Disasters Story Briefs

Whether natural or man-made, disasters simultaneously cause massive destruction and unity of people trying to help those in need. Discover some of the world's worst disasters in this collection.

Judge John Roll, a controversial and influential Arizona jurist, dies heroically protecting another after being shot in a politcally charged rampage a...

When the Irish potato famine caused people to lose their homes, some individuals - like Judy O'Donnel - found "habitation" under a bridge.

On the 28th of August, the skies near Krakatoa finally began to clear. Aboard theGouverneur Generaal Loudon(the ship's official name), Captain Lindem...

Several ships are at sea, in the vicinity of Krakatoa, when the volcano dramatically erupts on August 26, 1883. Ships are in danger from the volcano's...

Captain Lindeman makes a crucial decision which saves the lives of his passengers and his ship (theG.G. Loudon).

After Krakatoa's stupendous explosion - on the 27th of August, 1883 - the volcano spewed out another monstrous pyroclastic flow.

As a result of the Krakatoa eruption and resulting tsunami, the Fourth Point Lighthouse meets a terrible fate.

Learn about the final minutes leading up to Krakatoa's fourth explosion.

Krakatoa's tremendous volcanic eruption causes a devastating tsunami on August 26, 1883. It also produces the loudest-ever-reported sound when the isl...

After attacking Secretary of State William Seward - on the night of April 14, 1865 - Lewis Powell (also known as Lewis Paine/Payne) hid in a wooded ar...

The Emancipation Proclamation is still debated today, what did it say and how did the country react?

As Abraham Lincoln's funeral train made its way to Springfield, Illinois - where the President would be buried - one of the stops on its 1,654-mile jo...

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