# Your city's biggest DISASTER



## im_from_zw038 (Dec 5, 2003)

What was your cities biggest DISASTER ever? Like an earthquake of tornado, tsunami or perhaps a big fire? Were there terrorismattacks? War? Riots? Did someone famous get murdered of was there a serial killer active?

tell me


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## JoHaN 15 (Apr 11, 2008)

Our city has been hit by the worst disaster known to mankind... Tuscan styled suburban sprawl 

It has ravaged the beautiful landscape and has replaced nice apartments with cheap and tacky tuscan styled villa's. Only a fire, earthquake or tornado can save us now


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## AltinD (Jul 15, 2004)

Global Financial Crisis (Dubai) ... and the 24 hours non-stop rain back in Jan 2008, just after Dub-ya Bush's visit.


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## Patrick (Sep 11, 2002)

I guess there was a fire in my city back in 1618 or so.


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## Alterlee (Jan 30, 2007)

Belgrade was besieged 115 times and razed to the ground 44 times, so take your pick.


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## Lissabona (Feb 24, 2008)

Earthquake in 1755 followed by a huge fire and then a tsunami wave


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## Victhor (Sep 11, 2002)

Appart from wars, from a british newspaper



> British children injured in Costa del Sol car bombings
> 
> By Elizabeth Nash in Seville
> 
> ...


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## seattle92 (Dec 25, 2008)

*1755 Lisbon earthquake*

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, took place on Saturday 1 November 1755, at around 10:24 in the morning.[1] The earthquake was followed by a tsunami and fires, which caused near-total destruction of Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and adjoining areas. Geologists today estimate the Lisbon earthquake approached magnitude 9 on the moment magnitude scale, with an epicenter in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 km (120 mi) west-southwest of Cape St. Vincent. Estimates place the death toll in Lisbon alone between 10,000 and 100,000 people,[2] making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in history.
The earthquake accentuated political tensions in the Kingdom of Portugal and profoundly disrupted the country's eighteenth-century colonial ambitions. The event was widely discussed and dwelt upon by European Enlightenment philosophers, and inspired major developments in theodicy and in the philosophy of the sublime. As the first earthquake studied scientifically for its effects over a large area, it led to the birth of modern seismology and earthquake engineering.

























http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1755_Lisbon_earthquake


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## nerdly_dood (Mar 23, 2007)

The flood of 1985 - mention it to anyone in Roanoke and they'll immediately know what you're talking about. There's a line marking the high water line in the Roanoke Wiener Stand in downtown Roanoke. Picture can be seen here.


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## .D. (Apr 8, 2010)

my town biggest disaster is this..

slow driving elderly people....and absolute danger to everyone..:runaway:


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## Walbanger (Jan 10, 2006)

The Fremantle Dockers.









Seriously though, nothing close to what I'd call a disaster has happened to Perth. Building damage in 1968 from the Meckering Earthquake which was only 6.9 (4th largest recorded in Australia).









Pushed by a Cold Front, Cyclone Alby became Extra-tropical and hit the South West of Western Australia in 1978. Damage was more minor and wide spread than a devastating focused hit, 5 people died. The Perth Beaches have never recovered their former positions which has made Perth metro relatively fickle for Surfing when once it was pretty good.









We had a pretty exciting hail storm in March this year which is by far the most expensive natural "disaster" to hit Perth which so far has cost $700 million and climbing.

















Pre European settlement, the Perth area may have been hit by 2 Megatsunami 4000 and 3000 years ago, created by a landslide off Reunion into the Indian Ocean and another created by a Astroid or Comet which formed the Burckle Crater in the Indian Ocean.

The most likely disasters to effect Perth would be a Bush Firestorm like what hit Victoria recently and Prolonged Drought.


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## Svartmetall (Aug 5, 2007)

JoHaN 15 said:


> Our city has been hit by the worst disaster known to mankind... Tuscan styled suburban sprawl
> 
> It has ravaged the beautiful landscape and has replaced nice apartments with cheap and tacky tuscan styled villa's. Only a fire, earthquake or tornado can save us now


I'd say you got bigger issues with Prawns matey. Severe shortages of cat food in Pretoria!


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## girlicious_likeme (Jun 12, 2008)

Perhaps the melting permafrost. Other than that, there was a tornado. And, there's always the threat of forest fires.


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## JoHaN 15 (Apr 11, 2008)

Svartmetall said:


> I'd say you got bigger issues with Prawns matey. Severe shortages of cat food in Pretoria!


Don't worry, they're all locked away in the new District 10 :yes:


PS (D9 did so much for SA's image. Moved away from the "lions in backyard" to alien apartheid )


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

*Copenhagen Fire of 1728*










28% of the city destroyed ( 47% of the Old Town ) - 20% of the city made homeless - burned for 60 hours..


