The most terrible man-made disasters. Major man-made disasters of the XXI century

1)Underwater earthquake in Indian Ocean , which occurred on December 26, 2004 at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time), triggered a tsunami that was recognized as the deadliest natural disaster in modern history. The magnitude of the earthquake was, according to various estimates, from 9.1 to 9.3. This is the third strongest earthquake in the history of observation.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the Indian Ocean, north of the island of Simeulue, located near the northwestern coast of the island of Sumatra (Indonesia). The tsunami reached the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, southern India, Thailand and other countries. The height of the waves exceeded 15 meters. The tsunami caused enormous destruction and a huge number of deaths, even in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, 6900 km from the epicenter.

Died, according to various estimates, from 225 thousand to 300 thousand people. The death toll is 227,898 according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The true death toll is unlikely to ever be known, as many people were swept into the sea by the water.

2)Hurricane Katrina(English) Hurricane Katrina listen)) is the most destructive hurricane in U.S. history. It was a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, the sixth strongest Atlantic Basin hurricane on record. It happened at the end of August 2005. The most severe damage was caused to New Orleans in Louisiana, where about 80% of the city's area was under water. The disaster killed 1,836 residents and caused economic damage of $125 billion (est., 2007)

3)Bhopal disaster- the largest man-made disaster in terms of the number of victims that occurred as a result of an accident at the Union Carbide chemical plant in the Indian city of Bhopal (the capital of Madhya Pradesh) in the early morning of December 3, 1984, which resulted in the death of at least 18 thousand people, of which 3 thousand died directly on the day of the tragedy, and 15 thousand - in subsequent years.

4)Terror attack at the Munich Olympics (Munich murders, Olympic terrorist attack) - a terrorist attack committed during Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 by members of the terrorist Palestinian organization Black September, which killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team (4 coaches, 5 competitors and two judges), as well as one West German policeman. Five of the eight terrorists were killed by police in a failed hostage rescue attempt. The three surviving terrorists were captured but later released by West Germany after the Black September hijacking of a Lufthansa airliner. Israel responded to the release of the terrorists with operations "Spring of Youth" and "Wrath of God", during which the Israeli intelligence agencies tracked down and destroyed those suspected of plotting a terrorist attack.

5)The terrorist attack on Dubrovka, also referred to as "Nord-Ost"- the terrorist attack on Dubrovka in Moscow, which lasted from October 23 to October 26, 2002, during which a group of armed militants led by Movsar Baraev seized and held hostages from among the spectators of the musical "Nord-Ost" in the building of the House of Culture of OJSC "Moscow Bearing" ( "1 GPZ"), located at the address: Moscow, Melnikova street, 7.

The fighters were armed with firearms, ammunition and explosive devices. The total number of hostages taken was 916 people. The purpose of the terrorist action was to violate public safety, intimidation of the population and influencing the authorities of the Russian Federation to decide on the withdrawal of troops from the territory of the Chechen Republic.

As a result of the operation to free the hostages, all the terrorists were eliminated and most of the hostages were released. In total, according to official figures, 130 people from among the hostages were killed (according to the public organization "Nord-Ost", 174 people).

6)Terrorist act in Beslan- hostage-taking at school No. 1 in the city of Beslan ( North Ossetia), committed by terrorists on the morning of September 1, 2004, during a solemn assembly dedicated to the beginning of the school year. For two and a half days, the terrorists kept more than 1,100 hostages in a mined building (mostly children, their parents and school staff) in the most difficult conditions, denying people even the minimum natural needs.

On the third day around 13:05, explosions occurred at the school and a fire later broke out, resulting in a partial collapse of the building. After the first explosions, the hostages began to run out of the school, and an assault was launched by federal forces. During a chaotic firefight, including one involving civilians, using personal weapons, 27 terrorists were killed (three, including one of the suicide bombers, died between September 1 and 2). The only terrorist caught alive, Nur-Pashi Kulaev, was arrested and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment by a court.

Although most of the hostages were released during the assault, 334 people, including 186 children, were killed and over 800 injured as a result of the attack. The economic damage from the terrorist attack exceeded 34 million rubles

Shamil Basayev publicly claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in Beslan by publishing a statement on the website of the Chechen separatists Kavkaz Center on September 17, 2004

As of 2013, the investigation into the attack, initiated by the General Prosecutor's Office on September 1, 2004, remained open. The attack was investigated by several independent commissions, expert groups and public organizations, but many of the circumstances, including the actual number of terrorists, the possible escape of many of them, the actions of the government during the negotiations and the storming of the building, as well as the reasons for limited and inconsistent media coverage are still disputed. Some commentators are of the opinion that the death of some of the hostages was caused by the operation to free them.

The terrorist attack in Beslan was the final in a series of terrorist attacks by Russia in 2004, after which the political leadership of the country carried out a number of serious reforms in the legislation. In particular, the elections of governors were canceled and the Public Chamber, the National Anti-Terrorism Committee and the "Commission on improving the socio-economic situation in the Southern Federal District" were created.

7)The terrorist act of September 11, 2001(sometimes simply referred to as 9/11) was a series of four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks that took place in the United States of America. The terrorist organization al-Qaeda is responsible for these attacks.

On the morning of that day, nineteen terrorists associated with Al-Qaeda, divided into four groups, hijacked four scheduled passenger airliners. Each group had at least one member who completed basic flight training.

The invaders sent two of these planes into the towers of the World Trade Center, located in the southern part of Manhattan in New York. American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into WTC 1 (North), and United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into WTC 2 (South). As a result, both towers collapsed, causing serious damage to adjacent buildings. A third plane (American Airlines Flight 77) was sent to the Pentagon, located near Washington. The passengers and crew of the fourth airliner (United Airlines Flight 93) tried to take control of the plane from the terrorists, the plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

In addition to the 19 terrorists, 2,977 people died as a result of the attacks (see the Victims section), and another 24 went missing. Most of the dead were civilians.

The official version of what happened was criticized by a number of journalists, scientists and witnesses of the tragedy. Independent investigations were carried out, some of which were documented.

8) Riots (Manezhnaya Square (2010), Sagra, Kondopoga, Demyanovo)

9)Mass murder in the village of Kushchevskaya- the murder of 12 people (including four children), which occurred on November 4, 2010 in the village of Kushchevskaya Krasnodar Territory and committed, as a result of the investigation, members of the organized crime group"Tsapkovsky".

