On the morning of December 6, 1917, the French cargo ship, SS Mont-Blanc, laden with high explosives collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the Canadian port city of Halifax, setting the Mont-Blanc on fire. When the ordinance on board the French vessel ignited, it caused the largest man-made explosion prior to the development of nuclear weapons. 30 years later in Texas City, Texas, another vessel, the SS Grandcamp was transporting 2,200 tons of ammonium nitrate when a fire started in the ship’s cargo hold. That fire started a chain reaction of explosions that killed nearly 600 people.

In 1986, Russia was still communist and Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union. The town of Chernobyl in northern Ukraine was home to a major nuclear power plant that produced 10% of Ukraine’s electrical needs. During a late night safety test, inherent reactor design flaws along with operator error resulted in an uncontrolled reaction that resulted in a steam explosion and eventually a graphite fire. For the next 9 days, plumes of fissionable material were lofted into the air eventually dropping back down on the USSR and Europe. 

At its peak, the Piper Alpha oil platform was producing 300,000 barrels of oil a day, or 10% of Britain’s total oil production from just one platform. In 1980, the platform was modified to drill for natural gas in addition to oil. In 1988, the rig was due for major maintenance and upgrades. The operator, Occidental Petroleum, made the decision not to shut production down during this work. When a safety valve was removed for scheduled repairs it initiated a series of errors and events that led to a number of massive explosions that took the lives of 167 workers or three-quarters of the crew.

An announcement regarding the subjects for episodes 36-40.

David Koresh was a powerful figure in the Davidians, a Seventh-Day Adventist splinter group.  In 1993, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided Koresh’s ranch in Waco, Texas. A gun battle between the ATF and the Branch Davidians ended with the deaths of four agents and six of Koresh’s followers. Two months later, the FBI attempted to raid the compound again. During the raid, tear gas was launched into the domicile where the Davidians were holed up. There were 98 men, women and children inside the building when it exploded into flames.

In 1985, Philadelphia police attempted to enter the residence of a radical religious/political organization known as MOVE. When numerous attempts to enter the house from either side failed, the city police commissioner ordered an explosive device to be dropped on the house right in the middle of a densely populated residential neighborhood. The result was the deaths of six adults and five children and the burning down of an entire neighborhood. This is Part I of two parts. Part II will be about David Koresh and the Branch Davidians.

When the ancient Romans attempted to establish control in Judea during the first century of the modern era, they touched off violent rebellions from the native Jewish residents. These violent wars between the Jews and the Romans led to the deaths of thousands of people. In the year 132, Simon Bar Kokhba led a third and final revolt. After a number of initial rebel victories, Emperor Hadrian called in his general Julius Severus to lead an immense Roman army assembled from every corner of the empire to deal with the Jewish rebels. The war led to the deaths of more than a half a million Jews and the Jewish state was wiped away not to return for 1,800 years. These events played an important part in the bible, particularly the Gospels.

When the ancient Romans attempted to establish control in Judea during the first century of the modern era, they touched off violent rebellions from the native Jewish residents. These violent wars between the Jews and the Romans led to the deaths of thousands of people. In the year 132, Simon Bar Kokhba led a third and final revolt. After a number of initial rebel victories, Emperor Hadrian called in his general Julius Severus to lead an immense Roman army assembled from every corner of the empire to deal with the Jewish rebels. The war led to the deaths of more than a half a million Jews and the Jewish state was wiped away not to return for 1,800 years. These events played an important part in the bible, particularly the Gospels.

Two heatwaves, less than ten years apart and less than fifteen years ago struck Western and Eastern Europe killing tens of thousands of people, many as they suffered in their apartments and homes. Were these freak occurrences or something we should be getting adjusted to?

On Sunday, May 31, 1970, while most of Peru was watching the World Cup game of Brazil vs. Italy, a major earthquake struck just off the coast. The quake flattened buildings and collapsed bridges and roads, but the worst was yet to come when a 500 meter long slab of ice slid off a 21,000 foot mountain peak and made a beeline for the villages below.