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## Turknology (Jan 31, 2007)

Our city mayor.

Though somewhere in the 60s or something I think a passenger plane crashed into the city center or something like that.


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## Lost Cosmonaut (Feb 10, 2005)

The last election.


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## cphdude (Apr 18, 2004)

FREKI said:


> *Copenhagen Fire of 1728*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


In tearms of damage, the fire of 1795 was also pretty bad, but it was nothing against the dammage and civilian losses of the British bombardment of the city of Copenhagen. A campaign designed to specificly target civilians and private property and houses, because the brits feared that Denmark would join forces with Napoleon.


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## gabrielbabb (Aug 11, 2006)

1985 Earthquake in Mexico


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## isakres (May 13, 2009)

Maybe is currently happening  but im not sure yet.

Hurricane Alex / Monterrey.

http://www.milenio.com/node/477754


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## shreyas1684 (Jul 23, 2006)

G20 toronto..

i dont need to explain that, should i..


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## Infestus (Dec 27, 2009)

For Vienna, WW2.


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## Tin_Can (Jun 17, 2009)

World War 2 and Russian bombing raids on Tallinn (it was occupied by Germans back then). Bombing resulted firestorm in which around 1/3 of all buildings were destroyed. 554 dead,659 wounded and around 20000 people were left homeless.


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## ukiyo (Aug 5, 2008)

The Great Hanshin Earthquake, which I lived thru.

6,434 killed, around 300,000 left homeless.


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## ukiyo (Aug 5, 2008)

This is the most famous video from the hanshin earthquake.

The man is looking at his house, wondering if his wife and 2 sons died. One of his sons comes later in the video on his motorcycle and tells the dad that his wife (mom) is dead, but the other son is in the hospital.

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






It can make me cry everytime I watch it.

BTW there's a mistranslation the son says "you can't get her out unless rescue comes here".


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## mgk920 (Apr 21, 2007)

Appleton, WI has been pretty unscathed over its history, but the USA's worst ever fire happened only a short distance to the north - a forest firestorm that killed an estimated 2000 people on 1871-10-08.

http://www.peshtigofire.info/



(BTW, there are persistent rumors of a deadly firestorm that hit a major city to the south on that same day, too.)

Mike


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## Marcanadian (May 7, 2005)

For Toronto, maybe the Great Fire of 1904, which destroyed 104 buildings but thankfully left no one killed.











In terms of fatalities, Hurricane Hazel in 1954 killed 81 people.


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## Köbtke (Jun 29, 2005)

NihonKitty said:


> This is the most famous video from the hanshin earthquake.
> 
> The man is looking at his house, wondering if his wife and 2 sons died. One of his sons comes later in the video on his motorcycle and tells the dad that his wife (mom) is dead, but the other son is in the hospital.
> 
> ...


Wow. That's harsh 

It's always the worst - and it's what relly makes you get what disasters on a big scale means - when you see personal reports and stories from the areas.

Anyway, no disasters really in modern times in Copenhagen. We even got through WW2 pretty much uscathed. As FREKI and Cphdude posted though we had some large fires but a few centuries ago. But thankfully Denmark is pretty void of natural disaster and such. The worst we get is a hurricane here and there but it's usually nothing major.


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## HK999 (Jul 17, 2009)

hmm for HK i would say the typhoon in 1937, see also here:

Great Hong Kong Typhoon of 1937

11000 people were killed.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

*1999 Athens earthquake*

The 1999 Athens earthquake, registering a moment magnitude of 6.0, occurred on September 7, 1999, at 2:56:50 pm local time and lasted approximately 15 seconds: more than 100 buildings (including three major factories) across Athens areas collapsed, 143 people lost their lives and more than 2,000 were treated for injuries


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## Walbanger (Jan 10, 2006)

christos-greece said:


> The 1999 Athens earthquake, registering a moment magnitude of 6.0, occurred on September 7, 1999, at 2:56:50 pm local time and lasted approximately 15 seconds: more than 100 buildings (including three major factories) across Athens areas collapsed, 143 people lost their lives and more than 2,000 were treated for injuries


Yeah?
I would have thought the Plague of Athens during the Peloponnessian War was pretty devastating. Definitley historically significant.


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## GTR22 (Nov 14, 2007)

Definitely the 1906 Earthquake, everyone knows that.. also the explosion of NIMBYism that prevents anything from getting done is also a major disaster.


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## ThatDarnSacramentan (Oct 26, 2008)

We've been hit by floods, disease outbreaks, tornadoes, hail the size of baseballs, and raging California wildfires. It's like nature is saying something . . .

Oh, and I almost forgot: DE GOVERNATOR!


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## Quintana (Dec 27, 2005)

*The Hague*
On March 3, 1945 the British RAF set out to bombard a German V2 rocket launch site in a forest near the city. The bombers missed their target by over a kilometre and flattened a residential area killing over 550 and severely injuring over 250. Thousands of people were left homeless.


