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Disasters, Man-Made

Human error or negligence can sometimes lead to accidents, loss of life, environmental damage, disasters, and widespread social disruption. Find related resources on issues like preparedness, identifying hazards and safety. SCIS no. 1819493

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Wreck of H. M. S. Orpheus

Wreck of H. M. S. Orpheus

The shipwreck of H. M. S. Orpheus occurred on 7 February 1863 at the mouth of the Manukau harbour. The sailing ship struck a massive sandbank (the Manukau bar) that could only be crossed at high tide.

Remembering Erebus

Remembering Erebus

Soon after an Air New Zealand DC10 crashed on Mt Erebus in 1979, a simple wooden cross was placed in Antarctica in remembrance of the 257 people who were killed, but wind-driven ice gradually erode...

Bhopal disaster

Bhopal disaster

Bhopal disaster gas leak from pesticide plant in 1984.

Dr Michel Boufadel

Dr Michel Boufadel

Oil from Exxon Valdez spill still on the beaches.

Columbia disaster

Pdf on the space shuttle Columbia and what went wrong.

The Hindenburg disaster

Article on Hindenburg disaster and the question around the safety of airships.

Descent from disaster

Using interviews, reenactments and archive images, each episode of Screentime series Descent from Disaster examines a major New Zealand disaster — what happened, and what was learnt. Presenters wer...

London's great fire memorial

London's great fire memorial

The monument to the Great Fire of 1666 has undergone 18 months of restoration.

NZ to be devastated by continuing climate change

NZ to be devastated by continuing climate change

An in-depth report by the Royal Society of New Zealand has outlined the effect continuing climate change will have on New Zealand, and the result is likely to be devastating.

Nuclear test victims remembered

French Polynesia's nuclear test veterans organisation says a ceremony to remember victims on Thursday should show the government how important its memorial site in Papeete is to many.

Fukushima 'slow motion Chernobyl'

Fukushima 'slow motion Chernobyl'

Environmentalists have tagged the Fukushima nuclear power plant a 'slow motion Chernobyl' after the Japanese government yesterday upgraded the status of the crisis.

A plane plunges into a San Francisco bay in 1937 killing 11 people on board.

Erebus crash site map

Erebus crash site map

Map showing the flight path of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 on 28 November 1979

Pike River mine disaster

On the afternoon of 19 November 2010, an explosion ripped through the remote Pike River mine on the West Coast of the South Island, killing 29 men.

Railway Accident in England

Railway Accident in England

Image of Salisbury rail crash that derailed and smashed into a milk train killing 28 people.

Mine 29 Shrine. 18 January 2011

Mine 29 Shrine. 18 January 2011

Shows a commemorative looped ribbon beside the words 'Mine 29 shrine'. A second version includes the words 'More rhyme than reason' and a third version has a question mark after the word 'shrine'. ...

Sinking of Russian cruise ship

Sinking of Russian cruise ship

Russian cruise ship Mikhail Lermontov crashed into rocks near Port Gore.

California oil spill

An oil pipeline rupture near Santa Barbara in California is believed to have spilled up to 2,500 barrels of crude petroleum.

Columbia crew lost

Columbia crew lost

The cartoon depicts a dejected-looking Statue of Liberty, sad about the loss of the crew of the spaceship Columbia. Nasa stopped flying the space shuttles after losing shuttle Columbia and its sev...

Great Fire in Chicago

The great fire in Chicago in 1871 killed 300 people.

Aral sea

Once the world's fourth largest lake, the Aral sea in Central Asia is now in it's death throes. Examining the human and environmental toll with our correspondent Tara Fitzgerald.

Brazil to sue over burst dam

Brazil plans to sue two mining companies for $NZ8 billion in damages caused by the burst of a dam which killed at least 13 people and polluted a major river valley.

Cave Creek inquiry

Cave Creek inquiry

News footage shows the scene at Cave Creek in Paparoa National Park on the South Island's West Coast after a Department of Conservation viewing platform collapsed, with tragic results. On 28 April ...

UN identifies people migrating due to climate change.

UN identifies people migrating due to climate change.

Shows a family of refuges in the water. A voice calls out, "Sorry! Love to help but the UN says you're terrorists!" At the top of the cartoon text reads, 'Security Council identifies people compel...

Never!! can't happen!!

Never!! can't happen!!

Never!! Can't happen!! and yet it did. People were confident that there could be never be a nuclear leak and yet there was a partial meltdown on March 28, 1979 at the Three Mile Island Unit in Penn...

Kaitangata coal mine

Kaitangata coal mine

On the morning of 21 February 1879, thirty-nine miners went to work at the Kaitangata Coal Mine. The men found a pick at the entrance to the mine, indicating that the mine had been checked for meth...

