79 Mount Vesuvius | |
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| Total costs | N/A |
| Deaths | 16000 |
Of the many eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, a major stratovolcano in southern Italy, the most famous is its eruption in 79 AD, which was one of the deadliest in European history.In the autumn of 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius violently spewed forth a deadly cloud of super-heated tephra and gases to a height of 33 km (21 mi), ejecting molten rock, pulverized pumice and hot ash at 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing 100,000 times the thermal energy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The event gives its name to the Vesuvian type of volcanic eruption, characterised by eruption columns of hot gases and ash exploding into the stratosphere, although the event also included pyroclastic flows associated with Pelean eruptions. At the time, the region was a part of the Roman Empire, and several Roman cities were obliterated and buried underneath massive pyroclastic surges and ashfall deposits, the best known being Pompeii and Herculaneum. After archaeological excavations revealed much about the lives of the inhabitants, the area became a major tourist attraction, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of Vesuvius National Park. The total population of both cities was over 20,000. The remains of over 1,500 people have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum so far, although the total death toll from the eruption remains unknown.
Source: Wikipedia 1864 Calcutta Cyclone | |
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| Total costs | N/A |
| Deaths | 60000 |
On October 5, 1864, most of the areas of Calcutta (present-day Kolkata), India was inundated and destroyed by a tropical cyclone. Dubbed the 1864 Calcutta cyclone, the storm caused over 60,000 fatalities in its wake. The cyclone crossed the coast of West Bengal to the south of Hooghly River, one of the streams that are included in the Ganges River Delta. The majority of the deaths were from drowning and the others from sicknesses prevailing before the storm. The said river overflowed due to a storm surge and as the water rushed inland, everything in its course were washed away. The city, the other surrounding areas, and some harbors had to be rebuilt after the cyclone. There was also fundraising event established, but it failed. The total damages from the said storm were at Rs 99,200.
Source: Wikipedia
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