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## -:UberMann:- (Dec 9, 2009)

In the 4th century Xitle volcano erupted and buried one antecesor of Mexico City


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## nature's message (Jun 17, 2009)

Definitely when the Allies bombed Munich.


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## Oaronuviss (Dec 11, 2002)

Windsor has had fires that destroyed most of the early city in the 1800s, other than that, we've had some tornados, but the death toll has never toppled 20.

Lucky city.


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## Get Smart (Oct 6, 2008)

In london, i clearly remember the July 7th 2005 bombings like it was yesterday, the frentic telephone calls to find if every one is okay.


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## *Jarrod (Mar 30, 2005)

Oaronuviss said:


> Windsor has had fires that destroyed most of the early city in the 1800s, other than that, we've had some tornados, but the death toll has never toppled 20.
> 
> Lucky city.


I have to say that Canada is a relatively safe country as far as natural disasters *knock on wood*

But for Edmonton it has to be the tornado in 1987 which killed 27 people

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton_Tornado


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## JoHaN 15 (Apr 11, 2008)

South Africa is the safest.


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## bob rulz (Oct 20, 2005)

Nothing truly significant has ever occurred in Salt Lake City.

I can think of three off the top of my head:

*1) Flood of 1983*
Snowmelt from one of the wettest winters on record overflowed several city rivers and forced several main city streets downtown to be sandbagged and turned into rivers in June 1983. That same year, the Great Salt Lake reached record high levels, forcing a freeway that goes over a corner of the lake to be raised, nearly flooding the airport, isolating many residential areas, and destroying a newly-opened resort.

http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/utah_today/floods.html










































However, as far as I know, nobody was actually killed during these floods, at least not in Salt Lake. There was a mudslide in the mountains that blocked a river and caused the complete destruction of the town of Thistle, Utah, although it was a very slow process and there was plenty of time to evacuate everybody:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thistle,_Utah#Landslide

This is an image that compares the Great Salt Lake near peak water level in the '80s (left) and near record low levels in 2002 (right):









*2) Tornado of 1999*
On August 11, 1999, an F2 tornado moved directly over downtown Salt Lake City, killing 1 person, injuring 60, and causing $170 million in damage. It was only the 2nd tornado fatality in Utah's history (the other occurring in 1887 I think).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Salt_Lake_City_tornado
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/slc/climate/tornado.php


















































*3) Trolley Square Mall shooting*
There was a shooter in a city mall that killed 5 people and injured 4 more before being shot dead by an off-duty police officer on February 12, 2007.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_Square_shooting

*Earthquake threat*
We live along a fault line in a relatively earthquake-prone area, but since the valley was settled there haven't been any major earthquakes. However, they have said that the fault line below Salt Lake City is capable of supporting an earthquake up to magnitude 7.3 - 7.5 and that a powerful enough earthquake could displace the Great Salt Lake further south, causing significant, possibly permanent, damage.

I cannot recall any major fires or other disasters of any sort early in the city's history that are worth noting.


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## JoHaN 15 (Apr 11, 2008)

Well actually the biggest "disaster" my city experiences is the annual flooding of the Hennops river which inundates two low water bridges near my school. In extreme cases the water pushes 10-20m inland but this only floods parkland next to the river as most of the homes are built at least 30m away from the river (smart thinking)


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## spotila (Oct 29, 2004)

*Napier, New Zealand*

The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, also known as the Napier earthquake, occurred in New Zealand at 10:47 am on Tuesday February 3, 1931, killing 256 and devastating the Hawke's Bay region. Centred 15 km north of Napier, it lasted for two and a half minutes and measured about 7.8 on the Richter scale (7.9 on the moment magnitude scale). There were 525 aftershocks recorded in the following two weeks.

Nearly all buildings in the central areas of Napier and Hastings were levelled (The Dominion noted that "Napier as a town has been wiped off the map")
The earthquake prompted a thorough review of New Zealand building codes, which were found to be totally inadequate. Many buildings built during the 1930s and 1940s are heavily reinforced, although more recent research has developed other strengthening techniques. To this day there are few buildings in Hawke's Bay taller than five stories, and as most of Napier's rebuilding took place in the 1930s when Art Deco was fashionable, Napier architecture is regarded today as being one of the finest collections of Art Deco in the world.


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## -:UberMann:- (Dec 9, 2009)

Shit a lot of patrimony lost because of ww2, you must be very upset with the nazis...


/---------------------------------------


And for my city the spanish invasion, they destroyed everything.


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## -Corey- (Jul 8, 2005)

2007 Great San Diego Fire. Worst disaster ever in San Diego, CA. More than 4.000 homes burnt.


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## AdnanPD (Jul 6, 2008)

The Bosnian war is for sure the greatest disaster for my hometown Prijedor.

