What is the worst disaster to ever strike where you live?

[Eomega123]

I live in Dallas, Texas. President John F Kennedy got shot here. This ushered Lyndon B Johnson into office and brought about the horrors of the Vietnam war, political chaos, and skyrocketted the size of the gap of trust between the American people and their government.

Woohoo, yeah Dallas!

 

[Dangit2019]

I live in Dallas, Texas. President John F Kennedy got shot here. This ushered Lyndon B Johnson into office and brought about the horrors of the Vietnam war, political chaos, and skyrocketted the size of the gap of trust between the American people and their government.

Woohoo, yeah Dallas!

I actually went to a wedding in Dallas once, and the building it was held in was right across from the assassination site. My dad and I, both bored to tears, actually went down there during the reception and got caught by one of the guys who for some reason hang around there and tell you every little think there is to know or speculate on regarding the murder. Weird.

Also, JFKs not the worst thing to happen to Dallas, the worst thing to happen to Dallas was the day that somebody decided to make it a shittier version of Houston.

-runs away-

 

[Shoggoth2588]

When it comes to natural disasters, nothing really comes to mind except for the semi-annual blizzards. There was Snowmaggedon this past winter but I think the last BIG blizzard was the one in 96...I think...my memory is weird. As for some non-natural disaster though;

This map shows where people were gunned down in 2002 during The Beltway Sniper rampage (or whatever it's referred to as at this point). The highest concentration of attacks just happens to be in my county...It was a really scary time to live in that area.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Recently and locally, a bushfire a few years back that reached the end of my street.

Going back a bit, I guess white settlement, disaster for the locals.

 

[KungFuJazzHands]

A storm-triggered flood that killed five people in 1997. That's nothing compared to the flood of college hipsters that have taken over the town in the last few years. Those little bastards are destroying countless lives, I tell ya.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

In my lifetime?... It stormed the other day, got pretty windy.

In history, in the early 1900's about 60% of the town burnt down, which resulted in two things:

A: A local law against wooden buildings.

B: A totally rad underground tunnel system made from the basements of the burnt out shops, where the store owners moved their stores to. It's a ll a museum now, but once or twice a year they run a tour where the shops have period actors, some of which sell you real products.

But that's probably not the worst disaster in the county's history. I bet that would be this fire in the 90's. It whipped across the landscape, killing a around a hundred people and torching most of the countryside. Supposedly the flames reached between 40 and 60 feet in height, and since it never entered the city limits, the volunteer fire department were the only people keeping the fire from engulfing the town. Fewer than forty men.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

The one that I remember most was Hurricane Katrina. I'm lucky enough not to be close enough to the water to get much flooding, but there was lots of wind damage and we had no power for months.

Generators kind of fix that though. I remember playing Freedom Fighters on the original Xbox to pass the time after the storm since school didn't start for a while.

 

[BanicRhys]

Western colonisation. Just kidding, I'm not like that.
The grammar of young people these days. Just kidding, I'm not like that.
The graphic design work of pretty much every nearby small business. For serious.

But other than that and the bush fires that get kind of close every few years, nothing, other than the odd earthquake you'd be just as likely to not notice.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Ten years ago there was a flash flood at this town because the dam or whatever that was holding the water broke down. The primary school I went do was flooded so we were temporary going to this other olden building up a hill as a school instead.

We were lucky that our house were not affected at all but the flood was literally one footstep (judging from the front door) away from beind flooded. My cousin and aunt weren't so lucky as their house was flooded so they stay with up for a bit.

Also I remember that event as I found it humorous that my sandal that was left outside became a life boat for a sail that was on it during the flood.

 

[OneCatch]

Hey Escapists,

I'm wondering what is the worst disaster to ever strike where you live? It can be natural or man-made.

We have periodic flooding where I grew up, which used to cause a lot of damage [http://www.opobs.co.uk/mainsite/1960flood/Flood1960.html], but they've put up barriers now, so I don't remember it as anything more that an inconvenience.

