Encyclopedia of Disasters [Two Volumes]: Environmental Catastrophes and Human Tragedies vol 1

Disasters can strike at any time. From the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius to Hurricane Katrina, floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes and other natural disasters have caused tremendous loss of life, human suffering, and environmental catastrophe. The complex technological and social changes of the last few centuries have not only intensified the impact of such natural disasters, but have added new introduced new reasons to be concerned - plane crashes, bombings, industrial accidents, genocides. Calling some disasters natural and others man-made downplays the important interrelationship between the event and human actions. Human actions - or inactions - can catapult a natural phenomenon into a deadly catastrophe. Likewise, nature can be terribly disrupted by events that are created by humans. Encyclopedia of Disasters covers over 180 of the most important disasters in history. Arranged chronologically, the encyclopedia includes entries on those disasters that have had the greatest historical, environmental, and cultural impact: The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, which destroyed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum; the London Fire of 1666, which flattened much of London and allowed the rebuilding of the city; the influenza epidemic of 1918, which killed millions; the 1964 Prince William Sound earthquake in Alaska, which caused death and destruction as far away as Hawaii; the worst nuclear power plant accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1964, that has rendered the surrounding landscape uninhabitable; and the 2004 earthquake that created a tsunami that killed thousands in Sumatra. Each entry includes a list of readings for additional research, and the encyclopedia is illustrated with numerous photos and line illustrations that show the destruction and despair caused by these disasters. --Volume 1-- Title Page......Page 3 Contents......Page 5 Credits for Illustrations......Page 11 Guide to Thematic Entries......Page 17 Preface......Page 23 Acknowledgments......Page 27 Introduction......Page 29 1. Supervolcano Toba, Indonesia, 74000 BC......Page 65 2. Rome, Italy, fire, 64......Page 69 3. Pompeii, Italy, volcanic eruption, 79......Page 75 4. Alexandria, Egypt, tsunami, 365......Page 81 5. Antioch, Syria (now Antakya, Turkey), earthquake, 526......Page 85 6. Constantinople, Byzantine Empire, Black Death plague, 542......Page 90 7. Corinth, Greece, earthquake, 856......Page 96 8. Damghan, Persia, earthquake, 856......Page 98 9. Aleppo, Syria, earthquake, 1138......Page 102 10. Shaanxi, China, earthquake, 1556......Page 105 11. Arequipa, Peru, volcanic eruption, 1600......Page 110 12. London, England, Black Death plague, 1665......Page 116 13. London, England, fire, 1666......Page 122 14. Port Royal, Jamaica, earthquake, 1692......Page 127 15. Cascadia earthquake, 1700......Page 132 16. Lisbon, Portugal, earthquake and tsunami, 1755......Page 139 17. Massachusetts offshore earthquake, 1755......Page 145 18. Bengal, India, famine, 1770......Page 147 19. Connecticut earthquake, 1791......Page 152 20. New Madrid, Missouri, earthquakes, 1811 and 1812......Page 154 21. West Ventura, California, earthquake, 1812......Page 159 22. Tambora, Indonesia, volcanic eruption, 1815......Page 162 23. Natchez, Mississippi, tornado, 1840......Page 167 24. Fort Tejon, California, earthquake, 1857......Page 170 25. Calcutta, India, cyclone, 1864......Page 175 26. Kau, Hawaii, earthquake, 1868......Page 178 27. Chicago, Illinois, fire, 1871......Page 183 28. Owens Valley, California, earthquake, 1872......Page 186 29. Bangladesh cyclone, 1876......Page 188 30. Marshfield, Missouri, tornado, 1880......Page 190 31. Georgia/South Carolina hurricane, 1881......Page 192 32. Haiphong, Vietnam, typhoon, 1881......Page 194 33. Krakatau, Indonesia, volcanic eruption, 1883......Page 196 34. Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake, 1886......Page 201 35. Yellow River, China, flood, 1887......Page 205 36. Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood, 1889......Page 209 37. Louisville, Kentucky, tornado, 1890......Page 215 38. Japan earthquake, 1891......Page 217 39. Imperial Valley, California, earthquake, 1892......Page 219 40. Georgia/South Carolina hurricane, 1893......Page 220 41. Louisiana hurricane, 1893......Page 222 42. St. Louis, Missouri, tornado, 1896......Page 224 43. Sanriku, Japan, earthquake and tsunami, 1896......Page 227 44. Assam, India, earthquake, 1897......Page 229 45. Eureka, California, earthquake, 1899......Page 232 46. New Richmond, Wisconsin, tornado, 1899......Page 233 47. Yakutat, Alaska, earthquake, 1899......Page 235 48. Galveston, Texas, hurricane, 1900......Page 240 49. Cook Inlet, Alaska, earthquake, 1901......Page 245 50. Mount Pelee volcanic eruption, 1902......Page 250 51. Goliad, Texas, tornado, 1902......Page 256 52. Santa Maria, Guatemala, volcanic eruption, 1902......Page 259 53. Turtle Mountain, Alberta, Canada, landslide, 1903......Page 261 54. Chicago, Illinois, fire, 1903......Page 266 55. St. Petersburg, Russia, revolution, 1905......Page 273 56. Mongolia earthquake, 1905......Page 279 57. San Francisco, California, earthquake, 1906......Page 281 58. Socorro 1, New Mexico, earthquake, 1906......Page 288 59. Socorro 2, New Mexico, earthquake, 1906......Page 290 60. Ecuador offshore earthquake, 1906......Page 292 61. Monongah, Pennsylvania, explosion 1907......Page 295 62. Amite, Louisiana, tornado, 1908......Page 300 63. Louisiana hurricane, 1909......Page 302 64. Oregon earthquake, 1910......Page 305 65. Titanic iceburg tragedy, 1912......Page 307 66. Katmai, Alaska, volcanic eruption, 1912......Page 314 67. Omaha, Nebraska, tornado, 1913......Page 320 68. Texas hurricane, 1915......Page 322 69. Pleasant Valley, Nevada, earthquake, 1915......Page 324 70. Mattoon, Illinois, tornado, 1917......Page 327 71. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, explosion, 1917......Page 329 72. World-wide flu pandemic, 1918–1919......Page 334 73. Mona Passage, Puerto Rico, earthquake, 1918......Page 340 74. Vancouver Island, Canada, earthquake, 1918......Page 343 75. Kelud, Indonesia, volcanic eruption, 1919......Page 345 76. Florida/Gulf of Mexico hurricane, 1919......Page 347 77. Humboldt, California, earthquake, 1923......Page 350 78. Kamchatka, Russia, earthquake, 1923......Page 352 79. Tokyo, Japan, earthquake, 1923......Page 355 80. Charlevoix, Quebec, earthquake, 1925......Page 360 81. Illinois/Indiana/Missouri tornado, 1925......Page 363 82. Clarkston Valley, Montana, earthquake, 1925......Page 366 83. Santa Barbara, California, earthquake, 1925......Page 369 84. Florida hurricane, 1926......Page 371 85. Lompoc, California, earthquake, 1927......Page 374 86. St. Francis Dam failure, 1928......Page 376 87. Lake Okeechobee hurricane, 1928......Page 380 88. Stock Market Collapse, 1929......Page 383 89. Grand Banks, Nova Scotia, earthquake, 1929......Page 388 90. Ukraine catastrophe, 1932......Page 390 91. Nevada earthquake, 1932......Page 395 92. Sanriku, Japan, earthquake, 1933......Page 397 93. Baffin Bay, Canada, earthquake, 1933......Page 399 94. Bihar, India, earthquake, 1934......Page 401 95. Quetta earthquake, 1935......Page 404 96. Labor Day hurricane 1935......Page 407 97. Gainesville