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Disaster↕ | Location↕ | Year↕ | Casualties↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Vajont Dam Landslide | Longarone, Italy | 1963 | ~1,917 killed | Massive landslide fell into reservoir, created 250m wave that overtopped dam, wiped out town below, dam itself survived intact, engineering hubris |
Yungay Avalanche (Ancash Earthquake) | Yungay, Peru | 1970 | ~25,000 killed in Yungay alone | Earthquake triggered ice-rock avalanche from Huascarán, buried entire city at 300 km/h, only 400 of 25,000 survived, worst avalanche death toll ever |
White Friday Avalanches | Alps, Austria-Italy border (WWI) | 1916 | ~10,000 soldiers killed in one day | Both sides deliberately triggered avalanches as weapons during WWI, 'White Death' killed more than combat, bodies still emerging from glaciers |
Wellington Avalanche | Wellington, Washington, USA | 1910 | 96 killed | Deadliest avalanche in US history, swept two trains off a cliff, led to construction of longest railroad tunnel in Western Hemisphere |
Huascarán Debris Avalanche | Ranrahirca, Peru | 1962 | ~4,000 killed | Predecessor to 1970 disaster, ice mass broke from Huascarán north peak, buried Ranrahirca, warnings about Yungay went unheeded for 8 years |
Frank Slide | Frank, Alberta, Canada | 1903 | ~90 killed | 82 million tonnes of limestone slid off Turtle Mountain in 100 seconds, buried part of mining town, rocks still visible covering the valley floor |
Oso Mudslide | Oso, Washington, USA | 2014 | 43 killed | Massive mudslide destroyed 49 homes, despite prior warnings the hillside was unstable, led to calls for better landslide mapping and regulation |
Aberfan Disaster | Aberfan, Wales, UK | 1966 | 144 killed (116 children) | Coal slag heap collapsed onto a school, killed 116 children on last day before half-term, triggered national outrage, mining waste regulations reformed |
Vargas Tragedy | Vargas State, Venezuela | 1999 | 10,000-30,000 killed | Weeks of rain triggered catastrophic mudslides and flash floods, washed entire neighborhoods into the sea, worst natural disaster in Venezuelan history |
Gansu Mudslide | Zhouqu County, Gansu, China | 2010 | ~1,765 killed | Massive mudslide after heavy rains destroyed half of Zhouqu town, dammed the Bailong River, deforestation blamed for increasing severity |
Khait Landslide | Khait, Tajikistan | 1949 | ~7,200 killed | Earthquake-triggered landslide buried the town of Khait, Soviet government suppressed information for decades, one of the deadliest landslides ever |
Elm Landslide | Elm, Glarus, Switzerland | 1881 | 115 killed | Slate quarrying destabilized mountain, entire community watched the slow-motion collapse, early scientific study of landslide mechanics |
Armero Tragedy (Nevado del Ruiz) | Armero, Colombia | 1985 | ~23,000 killed | Volcanic eruption triggered lahars (volcanic mudslides) that buried the town, Omayra Sánchez's photo shocked the world, warnings were issued but ignored |
Storegga Slides | Norwegian Sea (underwater) | ~6100 BC | Unknown (prehistoric coastal populations) | One of largest known landslides in history, caused massive tsunami that hit Scotland and Norway, may have separated Britain from Europe, submarine landslide |
Attabad Lake Landslide | Hunza Valley, Pakistan | 2010 | 20 killed, 6,000+ displaced | Created a 21km-long lake that flooded the Karakoram Highway, lake still exists today, Hunza villages remain submerged, ongoing geological hazard |
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