit by two suicide car bombs and one planted bomb, killing 88. The bombs went off in the Old City Market, the Ghazala Garden Hotel, and a beach parking lot. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, who are thought to be behind last year's October attack on the Tara Hilton, claimed responsibility, as did another group.
July 26, Mumbai, India: a record 37 in of rain fell in Mumbai (Bombay) in a 24 hour period, the most ever recorded in India. A week of relentless monsoon rains left 1,000 dead in western India.
July, Phoenix, Ariz.: a heat wave, since the end of June, of above average temperatures is blamed in the deaths of 21 people, of which 18 were homeless.
July, Niger: famine caused by drought and locusts have left more than 3.6 million people in Niger facing starvation since November.
Aug. 2, Toronto, Canada: an Air France Airbus A340, Flight 358, skidded off the runway at Toronto's Pearson International Airport in heavy thunderstorms. All of the 309 aboard managed to escape from the aircraft before it went up in flames.
Aug. 59, Pomeroy, Wash: wildfires burned 37,000 acres in southeastern Washington, destroying at least 100 homes and cabins.
Aug. 6, Palermo, Italy: an ATR-72 aircraft, on a charter flight from Bari to Palermo. crashed in the Mediterranean, killing at least 16 of the 39 aboard.
Aug. 14, Athens, Greece: Helios Airways Flight 522, a Boeing 737, en route from Cyprus to Athens, crashed into a mountain killing all 121 on board. The suspected cause of the accident was a catastrophic loss of cabin pressure.
Aug. 16, western Venezuela: a West Caribbean Airways charter flight, an MD-82, en route from Panama to Martinique, crashed in remote western Venezuela, killing all 160 on board.
Aug. 16, northern Japan: a powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook northern Japan, injuring at least 59 people, and creating small tsunami waves on a nearby coast.
Aug. 12, off the coast of Columbia: a boat overloaded with illegal Ecuadorean immigrants sank more than 200 miles off the coast of Columbia, killing at least 94 people.
Aug. 23, western Peru: a TANS airline, Boeing 737, en route from Lima to Pucallpa with 98 on board, crashed during an emergency landing just short of the Pucallpa airport, killing at least 31 people. 57 survived and 10 are unaccounted for.
Aug. 25, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.: Hurricane Katrina brought heavy rains and winds to southeastern Florida, killing 14. Europe: days of heavy rains in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Romania, and Switzerland inundated rivers and lakes, flooded cities and towns, damaged roads and railways, and killed at least 42 people, 31 of them in Romania.
Aug. 2930, La. and Miss.: Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane and one of the most powerful and deadliest to hit the U.S., devastated the La. and Miss. coast, landing just east of New Orleans with 127 mph winds. The high winds and massive flooding miles inland left thousands homeless, 2.3 million without electricity, roads and bridges destroyed, and communications inoperable. Storm surges, up to 25 ft, swamped the Miss. Gulf Coast destroying hundreds of homes, roads, and much of the coastal infrastructure. Loss of casinos on the Gulf coast and damage to oil rigs increased the economic devastation to the area and the entire country. The breach of two levees in New Orleans, the day after the storm, submerged 80 percent of the city with flood waters that reached up to 20 ft. greatly increasing the damage from the hurricane, shutting down the entire city, and leaving thousands of New Orleans residents trapped on rooftops and in the evacuation centers without food, water, or other services. Widespread looting occurred and troops were called in to restore order. On Monday, Sept. 5th, the levees were patched and water began to be pumped from the city, a process which took more than a month. The mayor ordered the city evacuated because of the health risk. In all, the Coast Guard evacuated 30,000 people who were stranded by Katrina. The death toll reached 1,323, with 1,075 in La. and 230 in Miss., making it the third deadliest hurricane in the U.S. Katrina was one the most devastating hurricanes to hit the U.S. with estimates of $100 billion in losses, $34 billion insured losses. The initial local and federal government response to the hurricane was slow and inadequate, leaving thousands, primarily the poor who were unable to evacuate, without water, food, or shelter for days.
Aug 31, Baghdad, Iraq: rumors of a suicide bomber caused a stampede of Shiite pilgrims as they crossed a bridge over the Tigris, killing more than 950. Thousands had gathered the previous day to mark the anniversary of the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, one of Shiite Islam's holiest figures
Sept. 13, China: Typhoon Talim caused major flooding and landslides, extensive crop damage, and killed at least 129 people.
Sept. 5, Medan, Indonesia: Mandala Airlines, Boeing 737, crashed soon after takeoff, killing 102 on board and 47 on the ground; 13 passengers survived.
Sept. 5, Beni Suef, Egypt: at least 32 die and 60 were injured in a theatre fire after an actor knocked over a candle.
Sept. 67, Japan: powerful typhoon Nabi killed at least 18 people in Japan.
Sept. 1415, S.C. and N.C.: a meandering Hurricane Ophelia never made landfall, but dumped up to 18 in of rain from Myrtle Beach, S.C. to Wilmington, N.C. One person died in Florida.
Sept. 20, Fla. Keys: Hurricane Rita dumped heavy rains on the Florida Keys and then headed west towards Texas, gaining strength over the Gulf of Mexico.
Sept. 2425, Gulf Coast, Tex., La.: Rita intensified over the Gulf of Mexico, then made landfall at Sabine Pass, along the Texas-Louisiana border, as a Category 3 hurricane. Over 3 million people evacuated the Houston and Galveston area causing horrendous traffic jams. A bus carrying people from a nursing home, caught fire, killing 23 people. Strong storm surges and heavy winds caused major damage in the Louisiana and Texas coastal areas. Heavy rains also drenched New Orleans, causing the Industrial Canal levee to breach, re-flooding parts the 9th ward of the city.