10)accident on Chernobyl nuclear power plant , Catastrophe at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Chernobyl accident, the term is most often used in the media Chernobyl disaster- the destruction on April 26, 1986 of the fourth power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant located on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR (now - Ukraine). The destruction was explosive, the reactor was completely destroyed, and a large amount of radioactive substances. The accident is regarded as the largest of its kind in the history of nuclear energy, both in terms of the estimated number of people killed and affected by its consequences, and in terms of economic damage. During the first three months after the accident, 31 people died; the long-term effects of exposure, identified over the next 15 years, caused the death of 60 to 80 people. 134 people suffered from radiation sickness of varying severity, more than 115 thousand people from the 30-kilometer zone were evacuated. Significant resources were mobilized to eliminate the consequences, more than 600 thousand people participated in the liquidation of the consequences of the accident.

Unlike the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the explosion resembled a very powerful "dirty bomb" - radioactive contamination became the main damaging factor.

The cloud formed from the burning reactor carried various radioactive materials, primarily iodine and cesium radionuclides, over most of Europe. The greatest fallout was observed in large areas in the Soviet Union located near the reactor and now belonging to the territories of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

The Chernobyl accident was an event of great social and political significance for the USSR. All this left a certain imprint on the course of the investigation of its causes. The approach to interpreting the facts and circumstances of the accident has changed over time, and there is still no complete consensus.

11)JSC "MMM" - private company organized by Sergey Mavrodi. Until February 1, 1994, it conducted only financial and trading activities. Since 1994, it has traditionally been regarded as the classic and largest financial pyramid in the history of Russia. According to various estimates, 10-15 million investors participated in its activities. According to other estimates, the number of depositors did not exceed 2 million people.

According to Sergei Mavrodi, the MMM company was deliberately destroyed by the relevant state authorities.

Company founders: Sergey Mavrodi, his brother Vyacheslav Mavrodi and Olga Melnikova. Head - Sergey Mavrodi. But Sergei Mavrodi has repeatedly stated that the other two founders were nominal figures and he needed it exclusively for registering the company. The company's name was an abbreviation of the initial letters of the names of its founders.

12)Deepwater Horizon oil platform explosion- an accident (explosion and fire) that occurred on April 20, 2010, 80 kilometers off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform at the Macondo field (English) Russian ..

The oil spill that followed the accident became the largest in the history of the United States and turned the accident into one of the largest man-made disasters in terms of negative impact on the environment.

At the time of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon platform, 11 people were killed and 17 of the 126 people on the platform were injured. At the end of June 2010, there were reports of the death of 2 more people during the aftermath of the disaster.

Through damage to well pipes at a depth of 1,500 meters, about 5 million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico in 152 days, the oil slick reached an area of 75,000 square kilometers.

13)Tunguska meteoroid, or Tunguska meteorite(Tunguska phenomenon) - a hypothetical body, probably of cometary origin, which, presumably, caused an air explosion that occurred in the area of the Podkamennaya Tunguska River (about 60 km north and 20 km west of the village of Vanavara) June 17 (30), 1908 at 07:00 14.5 ± 0.8 minutes local time (0 h 14.5 min GMT). The power of the explosion is estimated at 40-50 megatons, which corresponds to the energy of the most powerful (from exploded) hydrogen bomb.

14) "The sinking of the Titanic" chronology of the death of the Titanic (R.M.S. Titanic) - the British steamship of the White Star Line company, the largest passenger liner in the world at the time of its construction. The accident occurred during the first flight of the liner on the night of April 14-15, 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean as a result of a collision with an iceberg. The ship sank in 2 hours and 20 minutes. At the time of the crash, there were 1,316 passengers and 891 crew members on board, for a total of 2,207 people. Of these, 705 people were saved, 1,502 died. The sinking of the Titanic caused the widest public outcry, becoming the largest maritime disaster of its time in terms of the number of victims. It is currently one of the five largest peacetime maritime disaster victims of all time.

15) freezing rain in Moscow

16)Accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP- industrial man-made disaster that occurred on August 17, 2009. As a result of the accident, 75 people died, and serious damage was caused to the equipment and premises of the station. The work of the station for the production of electricity was suspended. The consequences of the accident affected the ecological situation in the water area adjacent to the HPP, the social and economic spheres of the region. As a result of the investigation, Rostekhnadzor named the destruction of the stud bolts of the turbine cover of the hydraulic unit caused by additional dynamic loads of a variable nature, which was preceded by the formation and development of fatigue damage to the attachment points, which led to the failure of the cover and flooding of the power plant room, as the direct cause of the accident.

The accident is currently the largest disaster in the history of a hydropower facility in Russia and one of the most significant in the history of the world's hydropower industry. natural Disasters S. K. Shoigu. “Nothing like this has ever been seen in world practice.” Nevertheless, the assessment of the consequences of the disaster in the expert and political community is ambiguous. Some experts and organizations, including Sergei Shoigu himself, compared the Sayano-Shushenskaya accident in terms of its significance and impact on the economic and sociological aspects of life in Russia with the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Other experts argued that these accidents are incomparable in scale. President of the Russian Federation D. A. Medvedev expressed the opinion that one should not overdramatize the situation and make "apocalyptic" comments. The accident caused a great public outcry, becoming one of the most discussed events in the media in 2009.

17)Accident at the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant- a major radiation accident (according to Japanese officials - level 7 on the INES scale), which occurred on March 11, 2011 as a result of the strongest earthquake in the history of Japan and the tsunami that followed it. The earthquake and tsunami hit disabled external power supplies and backup diesel generators, which caused the inoperability of all normal and emergency cooling systems and led to the meltdown of the reactor core at power units 1, 2 and 3 in the first days of the accident.

18)The wreck of the ship "Bulgaria"- a shipwreck that occurred on July 10, 2011 at approximately 13:30 Moscow time in the Kuibyshev reservoir near the village of Syukeyevo, Kamsko-Ustyinsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan.

According to the final data, of the 201 people on board, 79 survived. The death of the remaining 122 people was confirmed. Among the dead is the captain of the ship "Bulgaria" Alexander Ostrovsky.

19)K-141 "Kursk"- Russian nuclear submarine missile-carrying cruiser of project 949A "Antey". Laid down at Sevmash in 1992, put into operation on December 30, 1994. From 1995 to 2000 - as part of the Russian Northern Fleet, Vidyaevo base.

Sunk in the Barents Sea, 175 km from Severomorsk, (69°40′00″ N 37°35′00″ E (G)(O)) at a depth of 108 meters as a result of the disaster that occurred on August 12, 2000. All 118 crew members on board were killed. In terms of the number of dead, the accident was the second in the post-war history of the Russian submarine fleet, after the explosion of ammunition on the B-37.

