The Worst World Disasters of All Time. Kevin Baker
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Название: The Worst World Disasters of All Time
Автор: Kevin Baker
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Руководства
isbn: 9781456623432
isbn:
11 – Irish Potato Famine
Famine memorial in Dublin - Image author: AlanMc
Date: 1845-1852.
Location: Ireland.
Disaster Type: Famine.
Fatalities: 1,000,000
Resulting Damage: 25% of the population died or fled Ireland.
What the history books refer to as the Irish Potato Famine is known inside the country simply as the Great Famine, because it was an event so dire and important that there was no point in adding any other qualifier. Between 1845 and 1852, close to a million people died in Ireland because of this famine, and more were forced to emigrate to other countries in order to survive, which caused the total population of the country to fall by around 25%. It was a watershed event in the history of the country, and while it is related to famines elsewhere in Europe, it hit Ireland particularly badly because of various key factors.
Ireland had been under UK control since 1801, under the executive order which gave England complete command over the country. However, even though they had representation in the British parliament, the English government struggled to control Ireland. It was once referred to as a starving country with a missing aristocracy and an alien Church. Most in England saw Ireland as a foreign nation, even though they had fought to bring the country into the United Kingdom. Many laws were passed to restrict the rights of the population, including the Catholics and the local landlords.
Because of the harsh conditions in Ireland, the potato became the bread and butter of their food supply, especially among poor people who could not afford anything of higher value. This dependency deepened during the 17th century. So when the disease Phytophthora Infestans, commonly referred to as the Blight, spread around the world in the early 1840s, it became a major issue. This was a disease that affected only potatoes, and killed over half the crops that got infected.
In 1844, newspapers carried reports in Ireland that this disease had appeared in America and Europe, and the pathogen was traced to Mexico. By 1845 it was described as a relentless issue which destroyed entire crops in many countries, and it then started destroying crops in Ireland as well. The disease was unlike anything previously seen, and lasted much longer than previous diseases. Because of the deep economic divide and the high reliance on potatoes, Ireland suffered dearly from this Blight.
The UK government was slow to respond, and by 1847 it created soup kitchen programs to help Irish people cope. However, Britain suffered a banking crisis and those programs all but came to a halt not long after. As a result, many Irish people were left with bitterness towards Britain for not helping them through the crisis. Many were convinced that the Blight was a direct result of the colonial policies of Great Britain, and it fuelled a lot of resentment for years.
12 – Nagasaki Atomic Bomb
Nagasaki Fat Man bomb mushroom cloud.
Date: August 9th, 1945.
Location: Nagasaki, Japan.
Disaster Type: Nuclear explosion.
Fatalities: 80,000 deaths as well as radiation poisoning.
Resulting Damage: Destroyed a large part of the town and irradiated areas within a 1.6 km radius.
In 1945, World War II was all but over in Europe, with the allied forces having invaded Germany and put an end to conflict in the Western theatre. But in the Pacific, Japan was standing strong. Despite several losses, the Japanese Empire refused to surrender as ordered by the allied forces. It was thus decided by the American government to use nuclear weapons as a means to bring the war to a quick end. This included the initial bombing of Hiroshima, along with a number of other planned bombings, followed by ground and naval attacks.
After the initial atomic bomb was released, Japan was still refusing the unconditional surrender that the United States and the Soviet Union were demanding. Instead, the Empire wanted some concessions, including the preservation of their empire, no occupation of Japanese soil, and the delegation of punishment for war crimes. In the days that followed, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and the American military prepared a second atomic bomb for delivery.
Initially, Nagasaki was not the target for Fat Man, the nuclear weapon prepared for delivery. The initial target was Kokura and on August 9th, a formation of six planes flew in its direction. The Brockscar was the delivery plane and had a mission to drop the bomb if weather conditions permitted it. However, after three passes over the city, the thick cloud cover did not allow the bomb to be dropped. So instead, they headed to a secondary target, the port city of Nagasaki.
This town was an old city with wooden constructions, but it was a strategic port for goods and merchandise. When the B-29 planes reached the city around 8 AM, an air raid siren was sounded, but then the all-clear signal was given shortly after. Seeing only a few planes, the Japanese forces likely guessed that these were scout planes. By 11 AM, the Brockscar was circling over the city, and a last minute break in the clouds allowed American forces to drop the bomb.
The Fat Man bomb had a core of 6.5 kg of plutonium giving it a yield of 21 kt. The nuclear device exploded above ground at 11:01 killing over 40,000 people instantly. It also destroyed a large part of the town and irradiated an area of around 1.6 km in circumference. By the end of 1945, estimates placed the number of dead from the bomb at 80,000. Japan protested the atomic bombings the next day through a communiqué to the government of the US, but this had no impact. This attack was the second strike but many more were already being planned, with the next attack being scheduled for August 19th. But by August 14th, the Emperor of Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, bringing the war to an end.
13 – Hiroshima Atomic Bomb
Mushroom cloud from the dropping of Little Boy.
Date: 6th August, 1945.
Location: Hiroshima, Japan.
Disaster Type: Nuclear explosion.
Fatalities: 90,000 – 166,000 deaths as well as radiation poisoning.
Resulting Damage: A 3.5 kilometres in diameter shock wave of fire, blast effects and radiation.
The war had ended in the west, with the European front being an Allied victory and Germany in ruins. Both the Soviets and western allies had completed their offensives against Hitler and had reached Berlin, yet in the Pacific, the war was still going on. The allies had the upper hand, and Japan was having a hard time continuing to fight, but the Japanese Empire had always been patriotic and proud, and the Emperor refused to surrender. The prospect in front of the Americans was a long and arduous battle that would involve sending troops by air and sea onto the Japanese islands, and fighting all the way to the capital.
So instead, the US government was working on a secret project to end the war in one СКАЧАТЬ