Sept. 2025, Philippines, China, Thailand, Nepal: powerful typhoon Damrey killed at least 122, primarily from flooding.
Sept. 28Oct.3, Los Angeles, Calif: a wildfire scorched more than 24,000 acres northwest of L.A., destroying 13 buildings and burning more than 40 vehicles. Bali, Indonesia: Three suicide bombers hit Bali restaurants in the resort beach area, killing 22 people.
Oct. 1, El Salvador: Ilamatepec volcano, the highest in El Salvador, erupted, killing 2. Thousand evacuated the area as boiling water poured down the slopes and a column of ash reached 50,000 ft high.
Oct. 2, Lake George, N.Y.: a tour boat capsized on Lake George, killing 20 elderly tourists from Michigan.
Oct. 2, China: Typhoon Longwang hit Taiwan and China killing 65.
Oct. 15, Central America: Hurricane Stan brought landslides and floods to El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Mexico, killing more than 2,000, and forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate. In El Salvador more than 130,000 people were evacuated and 80% of the roads were affected. In Guatemala, continuous torrential rains brought floods and mudslides that killed more than 2,000 and buried the whole village of Panabj.
Oct. 2, Pakistan: a 7.6 earthquake centered in the Pakistani-controlled part of the Kashmir region killed more than 80,000 and injured 65,000. About half of the regions capital city, Muzaffarabad, has been destroyed, other towns and villages were flattened, and the extreme mountainous terrain and bad weather made many areas unreachable for weeks after the quake. The tremors from the quake extended into India and Afghanistan. An estimated 4 million were left homeless with winter on the way and insufficient resources to provide shelter for the many homeless.
Oct. 7Oct. 14, Northeast U.S.: Torrential rains caused flooded in several states in the Northeast, especially New Jersey and New Hampshire, killing 10.
Oct. 18Oct. 24, Caribbean, Mexico, and Fla.: Wilma moved through Haiti, killing 11, and Jamaica, then strengthened to a Category 5 and the most intense hurricane in the Atlantic on record with a pressure reaching 882 mb. This was the third storm in the season to reach Category 5. Wilma struck the Yucatan Peninsula battering the tourist areas of Cozumel, Cancun, and Playa del Carmen for more than 24 hours destroying hotels and thousands of homes. Moving back to the east, she made landfall at Naples, Fla. and raced across the state, severely damaging all of southern Fla. from the Keys through to the east coast areas of Dade and Broward county, leaving 21 dead and 6 million without power. Extensive flooding also occurred in Cuba.
Oct. 22, Haiti: Heavy rainfall and flooding in Haiti from Hurricane Alpha killed 12.
Oct. 22, Lagos, Nigeria: After take-off from Lagos, a Nigerian Bellview Airlines Boeing 737-200 enroute to Abuja crashed, killing all 117.
Oct. 30, Nicaragua and Honduras: Heavy rainfall and flooding were caused by Hurricane Beta when it hit Nicaragua and Honduras. Beta was the 23rd named storm in the Atlantic this year, breaking the record of named Atlantic storms since 1851. It was the 13th Atlantic hurricane also breaking previous records.
Nov. 6, Knight Township, Ind.: A fast moving line of thunderstorms spawned a tornado in southwestern Indiana and northern Kentucky that destroyed 130 mobile homes and killed 23 people.
Nov. 9, Amman, Jordan: Suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt and Days Inn, in Amman Jordan, killing 57. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.
Nov. 12, Iowa: An outbreak of 9 tornadoes struck Iowa, killing 1.
Nov. 15, Midwest U.S.: A series of thunderstorms moved through the Midwest from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes spawning 30 tornadoes in 6 states, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee, that destroyed houses and killed 2 people.
Nov. 20, Honduras: Heavy rainfall caused by Tropical Storm Gamma killed 37. Gamma was the 24th named storm in the Atlantic this year, breaking the record of named Atlantic storms since 1851.
Nov. 13, Harbin, China: A toxic spill from a petrochemical plant blast sent more than 100 tons of benzene, a cancer-causing substance, down the Songhua River.
Nov. 27, Heilongjiang Province, China: Explosion at the Dongfeng Coal Mine in China killed 171.
Nov. 2728, Midwest, U.S.: Blizzard conditions and storms from Texas to the Dakotas caused treacherous travel, shutting down miles of highways, and stranding Thanksgiving holiday travellers. The same storm spawned several tornadoes in Kansas and Arkansas damaging homes.
Nov. 29, Atlantic: Hurricane Epsilon was the 25th named storm in the Atlantic this year and the 14th hurricane, breaking the record of named Atlantic storms since 1851.
Dec. 5, Kalemie, Congo: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake, with the epicenter in Lake Tanganyika, destroyed mud houses and killed at least 3 in this war-torn region of Africa.
Dec. 6, Tehran, Iran: An Iranian military plane, a Lockheed C-130, carrying 94 people. who were mainly Iranian journalists, crashed as it was returning to the Tehran airport for an emergency landing and hit an apartment building, killing at least 115, of which 21 were from the apartment building.
Dec. 10, Port Harcourt, Nigeria: A Nigerian Sosoliso Airlines plane carrying 110 crashed during landing in bad weather, killing 107. Many were children on their way home from a secondary school in Abuja.
Dec. 11, Hemel Hempstead, England: Massive explosions at a fuel depot north of London burned 3 tanks and sent flames higher than 3,000 m (10,000 ft). There were 43 injured.
Dec. 19, Miami, Fla.: A Chalk's Ocean Airways, Grumman G73 seaplane, headed to the Bahamas, crashed into the ocean off Miami, killing all 20 on-board