20)Plane crash in Smolensk April 10, 2010- an aviation accident that occurred with the presidential plane Tu-154 of the Polish Air Force during landing at the Smolensk-Severny airfield in heavy fog. The crash killed all those on board - 88 passengers and 8 crew members, including Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria Kaczynska, well-known Polish politicians, almost all the high military command, public and religious figures. This is the largest in terms of the number of victims among air crashes in which the first persons of the state died. President Kaczynski was on his way to Russia on a private visit at the head of a Polish delegation to the mourning events on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of the execution of Polish officers in the Katyn forest.

According to the results of the IAC investigation, all aircraft systems worked normally before impact with the ground; due to fog, visibility at the airfield was below the allowable for landing, about which the crew was notified.

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15:51 31.07.2018

More than half of Sweden is covered with conifers and deciduous forests those. over 230 thousand square kilometers. One can talk a lot about the prudent attitude of the Swedes to nature in general and to their own in particular, but a few numerical data will suffice. In the Scandinavian country, 55-60 million cubic meters of wood is harvested every year, 10-15% less than the annual increase in green spaces. That is, the forest cover of Sweden is increasing, and the wood itself is highly processed and increases the national income. By

11:07 15.05.2018

Yamal reindeer herders are sounding the alarm. Activist Eiko Serotetto appealed to the Governor of Yamal Dmitry Kobylkin with a request to introduce a state of emergency in the Yamal region due to mass death animals. The appeal was published in the well-known public of indigenous peoples Voice of the Tundra. The author of the appeal claims that the case began a long time ago. Now it has reached a critical point. Some of the reindeer herders lost up to 70% of their herd. Serotetto asks to help the reindeer herders to get to the summer pastures so that the animals do not die of starvation, to dispose of the corpses of already dead deer

04:22 28.03.2018

A state of emergency due to flooding has been declared in seven districts of the Altai Territory, the website of the regional administration reports. Due to the melting snow, the rivers overflowed their banks, and the water flooded vast territories. More than a thousand people were evacuated from the most dangerous places. As of March 27, the emergency regime operates in Krasnoshchekovsky (within the villages of Ust-Kozlukha and Maralikh), Altai, Petropavlovsk, Tretyakov, Soloneshensky, Soltonsky, Ust-Kalmansky (within the villages of Ust-Kalmanka, Ogni and Mikhailovka) districts, according to a message from the regional authorities.

17:24 24.03.2018

The Governor of the Altai Territory, Alexander Karlin, declared a state of emergency in the Krasnoshchekovsky District, where about 200 residential buildings and more than 500 household plots were flooded due to the flood. This was reported by the press service of the government of the region. According to her, the most difficult situation has developed in the settlements of Ust-Kozlukha, where more than 150 household plots and 98 residential buildings were flooded, as well as in the village of Maralikha, where 420 household plots and 106 residential buildings were damaged. According to the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation for the Altai Territory, Igor

07:21 14.12.2017

At the very beginning of winter. In one of the districts of the Omsk region, from Wednesday, December 13, a state of emergency was introduced. It has been established that in the Kolosovsky district there will be enough stock of solid fuel for only 2-3 days, what will be unknown further. Sergey Adamov, deputy head of the Kolosovsky district, told Gorod55 news agency about the introduction of an emergency mode due to a shortage of fuel at regional boiler houses. According to the official, ambiguous situation was formed due to the fact that the Omsk Fuel Company (coal supplier approx.) stopped its work. We only have enough coal for 2-3

17:55 24.06.2017

Messengers will have to warn users about emergencies. This was stated by a representative of Roskomnadzor and confirmed by one of the authors of the draft law on the regulation of instant messengers, which is now being considered by the State Duma. You and I have all witnessed how various provocative messages about terrorists in Moscow and similar things were sent through instant messengers. And the things necessary for a person, such as alerts in emergency situations, unfortunately, are not sent out, - he said on round table in the Parliamentary Gazette

03:20 25.05.2017

State of emergency declared due to fires federal level in the Irkutsk region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory, as well as in the Stavropol Territory due to rain floods, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the Russian Emergencies Ministry. In connection with the emergence of an emergency situation of a federal nature, by decision working group government commission Since May 24, a state of emergency has been introduced for the Krasnoyarsk and Stavropol Territories, the Irkutsk Region and a federal level of response has been established, the department said. It is noted that at the federal level

03:32 03.05.2017

A gas leak occurred in the center of the capital of Canada due to the fault of the builders, TASS reports with reference to the CBC TV channel. Closed Bank, O'Connor, Sparks and Albert streets, where business centers, banks, gift shops, and a reception are located prime minister Canada Justin Trudeau. There were big traffic jams in the area. There was a gas leak, and for this reason, several streets are closed, emergency services are working to eliminate the accident, the local police department confirmed. There are no victims of a gas leak, no one turned to doctors for help

02:43 28.04.2017

On Svalbard, nine Russians on snowmobiles fell through the ice, media reported. According to the data, six people were raised from the water, four of them were hospitalized, two are on board the vessel of the Norwegian Coast Guard. According to the Norwegian Rescue Coordination Center, all nine Russians have been located so far, three of them have been taken to Longyearbyen.

18:01 13.02.2017

Live video broadcast from the site of the destruction of the dam on Lake Oroville in the United States appeared on the Internet. Residents of California began to be evacuated due to the destruction of the dam YouTube users were able to follow how the flow of water from the lake overflows the edge of the highest dam in the United States. Nearby roads and buildings have already flooded. Recall that the threat of collapse of the dam arose due to the fact that a hole was formed in the main drainage system, and the reserve channel was damaged by erosion. The state of California has announced an evacuation

08:18 19.11.2016

Central TV channels say that Poroshenko ruined everything, but about the trouble in the Moscow region - no interest photo: Svetlana Logvinova There has been no electricity in the Dmitrovsky district of the Moscow region for the eighth day. People are really cold. The true scale of the disaster is reflected on the Dobrodel public website near Moscow. Those who freeze on their own keep statistics of de-energized settlements. This morning there were 146. During the day, the monstrous figure is updated. People from different villages and SNT sometimes write: God, I can’t believe it, but they gave us light! Then them

19:45 15.11.2016

The accident that left the inhabitants of Uralmash without electricity occurred due to abnormal frosts 110 thousand citizens were left without electricity Photo: Lenochka Lenusichka/VK 110 thousand citizens were left without electricity. Power engineers promised to eliminate the accident by 13:30 [photo, video] Local residents have already ironically called the power outage at Uralmash the end of the world. And it is no coincidence. The townspeople were forced to have breakfast early in the morning, wash their faces and brush their teeth by candlelight. Further worse. On the street, residents of the microdistrict were no less disappointed. Due to power failure