We had a chemical plant explode once when I was about 10 (mushroom cloud and everything), and they evacuated half a housing estate because they were worried about fumes. That was fun.

As for Cardiff, where I am now, I can't really think of anything.

--------------

Edit: Looks like there's been another [http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/chemical-experts-help-at-blaze-1940849] fire on the same estate. Jesus, don't people learn?!

Also, we got bombed a bit in the Blitz because one of the largest ordinance factories [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROF_Bridgend] in the UK was on South Wales.

And, also in WWII we had the largest German POW escape [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Farm], but they all got rounded up again.

Aaaand, there's a series of NBC shelters under Bridgend for continuity of government stuff. They're decommisioned, but if a nuclear exchange ever kicks off we're gonna get glassed.

 

[Playful Pony]

I live in Bergen, Norway... I think the latest disaster of any type we had must have been WW2, that is worth mentioning anyway! During WW2 a German cargo ship filled with explosives detonated in the harbour, taking with it a lot of buildings and people. The British also tried to bomb the submarine base the Germans built here, but missed and took out a school filled with children (and the surrounding houses). That submarine base is still standing because it is damn near impossible to destroy. A solid block of concrete!

It does rain a LOT in my city, but because the entire thing is built along the lower parts of mountains all the water just runs down and into the sea right away... There really isn't any place one would consider flat here, not counting the inside of buildings. You are always going up or down.

 

[James Crook]

Well, I live in Paris, so I'd have to say the exactions committed during the French Revolution, the 1871 Paris Commune following the Prussian Siege in 1870-71, the occupation by the Nazis during WWII, the May 1968 demonstrations... and the election of François Hollande.

 

[Offworlder_v1legacy]

The Milperra Massacre.

Some people in Australia may have hard of it. Basically two motorcycle gangs met in a pub/hotel car-park and started shooting. It all happened on Fathers Day too so there were bystanders shot and killed as well. I live two minutes away from the place (which has been redesigned and the name has changed) so it's pretty local. I wasn't alive then but as far as 'disasters' go, that's the worst that's happened.


It also produced a very famous photo, which is one bikie crying over the body of his brother. It's pretty heavy stuff.

 

[Drakane]

Probably the Dust Bowl during the 1930's. More currently, the drought that has plagued the Midwest of the USA for the past year and a half.

 

[Duncan Belfast]

Hey Calgarians. Medicine Hatter here. To the best of my knowledge, our worst disaster is the flood of '95. Earlier today, a state of emergency was declared, and everyone's been preparing for a flood that's expected to be worse than '95.
Kind of scary to imagine that the worst disaster to ever strike where I live might be happening tomorrow.

 

[Alfador_VII]

I can't really think of anything recently. Despite being on a major river, there's never been flooding right where I am (I hope there isn't later)

But going further back, this used to be a major shipbuilding area, and was bombed quite a bit during WWII.

Although, the effects on the community of all the shipyards closing in the last several decades of the 20th Century was much more disastrous

 

[Aetherlblade]

American bombing of my city per accident instead of the German target city. (Nijmegen)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG48RFosYAc

(edit: the sound in the video is absolute shit, dont listen to that xD)

 

[CriticalMiss]

I seem to be the only one who grew up in a disaster-free zone. The worst thing I can think of is a water main bursting underneath a road causing a mini-sinkhole that stopped traffic for a few days. Or a potato truck overturning and covering the motorway in spuds. Thousands perished.

 

[GonzoGamer]

A couple of questions:
Does Sandy count as man made? Because that kind of shit doesn't usually happen around here. We've been getting tornadoes here too. WTF, tornadoes in NYC.

During my lifetime or any time?
We did have a thing happen on 9/11 quite a few years ago. It was a pretty big deal, it inspired a few movies and a couple of wars. Got everyone really pissed it did.
Years ago however (during the Civil War draft), there was a riot that lasted days and burned down half the city. That inspired a couple of movies and a really good musical too.