Seacliff mental hospital

Seacliff mental hospital

Seacliff hospital was built in 1884 and housed close to 500 patients. Additions to the buildings were constructed out of wood and this fact proved fatal on the night of a major fire in December 194...

Hyde railway accident

Hyde railway accident

On 4 June 1943, the Cromwell Dunedin express was carrying 113 passengers to Dunedin, many of them heading for the Dunedin winter show.

Welcome to Chernobyl

Welcome to Chernobyl

Following an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant the city Chernobyl, in northern Ukraine was largely abandoned in April 1986. Large quantities of radioactive material contaminat...

Wreck of the Titanic

Wreck of the Titanic

The Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in the North Atlantic ocean on 10 April, 1912. The ship carried 2,200 passengers and crew. It was the Titanic’s maiden voyage.

Chernobyl accident 1986

Causes and impact of the nuclear Chernobyl plant explosion in Ukraine.

Quick facts: What you need to know about the Syria crisis.

Syria’s civil war has created the worst humanitarian crisis of our time.

Design4Disaster

Examples of project designs that can help people in times of disaster.

Top 10: environmental disasters

New Zealand has not been immune to large- scale environmental disasters.

Costa Concordia: what happened

Infographics, videos and coverage of what happened to the cruise ship Costa Concordia.

The Great Smog of 1952

Fog and smoke from innumerable chimneys cause London to choke.

Huge mistakes that led to catastrophe

Lesson plan on man-made disasters in history.

Bulli mine disaster

A memorial for those who lost their lives in the Bulli mine disaster in Australia.

Is anyone underground, anyone, anyone?

Twenty-nine miners were killed in New Zealand's Pike River Mine explosion.

Worst mining disasters In human history

Quick profits and lack of safety standards caused several of these mining disasters.

Brief history of nuclear accidents

Seven nuclear accidents worldwide and how they happened.

Computer generated imagery shows how the Titanic sank to the bottom of the sea.

The Aral sea crisis

Soviet government actions that led to the drying up of the Aral sea.

New Zealand sea level rise

Interactive maps that reveal the future New Zealand's coastline.

What a Disaster! School Journal Level: 2; Aug 2012

The impact of the Rena through the eyes of a young girl.

Environmental disasters

Leading anthropogenic and environmental disasters as a result of negligence or human error.

In 1963, a DC-3 airliner took off from Auckland bound for Tauranga. It never made it.

Challenger disaster

Videos and accounts to help understand the Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster.

Tenerife aircraft disaster

The collision of the Pan Am Flight 1736 and the KLM Flight 4805 at Tenerife.

10 Worst man made disasters of all time

Major disasters that have had the most effect on people and the environment.

Al Ayyat train fire – 2002

A cooking gas cylinder explodes causing over 300 deaths on the train in Al Ayyat in Egypt.

Fish off at Fukushima

Fish off at Fukushima

On March 11, 2011 a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the Pacific Coast of Tōhoku, Japan. This resulted in meltdowns of three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Thousands of p...

Solomon Islands gold ridge gold mine

Solomon Islands gold ridge gold mine

The new owner of Solomon Islands Gold Ridge gold mine claims the previous owner left behind a US$29 million dollar environmental disaster.

Nuclear disasters

Nuclear disasters

Nuclear power is another source of power like wind, water or solar power. It is a cheap, reliable and clean source of energy, however the biggest disadvantage is that it can be very dangerous when...

Iwi and kaimoana

Ngā Iwi o Tauranga Moana (a collective group for Māori tribes in Tauranga) concerned about the effects of the oil spill and debris on kaimoana.

Pike River Mine disaster 2010

Pike River Mine disaster 2010

The explosion at Pike River Mine on 19 November 2010 killed 29 men. This was a major disaster for New Zealand in recent times. Two years later the Royal Commission of Inquiry began an investigation...

World Health Organisation on Coronavirus

The World Health Organisation declares cononavirus outbreak meets the criteria for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

Deepwater horizon oil spill

Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also called Gulf of Mexico oil spill, largest marine oil spill in history.

In 1963 a DC-3 crashed into the Kaimai Range.

The wreck of the Rena

The Rena salvage operation cost $700 million.

Chernobyl : facts about the nuclear disaster

Discusses the events and repercussions of the 1986 nuclear disaster.

Find more information on this topic on EPIC. Databases recommended: Australia NZ Reference Centre, Gale In Context: High School, Gale In Context: Global Issues. School login maybe required.

Climate change consequences for New Zealand

Beyond the next few decades global warming, caused mostly by human activity, will begin to dominate.

What happened to the Hindenburg?

The Hindenburg is a largest airship ever built. Unfortunately it caught fire and was completely destroyed.

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Nuclear disasters

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Disasters (New Zealand)

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