19:03 09.11.2016

The roof of the workshop collapsed at ZiK: we publish the lists of victims. Online report https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm4lqqugFv4 Photo: Typical Yekaterinburg The incident happened at the Kalinin plant. Rescuers, investigators and prosecutors are on the scene. Four people died and 14 were injured. At the plant named after Kalinin in Yekaterinburg, the roof of one of the production workshops collapsed. This information was confirmed to the 66.ru portal by the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Sverdlovsk Region. Firefighters are on the scene

20:14 08.11.2016

Media: the whole of Murmansk was left without electricity There is no official confirmation of this information yet In Murmansk, there was a blackout. According to IA FlashNord, power outages in the city of 300,000 began around 17.20 (the time coincides with Moscow). The light flickered for a short time, and after that it was gone altogether. It is noted that in the building of the local government, including in the office of the governor Marina Kovtun, there is also no light. According to preliminary information, an accident occurred at the Kolenergo substation. In turn, in

05:14 04.11.2016

The Metropolitan Police are checking reports of bomb threats at several sites, including the Kremlin. This was announced on Thursday, November 3, by the Moscow City News Agency. A source in the emergency services said that the 02 service received calls about mining the Kremlin, the American embassy, the Yaroslavl railway station, the police station on Leninsky Prospekt, as well as a call center located in the Zelenograd district. Later, TASS, citing a similar source, reported that the Kursk and Kazan stations were also under threat. For all objects

10:06 03.10.2016

As it became known from the Meteorological Office of the country, a powerful typhoon Chaba is approaching the island of Okinawa. The recorded wind speed at the moment reaches 70 m/s in some places. Heavy torrential downpours are also of great danger, which can provoke landslides, as well as floods. In connection with the dangerous situation, the authorities of Okinawa Prefecture decided to evacuate almost 130 thousand people not only from the main territory, but also from smaller islands adjacent to it. The order primarily concerns children, as well as

In the Primorsky Territory, the head of the regional Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Oleg Fedyura, died; the officer drowned in the Chuguevsky district, saving his subordinates. The head of the GUMCHS in Primorye died The regional Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that KamAZ with rescuers was driving to the village of Cleaning the Chuguevsky district, which suffered from a typhoon that hit the Primorsky Territory. Passing the bridge over the Pavlovka River, the truck fell into the water. In total, there were nine employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the car, among them was the head of the regional department. "The head of the head office died, saving to the last

10:10 02.09.2016

Probably, many saw the news about the typhoon "Lionrock" that passed over the Primorsky Territory and that now flooded most of the region. People are afraid of the fact that the elements have cleared up. How much human suffering has happened, how much damage and tragedies... By the way, it was not a typhoon at all, as they talk about it on TV, but a cyclonic whirlwind from the Sea of Japan. The typhoon came to the edge on the very last night after two days of rain and after it broke up hard over Japan. If you don't believe me, check out the Japanese tracking site.

06:42 24.08.2016

As a result of the earthquake in the Italian Amatrice, houses collapsed, people under the rubble August 24, 2016, 06:27 The mayor of the Italian city of Amatrice said that the earthquake that occurred in the central part of the country provoked serious destruction in the village. About 2,700 people live in the city. Twitter According to Mayor Sergio Pirozzi, there are people under the rubble of buildings, RIA Novosti reports. Roads leading to and from the city are blocked. Half the city is gone. People are under the rubble. happened

The earth has existed for over 4 billion years. During this period of time, various processes took place on it: life was born, an atmosphere was formed, flora and fauna appeared. Against the background of evolutionary changes, there were also catastrophic phenomena caused by the forces of the Earth and space. With progress, the term "man-made disaster" appeared. This relatively new concept is inseparably connected with the development of all mankind.

Incident types

The very word "catastrophe" is very widely used in recent years. It is used in the event of the complete extinction of some biological species, a major accident at work, a train collision, an explosion of oil, gas, nuclear fuel, human casualties in a car accident, etc.

There are 4 types of disasters:

Ecological.
Natural.
Social.
Man-made.

Man-made disasters

A man-made disaster is an emergency or the emergence and development of an uncontrollable negative process in the technological sphere. Such an event entails numerous human casualties, damages human health and significant damage to the environment. Technogenic accidents and disasters are caused by the sudden failure of various units, machines and mechanisms during operation, which is associated with serious disruptions in the production process. They are also characterized by explosions, radioactive, biological or chemical contamination of large areas of the earth.

Natural and man-made disasters

Any developed civilization can be destroyed as a result of a global catastrophe. A person is not able to withstand such phenomena as a volcanic eruption, flood, tsunami, earthquake. Even an invasion of locusts can harm him. In addition, numerous accidents and catastrophes of a universal scale also occur within civilization, which, the more it develops and grows, the more it turns into a kind of destructive force for all living things. Natural and man-made disasters accompany the development of the Earth and mankind in all periods of formation.

Why do man-made disasters occur?

Man is so arranged that he needs more and more benefits of civilization. He wants to move faster, rise higher in the sky, dive deeper into the depths of the sea or dive into the bowels of the Earth. It is natural for a person to surround himself with even greater comfort and convenience, and nothing can stop him, even such a terrible payment as man-made accidents and disasters. Often they occur due to an absurd set of circumstances and lead to irreversible consequences.

Classification

Emergencies are classified according to different indicators. Types of man-made disasters:

Transport accidents of freight and passenger trains, ships, aircraft, rocket space systems, spacecraft.
Explosions and their threats, fires in various buildings, including cultural and social purposes, as well as at industrial facilities for the extraction and processing, storage of combustible, flammable and explosive substances (mines, etc.).
Accidents with the release or threat of release of chemically hazardous substances during their processing, storage or disposal.
Accidents with the release of radioactive substances.
Accidents with the release or threat of release of biologically hazardous substances.
Hydrodynamic man-made disasters - breakthroughs of dams, dams, locks, etc.
Accidents on electric power systems are emergencies at nuclear power plants.
Accidents of communal systems necessary for human life support: sewerage networks with a large emission of pollutants, heating networks, water and gas supply systems for the population.
emergency on treatment facilities leading to massive pollution of the environment by sewage.