tornado, 1936......Page 409 98. Hindenburg crash, 1937......Page 411 99. Nanking massacre, 1937......Page 417 --Volume 2-- Title Page......Page 425 Contents......Page 427 Credits for Illustrations......Page 433 100. New England hurricane, 1938......Page 439 101. Imperial Valley, California, earthquake, 1940......Page 444 102. Paricutin, Mexico, volcanic eruption, 1943......Page 446 103. San Juan, Argentina, earthquake, 1944......Page 451 104. Shinnston, West Virginia, tornado, 1944......Page 453 105. Northeast United States hurricane, 1944......Page 455 106. Cleveland, Ohio, gas explosion, 1944......Page 457 107. Hiroshima, Japan, nuclear bomb, 1945......Page 463 108. Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, nuclear tests, 1946......Page 469 109. Unimak, Alaska, tsunami, 1946......Page 476 110. Vancouver Island, Canada, earthquake, 1946......Page 479 111. Nankaido, Japan, earthquake, 1946......Page 482 112. Woodward, Oklahoma, tornado, 1947......Page 484 113. Texas City, Texas, explosion, 1947......Page 486 114. Puget Sound, Washington, earthquake, 1949......Page 492 115. Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada, earthquake, 1949......Page 494 116. Assam, India, earthquake, 1950......Page 497 117. Kern County, California, earthquake, 1952......Page 499 118. Kamchatka, Russia, earthquake, 1952......Page 502 119. London, England, suffocating smog, 1952......Page 505 120. Netherlands (Holland) flood, 1953......Page 511 121. Waco, Texas, tornado, 1953......Page 516 122. Flint, Michigan, tornado, 1953......Page 518 123. Fallon-Stillwater, Nevada, earthquake, 1954......Page 521 124. Thalidomide drug tragedy, 1957......Page 524 125. Lituya Bay, Alaska, earthquake, 1958......Page 529 126. West Yellowstone, Montana, earthquake, 1959......Page 531 127. Japan typhoon, 1959......Page 536 128. Chile earthquake, 1960......Page 539 129. New York City, New York, mid-air collision, 1960......Page 544 130. Tristan da Cunha volcanic eruption, 1961......Page 550 131. Vaiont Dam, Italy, collapse, 1963......Page 555 132. Prince William Sound, Alaska, earthquake, 1964......Page 559 133. Hurricane Betsy, 1965......Page 564 134. Aberfan, South Wales, Britain, landslide, 1966......Page 567 135. Hurricane Camille, 1969......Page 573 136. Peru earthquake, 1970......Page 577 137. Bangladesh cyclone, 1970......Page 581 138. Iraq mercury poisoning, 1971......Page 583 139. Hurricane Agnes, 1972......Page 588 140. Munich, Germany, terrorism, 1972......Page 590 141. Managua, Nicaragua, earthquake, 1972......Page 595 142. Iceland volcanic eruption, 1973......Page 598 143. Brisbane, Australia, flood, 1974......Page 601 144. Kalapana, Hawaii, earthquake, 1975......Page 605 145. Guatemala earthquake, 1976......Page 608 146. Teton Dam, Idaho, collapse, 1976......Page 611 147. Seveso, Italy, dioxin spill, 1976......Page 616 148. Tangshan, China, earthquake, 1976......Page 621 149. France oil spill, 1978......Page 625 150. Love Canal, New York, contamination, 1978......Page 629 151. Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, nuclear accident, 1979......Page 634 152. Mount St. Helens, Washington, volcanic eruption, 1980......Page 639 153. Canada, sinking of oil platform, 1982......Page 645 154. Coalinga, California, earthquake, 1983......Page 649 155. Bhopal, India, gas poisoning, 1984......Page 652 156. Air terrorism, 1985......Page 657 157. Mexico earthquake, 1985......Page 662 158. Nevado del Ruiz, Colombia, volcanic eruption, 1985......Page 664 159. Challenger (space shuttle), Florida, fire/explosion, 1986......Page 667 160. Chernobyl, Ukraine, nuclear accident, 1986......Page 671 161. Armenia earthquake, 1988......Page 676 162. Alaska oil spill, 1989......Page 678 163. Tiananmen Square, China, massacre, 1989......Page 684 164. Loma Prieta, California, earthquake, 1989......Page 688 165. Persian Gulf oil inferno, 1991......Page 691 166. Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, volcanic eruption, 1991......Page 695 167. Hurricane Andrew, 1992......Page 699 168. New York City, New York, terrorism, 1993......Page 703 169. Northridge, California, earthquake, 1994......Page 708 170. Rwanda genocide, 1994......Page 711 171. Kobe, Japan, earthquake, 1995......Page 719 172. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, terrorism, 1995......Page 722 173. Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina, genocide, 1995......Page 732 174. Red River flood, 1997......Page 738 175. Hurricane Floyd, 1999......Page 741 176. Peru offshore earthquake, 2001......Page 744 177. Nine Eleven, New York City, New York, terrorism, 2001......Page 746 178. United States anthrax terrorism, 2001......Page 752 179. Sumatra, Indonesia, earthquake and tsunami, 2004......Page 756 180. Northern California offshore earthquake, 2005......Page 762 181. Hurricane Katrina, 2005......Page 766 182. Pakistan earthquake, 2005......Page 776 183. Taiwan earthquake, 2006......Page 778 184. Greensburg, Kansas, tornado, 2007......Page 781 Appendix 1: USGS List of Worldwide Earthquakes (1500–2007)......Page 785 Appendix 2: U.S. Natural Environments......Page 796 Appendix 3: World’s Deadliest Disasters......Page 800 Appendix 4: Measuring Natural Disasters......Page 803 Bibliography......Page 807 Index......Page 809 This Two-volume Set Explores Disasters That Occurred Around The World. The Disasters Are Listed Chronologically, Beginning With The Supervolcano In Toba, Indonesia In 74000 B.c. And Ending With The Greensburg, Kansas Tornado In 2007. The Entries Are Detailed And Informative And Provide The Exact Causes Of Each Event, Whether It Was An Environmental Catastrophe Or A Human Tragedy. V. 1 -- Credits For Illustrations -- Guide To Thematic Entries -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Supervolcano Toba, Indonesia, 74,000 Bc -- 2. Rome, Italy, Fire, 64 -- 3. Pompeii, Italy, Volcanic Eruption, 79 -- 4. Alexandria, Egypt, Tsunami, 365 -- 5. Antioch, Syria (now Antakya, Turkey), Earthquake, 526 -- 6. Constantinople, Byzantine Empire, Black Death Plague, 542 -- 7. Corinth, Greece, Earthquake, 856 -- 8. Damghan, Persia, Earthquake, 856 -- 9. Aleppo, Syria, Earthquake, 1138 -- 10. Shaanxi, China, Earthquake, 1556 -- 11. Arequipa, Peru, Volcanic Eruption, 1600 -- 12. London, England, Black Death Plague, 1665 -- 13. London, England, Fire, 1666 -- 14. Port Royal, Jamaica, Earthquake, 1692 -- 15. Cascadia Earthquake, 1700 -- 16. Lisbon, Portugal, Earthquake And Tsunami, 1755 -- 17. Massachusetts Offshore Earthquake, 1755 -- 18. Bengal, India, Famine, 1770 -- 19. Connecticut Earthquake, 1791 -- 20. New Madrid, Missouri, Earthquakes, 1811 And 1812 -- 21. West Ventura, California, Earthquake, 1812 -- 22. Tambora, Indonesia, Volcanic Eruption, 1815 -- 23. Natchez, Mississippi, Tornado, 1840 -- 24. Fort Tejon, California, Earthquake, 1857 -- 25. Calcutta, India, Cyclone, 1864 -- 26. Kau, Hawaii, Earthquake, 1868 -- 27. Chicago, Illinois, Fire, 1871 -- 28. Owens Valley, California, Earthquake, 1872. 29. Bangladesh Cyclone, 1876 -- 30. Marshfield, Missouri, Tornado, 1880 -- 31. Georgia/south Carolina Hurricane, 1881 -- 32. Haiphong, Vietnam, Typhoon, 1881 -- 33. Krakatau, Indonesia, Volcanic Eruption, 1883 -- 34. Charleston, South Carolina, Earthquake, 1886 -- 35. Yellow River, China, Flood, 1887 -- 36. Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Flood, 1889 -- 37. Louisville, Kentucky, Tornado, 1890 -- 38. Japan Earthquake, 1891 -- 39. Imperial Valley, California, Earthquake, 1892 -- 40. Georgia/south Carolina Hurricane, 1893 -- 41. Louisiana Hurricane, 1893 -- 42. St. Louis, Missouri, Tornado, 1896 -- 43. Sanriku, Japan, Earthquake And Tsunami, 1896 -- 44. Assam, India, Earthquake, 1897 -- 45. Eureka, California, Earthquake, 1899 -- 46. New Richmond, Wisconsin, Tornado, 1899 -- 47. Yakutat, Alaska, Earthquake, 1899 -- 48. Galveston, Texas, Hurricane, 1900 -- 49. Cook Inlet, Alaska, Earthquake, 1901 -- 50. Mount Pelee Volcanic Eruption, 1902 -- 51. Goliad, Texas, Tornado, 1902 -- 52. Santa Maria, Guatemala, Volcanic Eruption, 1902 -- 53. Turtle Mountain, Alberta, Canada, Landslide, 1903 -- 54. Chicago, Illinois, Fire, 1903 -- 55. St. Petersburg, Russia, Revolution, 1905 -- 56. Mongolia Earthquake, 1905 -- 57. San Francisco, California. Earthquake, 1906 -- 58. Socorro 1, New Mexico, Earthquake, 1906 -- 59. Socorro 2, New Mexico, Earthquake, 1906. 60. Ecuador Offshore Earthquake, 1906 -- 61. Monongah, Pennsylvania, Explosion 1907 -- 62. Amite, Louisiana, Tornado, 1908 -- 63. Louisiana Hurricane, 1909 -- 64. Oregon Earthquake, 1910 -- 65. Titanic Iceburg Tragedy, 1912 -- 66. Katmai, Alaska, Volcanic Eruption, 1912 -- 67. Omaha, Nebraska, Tornado, 1913 -- 68. Texas Hurricane, 1915 -- 69. Pleasant Valley, Nevada, Earthquake, 1915 -- 70. Mattoon, Illinois, Tornado, 1917 -- 71. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Explosion, 1917 -- 72. World-wide Flu Pandemic, 1918-1919 -- 73. Mona Passage, Puerto Rico, Earthquake, 1918 -- 74. Vancouver Island, Canada, Earthquake, 1918 -- 75. Kelud, Indonesia, Volcanic Eruption, 1919 -- 76. Florida/gulf Of Mexico Hurricane, 1919 -- 77. Humboldt, California, Earthquake, 1923 -- 78. Kamchatka, Russia, Earthquake, 1923 -- 79. Tokyo, Japan, Earthquake, 1923 -- 80. Charlevoix, Quebec, Earthquake, 1925 -- 81. Illinois/indiana/missouri Tornado, 1925 -- 82. Clarkston Valley, Montana, Earthquake, 1925 -- 83. Santa Barbara, California, Earthquake, 1925 -- 84. Florida Hurricane, 1926 -- 85. Lompoc, California, Earthquake, 1927 -- 86. St. Francis Dam Failure, 1928 -- 87. Lake Okecchobee Hurricane, 1928 -- 88. Stock Market Collapse, 1929 -- 89. Grand Banks, Nova Scotia, Earthquake, 1929 -- 90. Ukraine Catastrophe, 1932 -- 91. Nevada Earthquake, 1932 -- 92. Sanriku, Japan, Earthquake, 1933 -- 93. Baffin Bay, Canada, Earthquake, 1933 -- 94. Bihar, India, Earthquake, 1934 -- 95. Quetta Earthquake, 1935 -- 96. Labor Day Hurricane 1935 -- 97. Gainesville Tornado, 1936 -- 98. Hindenburg Crash, 1937 -- 99. Nanking Massacre, 1937. V. 2 -- 100. New England Hurricane, 1938 -- 101. Imperial Valley, California, Earthquake, 1940 -- 102. Paricutin, Mexico, Volcanic Eruption, 1943 -- 103. San Juan, Argentina, Earthquake, 1944 -- 104. Shinnston, West Virginia, Tornado, 1944 -- 105. Northeast United States Hurricane, 1944 -- 106. Cleveland, Ohio, Gas Explosion, 1944 -- 107. Hiroshima, Japan, Nuclear Bomb, 1945 -- 108. Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, Nuclear Tests, 1946 -- 109. Unimak, Alaska, Tsunami, 1946 -- 110. Vancouver Island, Canada, Earthquake, 1946 -- 111. Nankaido, Japan, Earthquake, 1946 -- 112. Woodward, Oklahoma, Tornado, 1947 -- 113. Texas City, Texas, Explosion, 1947 -- 114. Puget Sound, Washington, Earthquake, 1949 -- 115. Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada, Earthquake, 1949 -- 116. Assam, India, Earthquake, 1950 -- 117. Kern County, California, Earthquake, 1952 -- 118. Kamchatka, Russia, Earthquake, 1952 -- 119. London, England, Suffocating Smog, 1952 -- 120. Netherlands (holland) Flood, 1953 -- 121. Waco, Texas, Tornado, 1953 -- 122. Flint, Michigan, Tornado, 1953 -- 123. Fallon-stillwater, Nevada, Earthquake, 1954 -- 124. Thalidomide Drug Tragedy, 1957 -- 125. Lituya Bay, Alaska, Earthquake, 1958 -- 126. West Yellowstone, Montana, Earthquake, 1959 -- 127. Japan Typhoon, 1959 -- 128. Chile Earthquake, 1960 -- 129. New York City, New York, Mid-air Collision, 1960 -- 130. Tristan Da Cunha Volcanic Eruption, 1961 -- 131. Vaiont Dam, Italy, Collapse, 1963. 