Almost 4.000 civilians were killed, around 10.000 households destroyed and 50.000 people displaced without their consensus.


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## He Named Thor (Feb 15, 2008)

Much of the city of Fond du Lac was under water in 2008 (actually, much of the state of Wisconsin was under water). Melting snow added to torrential rains. Many buildings today are still being torn down as a result of having been condemned as unsafe. 










More photos: http://www.alliantenergy.com/Newsroom/MediaKitsPhotoGalleries/016763


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## Aan (Nov 5, 2007)

-:UberMann:- said:


> Shit a lot of patrimony lost because of ww2, you must be very upset with the nazis...


not really, as I said our own allies (Americans/Britons) killed 40 percent of population of our town in WW2, Nazis killed almost nobody in our town compared to allies and it was btw. completely unnecessary, they just needed to destroy important railway but they destroyed almost whole town, well we know american precision from afghanistan, vietnam or iraq so it's not surprising we are part of this history of their bombing


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## Xpressway (Dec 2, 2006)

Santiago, Chile:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Company_Fire 2000-3000 people died in 1863.


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## hemarookworst (Sep 9, 2009)

Rotterdam, Netherlands

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotterdam_Blitz 

It destroyed the city centre.


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## Dahlis (Aug 29, 2008)

1520 Stockholm bloodbath










Mass executions on stortorget ordered by the danish king Kristian the tyrant.


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## gabrielbabb (Aug 11, 2006)

MONTERREY
2009
Santa Catarina antes de Alex:












2010
Despues:
















































































[/


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## Skyrazer (Sep 9, 2009)

Canberra - 2003 bushfires:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Canberra_bushfires

4 dead and over 500 homes destroyed.


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## Hasse78 (Dec 5, 2006)

My hometown Södertälje beeing burnt down by the russians in 1719.


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

Back in Iowa, the biggest thing to happen near my hometown was the flooding of Cedar Rapids back in 2008.

It's a city of 120,000, and roughly 4,000 houses as well as the entire central area of the city were flooded by over 3 meters of water. Places were flooded beyond repair in areas that for the past 150 years were certain to never flood.




























The flood swamped and basically destroyed the main police station, fire station, city utilities, library, federal facilities, city facilities, cultural and museum facilities, etc.


They didn't even get to sandbag or react against the flood because the degree was so far beyond anything imaginable. People just watched in shock and horror as the water never stopped rising for days.


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## Karasek (Apr 6, 2008)

*Seven Years' War.* 
1757 Austrian troops destroyed 80% of the town.












*German reunification*. 
After 1989 the number of inhabitants dropped from 39.000 to less than 20.000 in just 20 years, which are preindustrial numbers. All houses built after 1870 are pretty much redundant now and a lot of them will get destroyed in the coming years.


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## julesstoop (Sep 11, 2002)

On januari 12, 1807 a ship loaded with gunpowder exploded in the centre of Leiden.










220 houses were completely destroyed, 151 people died and over 2000 were wounded. Roof tiles and windows were smashed all over the then 4 km. sq. city. The explosion itself was heard in the Hague. Nowadays the site is still recognizable as a park and a number of large large - atypical - 19th en 20th. century buildings occupy it. Google maps link


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## CNGL (Jun 10, 2010)

For my small city are:
The explosion of a flour plant (Harinera, as we say in Spanish), in April 2004 (I don't remember), caused by a thundestorm, and the gas explosion registered in a building last year on April 23th.
On the first one 3 people died and 11 were injured. On the second I can't remember exactly, but I believe were 2 deaths and 4 injured. 

Oh, and the civil war of 1936-1939.


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

*Halifax, Nova Scotia* * - The Halifax Explosion* 
















http://www.prorev.com/98HALIFAX EXPLOSION.jpg
http://www.halifaxinfo.com/images/explosion.jpg

The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows" section of the Halifax Harbour. About 2,000 people were killed by debris, fires, or collapsed buildings, and it is estimated that over 9,000 people were injured. As many as 250 people's eyes needed to be removed as they were mutilated by flying glass.

1,630 homes were completely destroyed, many by fires that quickly spread following the explosion; 12,000 houses were damaged; 6,000 people were left without shelter. Hardly a pane of glass in Halifax and Dartmouth was left intact. News of the disaster reached Boston the same morning. Help poured in from all over Canada and many parts of the world, with the continuing generosity from the US State of Massachusetts. To this day, Nova Scotia sends a giant Christmas Tree which graces Prudential Plaza in Boston as a token of appreciation for their efforts in Nova Scotia's time of need.

This still ranks as the world's largest man-made accidental explosion.


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## Uaarkson (Feb 11, 2009)

I've read that the Halifax Explosion was stronger than some early nuclear bomb tests. Terrifying.


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