The emergence of man-made disasters in Russia

Such incidents have become recent times almost a common thing. Man-made disasters in Russia are directly related to human activities. They flow directly with or without environmental pollution. Every year the technical legacy of the USSR is aging and wearing out, and this is fraught with new man-made dangers. Such major man-made disasters make you think and prepare for the worst, such as:

Accident at the Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP.
The death of the ship of outdated design "Bulgaria".
The accident at the Raspadskaya mine, etc.

Technogenic disasters in Russia are also caused by depreciation of infrastructure, technological backwardness of production, low activity in the introduction of safe technologies, and a low level of professional training of specialists.

Causes of man-made disasters

Various accidents and catastrophes can be accompanied by explosions, the release of all kinds of substances, including radioactive ones, the outbreak of fires, and so on. In most cases, a man-made disaster occurs as a result of intentional or unintentional human actions. The main causes of accidents:

Numerous miscalculations in the process of designing modern buildings.
Insufficient level of safety of structures.
Deviation from the planned project and poor-quality construction of buildings.
Placement of production in an ill-conceived place.
Insufficient professional training of personnel, their indiscipline and negligence, which contributes to the violation of the basic requirements of the technological process.

The impact of man-made incidents on nature

Objects of potential danger:

Nuclear, chemical, mining, metallurgical industries.
Unique engineering systems and structures: dams, oil or gas storage facilities, etc.
Transport networks: ground, underground, water, aerodynamic, transporting people and various cargoes.
Gas, oil highways and pipelines.
Defense objects: aircraft and space-rocket systems with nuclear warheads, large warehouses of conventional and chemical weapons, nuclear submarines, etc.

All of the above objects in case of unforeseen situations can adversely affect the environment. And the consequences of man-made disasters can be simply disastrous for nature. Also, accidents at the above facilities can be caused by natural disasters: earthquakes, floods, storms, hurricanes, and the like. But the man-made disasters themselves are often accompanied by explosions, radiation and chemical emissions, leading to injuries and infections, fires, and collapses. All this has a negative impact on the environmental situation as a whole and in the future may lead to irreversible processes.

Protection against industrial accidents

To prevent the occurrence of man-caused emergencies, a whole range of measures of organizational, technical and legal control is carried out. This is a kind of protection against man-made disasters. The main measures to prevent such incidents are:

Hazardous objects should be located at a remote distance from residential buildings and other structures.
It is necessary to competently develop, produce and apply industrial installations. They must be safe and reliable.
Implementation of automated production safety control systems.
Improving the reliability of control systems.
Replacement of worn-out equipment and machinery on time.
Compliance with operating personnel rules for the operation of technical equipment.
Timely maintenance of machinery and equipment.
Improving fire protection and fire safety rules.
The need to reduce hazardous substances at facilities within acceptable levels.
It is necessary to comply with the necessary rules for the transport and storage of dangerous goods.
Use the results of emergency forecasts to improve security systems.

There are quite a lot of rules and various measures for the protection and prevention of man-made disasters. For each area of activity, except general measures, are prescribed purely individual.

Man-made disasters abroad

For several decades, the International Center for Epidemic and Disaster Research has been compiling a database of various emergencies. Any event is characterized as a man-made disaster if:

More than ten people died.
One hundred or more people are considered affected.
Local authorities have declared an emergency.
The affected country turned to other states for help.

Statistically, the number of man-made events has increased dramatically since the 1970s. The number of accidents in the transport sector has increased, primarily on the seas and rivers. The largest number Asia and Africa have victims. According to the International Center for Research on Epidemics and Disasters, the mortality rate from man-made accidents in industrialized countries in the period from 1994 to the present time is about one percent per one million people. For other countries, this number almost triples.

global catastrophe

The largest environmental man-made disaster is the explosion of a nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. This accident cost $200 billion in damage. And this despite the fact that the actions to eliminate the disaster are not yet half completed, despite the fact that almost thirty years have passed. Over 135,000 people and 35,000 livestock were evacuated during that period. An exclusion zone was created around the nuclear power plant, located near the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. There, nature itself copes with high levels of radiation. This zone is a kind of huge laboratory, where an experiment is being carried out as to what will happen to flora and fauna in conditions of nuclear contamination of the area.

The modern world is such that scientific progress has already reached a level where humanity can sometimes predict natural disasters. Perhaps soon we will learn to warn them. Then man-made accidents and emergencies will be less!

Emergencies in the world and Russia

Emergencies in the world.

Wars, cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, disease outbreaks, famines, radiation accidents and spills chemical substances are all emergencies that invariably have a huge impact on public health. Internal emergencies in healthcare facilities, such as fires and power or water outages, can damage buildings and equipment and impact staff and patients. Reasons for shutting down hospitals during conflicts include the forced decision of staff to leave the facility due to lack of security, as well as looting and theft of equipment and medicines.

The massive earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people in Pakistan in 2005 also destroyed many medical facilities.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused a disaster that required the evacuation and long-term displacement of hundreds of thousands of people along the US Gulf Coast. The 2005 earthquake in Pakistan triggered landslides that buried entire villages, blocked roads in many areas and left millions homeless.

In 2008, 321 natural disasters claimed the lives of 235,816 people, almost four times higher than the total annual average of casualties over the previous seven years. This increase is due to only two phenomena: according to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), Cyclone Nargis left 138,366 people dead or missing in Myanmar, and a strong earthquake in Sichuan, China, caused 87,476 deaths.

Asia, the hardest hit continent, has nine of the 10 countries with the highest number of people in the world killed by natural disasters. According to ISDR, floods, along with other weather events, continued to be the most frequent natural disasters last year. Conflicts around the world have also caused enormous human suffering and increased the strain on medical services to the extreme.

Natural disasters also have huge economic impacts. In 2008, the cost of destruction from natural disasters was estimated to be $181 billion - more than double the annual average cost in the amount of 81 billion US dollars for 2000-2007. The Sichuan earthquake is estimated to have caused approximately $85 billion in damage, while Hurricane Ike in the United States of America is estimated to have caused approximately $30 billion.

“The sharp increase in human and economic losses due to natural disasters in 2008 is alarming. The sad thing is that these losses could be largely avoided if buildings in China, especially schools and hospitals, were made more earthquake-resistant. Efficient system Early warning along with good local preparedness would also have saved many lives in Myanmar if done before Cyclone Nargis,” said Salvano Briceno, Director of the United Nations Disaster Reduction Strategy Secretariat.

Although only 11% of people at risk from natural disasters live in developing countries account for more than 55% of global deaths due to natural disasters. Differences in impact indicate that there is significant scope for reducing the number of deaths from natural disasters in developing countries, with human inaction being the main ingredient in these tragedies.

