6 The Piper Alpha Disaster

Piper Alpha in Scotland is an oil platform that was destroyed as a result of an explosion killing 167 people. It was found that the initial condensate leak was due to inadequate maintenance and safety procedures. The pump was simultaneously undergoing multiple maintenance work on several safety valves. It was one of the major man-made catastrophes that cost 1.7 billion euros in insurance payments. 

The disaster happened when a night crew, who was unaware of the maintenance being carried out on one pump, turned it on. Follow that, firewalls and a blind flange failed to handle the pressure and led to several explosions. 

One major failure was the authorities who had to command the rescue operations died in the initial explosion and the crew was awaiting their instructions even though they could see the explosions. Following the tragedy, major changes were made in the offshore industry for regulation, safety management, and training. (Source)

7 The Chernobyl Disaster

The Chernobyl accident in 1986 occurred as a result of a flawed reactor design that was operated by inadequately trained personnel. The sudden surge in power destroyed Unit 4 of the power station and released massive amounts of radioactive elements into the environment that killed 28 plant workers and caused many more casualties. 

The disaster was a result of a lack of safety culture in the plant. It was the only accident in the history of nuclear reactor accidents that released fatal radioactive elements into the atmosphere. The accident occurred because of a peculiar design of the control rods. Many steps were involved in testing the new voltage regulators. 

The operator placed the reactor in a very unstable condition, and by doing so, violated principles and operating policies. The operating organization was also unaware of vital safety margins as they were not published at the time. The release of radioactive elements caused several casualties along with the evacuation of all the inhabitants within a 30 km radius of the plant. (Source)

8 The Dust Bowl in Midwest

Dust-bowl days of the US Midwest during the  19th century were due to the poor decisions made in agriculture including federal land policies. The consequences of these actions resulted in high winds, choking dust-filled regions in Texas and Nebraska, and killing people and livestock as crops failed. 

The Dust Bowl intensified the Great Depression and drove farming families to desperate migration. The Homestead Act of 1862 led a lot of inexperienced farmers to acquire land all across the Great Plains. Many 19-century settlers believed in superstitions. These beliefs and a series of wet years made farmers cultivate intensively on marginal lands that could not be properly irrigated in a dry season. 

During World War I, demand for wheat increased, which led farmers to plow up acres of land for wheat and corn. But when the Great Depression started, the prices plummeted and crops began to fail due to drought in 1931.

Due to the inexperience of the farmers in the Great Plains, they aggressively cultivated crops and overused the land which made it infertile and unhealthy. As a result, the overexposed and overflowed farmland began to cause massive dust storms followed by economic devastation. (Source)

9 The Johnstown Flood 

Over 2,000 people perished when a man-made dam for a private lake broke. It was feared for decades, but, the town’s people trusted the elite Industrialists that owned the dam and the officials of the town. The South Fork Dam ruptured due to extreme rainfall releasing 14.55 million cubic meters of water. John Parke, an engineer, was sent down to the town to warn about the dam rupture, but many false alarms from before led the town to believe this was just another one of them. 

In Johnstown, at least once a year, the rivers that surround it overflow, leading the residents to protect themselves. It was a part of the life of the Johnstown people. In the late afternoon of May 31, 1889, due to heavy rainfall, officials feared the dam would fail. The South Fork Dam held back Lake Conemaugh to form a pleasure lake for the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. 

Multiple attempts were made to open up the spillway or add height to the dam, but both failed miserably. The dam spilled over causing events like floods washing away houses. The death toll was approximately 2,209 people making it one of the largest losses of civilian life in the United States at that time. (Source)

10 The Charge of the Light Brigade

The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge against Russian forces during the Battle of Baccava on 25th October 1854. This one event cost the lives of many men. It was a result of ill-interpreted orders despite expressing concerns. Around 670 members charged towards Russians firing on them from three different directions. About 110 were killed during the charge along with 400 horses, and 160 men were treated for wounds.

Lord Raglan, who was British Commander-in-Chief, gave the orders for the cavalry to proceed with infantry to seize Russian artillery. He expected immediate action, but due to lack of communication, this was delayed by 45 minutes. The head of the cavalry misunderstood the message as they had to wait until the infantry arrived to proceed together.

Even the location they were supposed to attack was misunderstood which led to a terrible blunder that cost many lives. The horrors of the events that followed traumatized even the most experienced officers. The casualty rate was 40%. Both survivors and onlookers of the event were incapable of continuing with any further action because of how gruesome the events turned out to be. (Source)