132. Prince William Sound, Alaska, Earthquake, 1964 -- 133. Hurricane Betsy, 1965 -- 134. Aberfan, South Wales, Britain, Landslide, 1966 -- 135. Hurricane Camille, 1969 -- 136. Peru Earthquake, 1970 -- 137. Bangladesh Cyclone, 1970 -- 138. Iraq Mercury Poisoning, 1971 -- 139. Hurricane Agnes, 1972 -- 140. Munich, Germany, Terrorism, 1972 -- 141. Managua, Nicaragua, Earthquake, 1972 -- 142. Iceland Volcanic Eruption, 1973 -- 143. Brisbane, Australia, Flood, 1974 -- 144. Kalapana, Hawaii, Earthquake, 1975 -- 145. Guatemala Earthquake, 1976 -- 146. Teton Dam, Idaho, Collapse, 1976 -- 147. Seveso, Italy, Dioxin Spill, 1976 -- 148. Tangshan, China, Earthquake, 1976 -- 149. France Oil Spill, 1978 -- 150. Love Canal, New York, Contamination, 1978 -- 151. Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, Nuclear Accident, 1979 -- 152. Mount St. Helens, Washington, Volcanic Eruption, 1980 -- 153. Canada, Sinking Of Oil Platform, 1982 -- 154. Coalinga, California, Earthquake, 1983 -- 155. Bhopal, India, Gas Poisoning, 1984 -- 156. Air Terrorism, 1985 -- 157. Mexico Earthquake, 1985 -- 158. Nevado Del Ruiz, Colombia, Volcanic Eruption, 1985 -- 159. Challenger (space Shuttle), Florida, Fire/explosion, 1986 -- 160. Chernobyl, Ukraine, Nuclear Accident, 1986. 161. Armenia Earthquake, 1988 -- 162. Alaska Oil Spill, 1989 -- 163. Tiananmen Square, China, Massacre, 1989 -- 164. Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake, 1989 -- 165. Persian Gulf Oil Inferno, 1991 -- 166. Mount Pinatubo, Philippines, Volcanic Eruption, 1991 -- 167. Hurricane Andrew, 1992 -- 168. New York City, New York, Terrorism, 1993 -- 169. Northridge, California, Earthquake, 1994 -- 170. Rwanda Genocide, 1994 -- 171. Kobe, Japan, Earthquake, 1995 -- 172. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Terrorism, 1995 -- 173. Srebrenica, Bosnia-herzegovina, Genocide, 1995 -- 174. Red River Flood, 1997 -- 175. Hurricane Floyd, 1999 -- 176. Peru Offshore Earthquake, 2001 -- 177. Nine Eleven, New York City, New York, Terrorism, 2001 -- 178. United States Anthrax Terrorism, 2001 -- 179. Sumatra, Indonesia, Earthquake And Tsunami, 2004 -- 180. Northern California Offshore Earthquake, 2005 -- 181. Hurricane Katrina, 2005 -- 182. Pakistan Earthquake, 2005 -- 183. Taiwan Earthquake, 2006 -- 184. Greensburg, Kansas, Tornado, 2007 -- Appendix 1 : Usgs List Of Worldwide Earthquakes (1500-2007) -- Appendix 2 : U.s. Natural Environments -- Appendix 3 : World's Deadliest Disasters -- Appendix 4 : Measuring Natural Disasters -- Bibliography -- Index. Angus M. Gunn. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [727]-728) And Index. This encyclopedia is a descriptive, illustrated account of disasters, both natural and human-induced, that have occurred throughout the world at different times over the past two thousand years. They include experiences of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, extremes of weather, draughts, pandemic illnesses, land subsidence and landslides. Most troubling of all is a newcomer to the world of disasters, the terrorist attack. While terrorists have, from time to time in the past, wrought havoc on human environments, the expanded volume and brutality of their activities over the past thirty years has gone beyond all previous acts of violence. Terrorism is the type of disaster that may become increasingly destructive in the future