At the moment, there is a growing number of states on the east coast of America, where there is a state of emergency due to the Caribbean hurricane Irene. 65 million people in the likely disaster area.

In the state of North Carolina, heavy rains with wind gusts of up to 140 kilometers per hour raised waves of several meters in the Atlantic, as a result, some areas were flooded, 250 thousand houses without electricity.

And these are the consequences of a hurricane, which, according to forecasters, has already weakened. 1 point out of 5 possible on the danger scale.

However, forced evacuations have been announced, in particular, in New York - in those areas that are closer to the water. Will stop working soon public transport. All 3 airports do not accept planes. Several flights from Moscow to New York were canceled on 27 and 28 August 2011.

But that's only part of the picture. There are many smaller events that cause even more human suffering, such as car accidents and fires. Road crashes kill 1.2 million people every year, or more than 3,200 people a day, and an additional 20-50 million people are injured or disabled each year. At least 90% of road traffic and fire fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries. Fires alone kill 300,000 people every year.

Infectious disease outbreaks can cause emergencies with significant deaths and great suffering. During the 12 months to 31 May 2008, WHO confirmed 162 infectious disease outbreaks in 75 countries worldwide. More than a third of all outbreaks have occurred in Asia. They included cholera, other diarrheal diseases, measles, hemorrhagic fever, and other acute emerging diseases.

“The risk of outbreaks is often assumed to be very high in the chaos of natural disasters, and the fear likely comes from the perceived connection between the bodies of dead people and epidemics. However, risk factors for outbreaks after natural disasters are mainly associated with population displacement (usually associated with conflict).” Even a small number of cases of a particular disease can give the impression that people's health is at significant risk, which can lead to serious political, social and economic consequences.

Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death and illness among children in conflict areas, especially among refugees and internally displaced persons.

The people most affected by emergencies and natural disasters are in developing countries, especially in countries where poverty prevails and lack the resources needed to cope with the effects of famine, floods and earthquakes.

During disasters and emergencies, concerted action by the international community is needed. The UN is taking urgent action to assess the urgent needs of men, women and children. The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) assists agencies responsible for the delivery of humanitarian aid. Together with its key partners, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), OCHA works to distribute food, ensure access to safe water and sanitation, support community health initiatives, reopening of schools with proper infrastructure.

The World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations agency dealing with areas affected by humanitarian crises, has taken a creative approach to the difficult logistical challenge of delivering food aid. In 2005, WFP was at the forefront of all emergency operations, from Darfur and the earthquake in Pakistan to the food crisis in Niger and the tsunami response in Asia. In collaboration with national governments, other UN agencies and NGOs, WFP is conducting an Urgent Needs Assessment (NNA) to address the humanitarian crisis: How many people have been affected by the emergency? Can people feed themselves? What response would be most appropriate?

Natural disasters are devastating for all who experience them, but children suffer the most. They are more likely than adults to go missing during disasters or die from malnutrition, injury or disease. They may be orphaned or separated from their families, deprived of schooling or subjected to various forms of abuse. abuse including gender-based violence. Even as emergencies become more complex and their impact ever more devastating, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) remains determined to provide assistance to save the lives of children affected by disasters and to protect their rights in any situation. circumstances.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) coordinates international action to protect refugees and internally displaced persons in their own countries. The main task This institution is to protect the rights and ensure the well-being of internally displaced persons or those who have fled their country to escape war or violence. For example, UNHCR supported hundreds of thousands of people who fled their homes during the conflict in western Sudan and eastern Chad. While delivering items such as tents, blankets, plastic sheeting and soap to refugees in a landlocked country was a daunting logistical challenge, UNHCR programs have been able to provide people with everything they need, from temporary shelter for families to latrines , medical aid points, schools and wells.

The largest operations following the tsunami in Asia and the earthquake in Pakistan were organized by UNHCR. Thousands of displaced persons received temporary housing and assistance in organizing life in the camps.

The consequences of earthquakes, rising water levels or tsunamis are serious and long-term. Those who managed to survive face hardships due to destroyed roads, lack of food and the death of relatives. The United Nations' International Strategy for Disaster Reduction provides assistance in post-disaster rehabilitation. The strategy, which is based on partnership, takes a global approach to the task of reducing the risk of natural disasters. This includes the involvement of individuals and communities in the elimination of social, economic and environmental damage caused by natural disasters.

Emergencies in Russia.

1. Natural and man-made emergencies, their possible consequences

An emergency situation (ES) is a situation in a certain territory or water area that has developed as a result of an accident, natural hazard, catastrophe, natural or other disaster that may or have caused human casualties, damage to human health or the environment, significant material loss and disruption of people's living conditions.

On the surface of the Earth and in the layers of the atmosphere adjacent to it, many complex physical, physicochemical, biochemical, geodynamic, heliophysical, hydrodynamic and other processes occur, accompanied by the exchange and mutual transformation of various types of energy. These processes underlie the evolution of the Earth, being the source of constant transformations in the appearance of our planet. A person is not able to stop or change the course of these processes, he can only predict their development and in some cases influence their dynamics.

Russia, which has an extremely wide variety of geological, climatic and landscape conditions, is exposed to more than 30 types of natural hazards. The most destructive of them are floods, waterlogging, erosion, earthquakes, landslides, mudflows, karsts, suffusions, rock bursts, snow avalanches, hurricanes, storm winds, tornadoes, severe frosts, various frozen phenomena. Earthquakes are the most dangerous. In recent years alone, more than 120 earthquakes have occurred on the territory of the Russian Federation. Two of them - in the Kuril Islands on October 4, 1994 and in the village. Neftegorsk on May 27, 1995 were very strong and led to human casualties, severe destruction of social and industrial infrastructure in epicentral regions, as well as to gaps, cracks, landslides and other deformations of the earth's surface.

Other hazards of geological origin include landslides, landslides, mudflows, abrasion, processing of reservoir banks, and permafrost processes. The possibility of damage by landslides and mudflows to the territories of certain regions of the North Caucasus, the Volga region, Transbaikalia and Sakhalin reaches 70–80% of their total area. More than 700 cities in the country are affected by these processes. The total annual damage from them is tens of billions of rubles. Relatively less dangerous due to smaller volumes and speeds of simultaneous movement of masses rocks and water are the processes of planar and ravine erosion, processing of the banks of reservoirs and seas, and swelling of soils. They do not lead to the death of people, but the economic losses from their development can be comparable (as a rule, due to the irreversible loss of land) with natural disasters. In some years, the damage from these processes can amount to 8–9 billion dollars.

Of the atmospheric processes, the most devastating and dangerous are squalls, hurricanes, typhoons, hail, tornadoes, heavy rains, thunderstorms, snowstorms and snowfalls, which often affect some areas. Far East(Magadan region and Sakhalin), and in the European part of Russia - Bryansk, Kaluga, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov region and Republic of Mordovia.

Of all natural processes and phenomena, floods, tropical storms, droughts and earthquakes cause the greatest economic damage, they are also the most dangerous for human life and health.

An analysis of the development of natural hazards today allows us to conclude that, despite scientific and technological progress, the protection of people and the material sphere from formidable phenomena and processes of nature does not increase. The annual increase in the number of deaths from natural disasters in the world is 4.3%, affected - 8.6%, and the amount of material damage - 10.4%.

Technogenic dangers and threats humanity felt and realized a little later than natural ones. Only with the achievement of a certain stage in the development of the technosphere, man-made disasters invaded human life, the sources of which are accidents and man-made disasters. The danger of the technosphere for the population and the environment is due to the presence in industry, energy and public utilities of a large number of radiation, chemical, biological, fire and explosive technologies and industries. There are about 45 thousand such industries in Russia alone. The possibility of accidents at them is currently aggravated a high degree depreciation of fixed production assets, failure to carry out the necessary repair and maintenance work, a drop in production and technological discipline.

1. Radiation hazardous objects

There are 10 nuclear power plants (NPPs), 113 nuclear research facilities, 12 fuel cycle industrial enterprises, 8 research organizations working with nuclear materials, 9 nuclear ships with their support facilities, as well as about 13 thousand other enterprises and organizations in Russia. operating with the use of radioactive substances and products based on them. Almost all nuclear power plants are located in the densely populated European part of the country. More than 4 million people live in their 30-kilometer zones. In addition, the system of disposal of nuclear waste produced at these facilities poses a great danger to the population.

2. Chemically hazardous objects

In the Russian Federation, there are more than 3.3 thousand economic facilities that have significant amounts of emergency chemically hazardous substances (AHOV). More than 50% of them use ammonia, about 35% - chlorine, 5% - hydrochloric acid. Up to several thousand AHOV can be located at separate objects at the same time. The total stock of AHOV at the enterprises of the country reaches 700 thousand tons. Many of these enterprises are located in major cities with a population of over 100 thousand people or near them. These are primarily enterprises of the chemical, petrochemical and oil refining industries.

3 Fire and explosion hazardous objects

In our country, there are over 8 thousand fire and explosion hazardous facilities. Most often, explosions and fires occur at the enterprises of the chemical, petrochemical and oil refining industries. They lead, as a rule, to the destruction of industrial and residential buildings, the defeat of production personnel and the population, and significant material damage.

4 Gas and oil pipelines

Currently, more than 200 thousand km of main oil pipelines, about 350 thousand km of field pipelines, 800 compressor and oil pumping stations are in operation at the enterprises of the oil and gas industry, in geological exploration organizations. Most of main gas pipelines, oil pipelines and oil products pipelines was put into operation in the 60-70s. last century. Therefore, today the share of oil pipelines with a service life of more than 20 years is 73%, of which a significant part has been in operation for more than 30 years. It follows from this that the existing network of oil pipelines has largely exhausted its resource and requires serious reconstruction. The main causes of pipeline accidents are underground corrosion of metal (21%), defective construction and installation works (21), defects in pipes and equipment (14), mechanical damage (19%).

5 Transport

Every year, more than 3.5 billion tons of cargo is transported in the Russian Federation by various modes of transport, including about 50% by rail, 39% by road, 8% by inland waterways, and 3% by sea. Daily transportation of people exceeds 100 million people: by rail - 47%, by road - 37, by aviation - 15, by river and sea vessels - 1%. The most dangerous road transport, during the operation of which an average of 33,415 people die. per 1 billion passenger kilometers. For comparison, in aviation this figure is 1,065 people. In railway accidents, human losses are much lower. It should also be noted that transport is a serious source of danger not only for passengers, but also for the population living in the areas of transport highways, since they transport a large amount of flammable, chemical, radioactive, explosive and other substances that pose a threat to life and health in an accident. of people. Such substances make up about 12% of the total volume of cargo transportation.

6 Hydraulic structures

At present, more than 30,000 reservoirs (including 60 large reservoirs with a capacity of more than 1 billion m3) and several hundred reservoirs of industrial effluents and wastes are in operation on the territory of the Russian Federation. Hydraulic structures at 200 reservoirs and 56 waste collectors are in emergency condition (they have been in operation without reconstruction for more than 50 years), which can create many problems. They are located, as a rule, within or upstream of large settlements, and all are objects of increased risk. Their destruction can lead to catastrophic flooding of vast territories, many cities, villages and economic facilities, to a long-term cessation of navigation, agricultural and fishing production.

7 Public utilities

About 2,370 water supply and 1,050 sewerage pumping stations, approximately 138,000 transformer substations, and over 51,000 boiler houses function in the housing and communal services of our country. The length of water supply networks is approximately 185 thousand km, heat (in two-pipe terms) - 101 thousand km and sewerage - about 105 thousand km.

About 120 major accidents occur annually at public utilities facilities, the material damage from which amounts to tens of billions of rubles. In recent years, every second accident occurred in networks and heat supply facilities, and every fifth - in water supply and sewerage systems.

The main causes of man-made accidents and disasters are as follows:

The complexity of production is increasing, often this is due to the use of new technologies that require high concentrations of energy, substances hazardous to human life and that have a strong impact on the components of the environment;

The reliability of production equipment and vehicles decreases due to a high degree of wear;

Violation of technological and labor discipline, low level of training of workers in the field of safety.

In addition, sometimes the causes of a number of accidents and man-made disasters are various hazardous natural processes and phenomena.

Measures to prevent the occurrence and development of emergency situations

Prevention of emergencies both in terms of their prevention (reducing the likelihood of occurrence), and in terms of reducing losses and damage from them (mitigating the consequences) is carried out in the following areas:

Monitoring and forecasting of emergency situations;

Rational distribution of productive forces and settlements on the territory of the country, taking into account natural and technogenic safety;

Prevention, within the possible limits, of certain adverse and dangerous natural phenomena and processes by systematically reducing the accumulating destructive potential;

Prevention of accidents and man-made disasters by increasing technological safety production processes and operational reliability of equipment;

Development and implementation of engineering and technical measures aimed at preventing the occurrence of sources of emergency situations, mitigating their consequences, protecting the population and material resources;

Training of production personnel and improvement of technological and labor discipline;

Preparation of objects of the economy and life support systems of the population for work in emergency situations;

Declaration of industrial safety;

Licensing of the activities of hazardous production facilities;

Carrying out state expertise in the field of prevention of emergency situations;

State supervision and control on issues of natural and technogenic safety;

Liability insurance for causing harm during the operation of a hazardous production facility;

Informing the population about potential natural and man-made threats in the territory of residence;

Training of the population in the field of protection against emergency situations of peacetime and wartime.

Bibliography:

Civil protection: conceptual and terminological dictionary / Ed. Yu.L.Vorobeva. – M.: Odlayst, 2001.

Organization and conduct of civil defense and protection of the population and territories from natural and man-made emergencies Ed. G. N. Kirillova. - M .: Institute of Security and Risk, 2002.

Smirnov A. T., Vasnev V. A. Fundamentals of military service: tutorial. M.: Bustard, 2004.

It is terrible to realize how much evil man has done to himself and the planet on which he lives. Most of the damage has been done by large industrial corporations that don't think about the level of danger of their activities in order to make a profit. And it’s especially scary that disasters also occurred as a result of tests different kind weapons, including nuclear weapons. We offer 15 of the biggest disasters in the world caused by man.

15. Castle Bravo (March 1, 1954)

The United States carried out a test explosion in March 1954 nuclear weapons in Bikini Atoll, located near the Marshall Islands. It was a thousand times more powerful than the explosion on Hiroshima, Japan. This was part of an experiment by the US government. The damage caused by the explosion was catastrophic for the environment over an area of 11265.41 km2. 655 representatives of the fauna were destroyed.

14. Disaster in Seveso (July 10, 1976)

An industrial disaster near Milan, Italy resulted from the release of toxic chemicals into the environment. During the production cycle, when receiving trichlorophenol, a dangerous cloud of harmful compounds entered the atmosphere. The release instantly had a detrimental effect on the flora and fauna of the territory adjacent to the plant. The company concealed the fact of leakage of chemicals for 10 days. Cases of cancer have increased, as was later proven by studies of dead animals. Residents of the small town of Seveso began to experience frequent cases of heart pathologies and respiratory diseases.

The meltdown of part of a nuclear reactor on Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, USA, released an unknown amount of radioactive gases and iodine into the environment. The accident was due to a series of human errors and mechanical failures. There was much debate about the scale of pollution, but the authorities withheld specific figures so as not to raise a panic. They argued that the release was insignificant and could not harm the flora and fauna. However, in 1997, the data was re-examined, and it was concluded that those who lived near the reactor had 10 times more manifestations of cancer and leukemia than others.

12. Oil spill from the tanker Exxon Valdes (March 24, 1989)

An accident on an Exxon Valdez tanker has spilled into the ocean off Alaska great amount oil, which led to the pollution of 2092.15 km of the coastline. As a result, irreparable damage to the ecosystem was caused. And to date, it has not been restored. In 2010, the US government claimed that 32 species were harmed. wildlife and only 13 species have been restored. Could not restore the subspecies of killer whales and Pacific herring.

The explosion and flooding of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico at the Macondo field led to the fact that there was a leak of oil and gas in the amount of 4.9 million barrels. According to scientists, this accident was the largest in US history and claimed 11 lives of platform workers. The inhabitants of the ocean were also harmed. Until now, violations of the ecosystem of the bay are noted.

10 Love Canal Disaster (1978)

In Niagara Falls, New York, about a hundred houses and local school were built on the site of industrial and chemical waste dumps. Over time, the chemicals seeped into the upper layers of the soil and water. People began to notice that some black swampy spots appeared near the houses. When they did the analysis, they found the content of eighty-two chemical compounds, eleven of which were carcinogenic. Among the diseases of the inhabitants of the Love Canal, such serious diseases as leukemia began to appear, and 98 families had children with serious pathologies.

9. Chemical pollution in Anniston, Alabama (1929-1971)

In Anniston, in the area where the agricultural and biotech giant Monsanto first produced cancer-causing substances, they were inexplicably released into Snow Creek. The population of Anniston suffered greatly. As a result of exposure, the percentage of diabetes and other pathologies has increased. Monsanto paid $700 million in damages and rescues in 2002.

During the military conflict in the Persian Gulf in Kuwait, Saddam Hussein set fire to 600 oil wells to create a poisonous smoke screen for as much as 10 months. It is believed that between 600 and 800 tons of oil burned daily. About five percent of the territory of Kuwait was covered with soot, livestock died from lung diseases, and the number of cancer cases increased in the country.

7. Zilin chemical plant explosion (November 13, 2005)

There were several powerful explosions at the Zilin Chemical Plant. A huge amount of benzene and nitrobenzene, which has a detrimental toxic effect, was released into the environment. The disaster resulted in the death of six people and the injury of seventy.

6 Pollution Times Beach, Missouri (December 1982)

The spraying of oil containing toxic dioxin led to the complete destruction of a small town in Missouri. The method was used as an alternative to irrigation to keep dust off the roads. The situation worsened when, as a result of flooding the city with the waters of the Meremek River, toxic oil spread along the entire coast. Residents were exposed to dioxin and reported immune and muscle problems.

For five days, smoke from coal burning and factory emissions covered London in a dense layer. The fact is that cold weather has come and the residents massively began to heat the stoves with coal to warm the houses. A combination of industrial and public air emissions resulted in thick fog and poor visibility, and 12,000 people died from inhaling toxic fumes.

4 The Poisoning Of Minamata Bay, Japan (1950s)

In 37 years of plastics production, the petrochemical company Chisso Corporation has dumped 27 tons of the metal mercury into the waters of Minamata Bay. Because the inhabitants used it to fish, unaware of the chemical spills, the mercury-poisoned fish caused serious health damage to babies born to mothers who ate fish from the Minamata, and killed more than 900 people in the region.

3. Bhopal Disaster (December 2, 1984)

The whole world knows about radiation contamination as a result of a nuclear reactor accident and a fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. It has been called the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history. About a million people died due to the consequences of a nuclear disaster, mainly from cancer and due to exposure to high level radiation.

After the magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, nuclear plant Fukushima Daiichi was left without electricity and lost the ability to cool nuclear reactors. This led to radioactive contamination of a large territory and water area. About two hundred thousand residents were evacuated due to fear of serious illnesses as a result of exposure. The disaster once again made scientists think about the dangers of atomic energy and the need to develop