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Corax

Corax - May 16, 2006 8:22 pm - Hasn't voted

Catastrophes

Huascaran 1970 Estimate: 20 000 dead in Yungay & Ranrahirca. As many as 80 000 may have died.
Huascaran 1962 Approximately 4000 dead.

Corax

Corax - May 16, 2006 8:29 pm - Hasn't voted

Recommended reading

The Mammoth Book of Mountain Disasters.
More about accidents and fantastic rescue missions.

desainme

desainme - May 16, 2006 9:47 pm - Voted 10/10

Nov 24-25, 1248

Part of Mont Granier at the north end of the Chartreuse fell down.
Modern estimates reckon about 1000 dead due to this night time landslide.

August 26, 1826 Mt. Willey landslide in Crawford Notch. The Willey Family members hear the avalanche and run out of their house at night. The Willey house is unharmed but the 9 who left the house are dead.

July 31, 1976 Big Thompson Canyon floods below Rocky Mtn. Park
I, having enjoyed our drive down the canyon the year before, was inclined to drive up it that same evening. Several spoke up against it not liking the low clouds covering the mountains and we stayed in Boulder that night. 145 people were drowned that night.

nartreb

nartreb - May 16, 2006 11:18 pm - Hasn't voted

volcanoes

Vesuvius: 79 CE (Pompei, Herculaneum) over 3,000 deaths
again in 1631 about 3500 deaths

Pinatubo 1991 only 800 deaths but 100,000 evacuated.

Probably many many more

Might also consider earthquakes in mountainous areas?

eg Bam 2003 26,000 dead,
Islamabad 2005 73,000 dead

John Climber

John Climber - May 17, 2006 5:58 pm - Voted 8/10

Nevado del Ruiz

eruption in the '80s melted the summital snow and a moodflow covered a village killing many.

JasonH

JasonH - May 25, 2006 9:18 am - Voted 8/10

Untitled Comment

Good looking page. But how about the bush Administration.

Ski Mountaineer

Ski Mountaineer - May 26, 2006 12:59 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Untitled Comment

Well, there is other presidents that have caused more disaster affecting mountain people than Bush and his administration (though they did indeed affect many). For some reason Bush takes away all the attention from other things happening in the world and becomes the no. 1 scape goat. Not good.
Therefore - no, won´t include him in the list (-;

Cheers,
T.A.

grunt

grunt - May 28, 2006 1:12 am - Hasn't voted

Quake Lake

1959, near West Yellowstone. 28 people were killed in a 7.5 quake, the strongest ever recorded in Montana, when the side of Sheep Mountain slid into a campground on the Madison River.

Baarb

Baarb - Jul 25, 2006 6:25 am - Hasn't voted

Mucho mas

Yeah, Nevado del Ruiz killed about 23,000 or so. Though if we start including volcanic incidents we'll be here all day. E.g. sourcing from http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Hazards/Effects/Fatalities.html we have Mt Pelee (1902), 29,000.... Krakatau (1883), 37,000.... Tambora (1815) 92,000 (and this is still likely a huge underestimate).... 'Statistics' show that on average, two thirds of of volcano related deaths occur after a month of the main eruption, and people are still dying at Pinatubo from lahars.

osatrik

osatrik - Aug 25, 2006 8:22 pm - Hasn't voted

Welllington Train Toll 96

Most sources give 96 as the number of fatalities in the avalanche train disaster of 1910.
http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=5127
I'm not sure where you got 119 as the number killed.

desainme

desainme - Nov 14, 2008 10:14 am - Voted 10/10

St. Gervais-les-Bains

July 12, 1892. A glacial lake in the Tete Rousse Glacier suddenly drains into another water filled ice cavern. The whole of these two lakes bursts out of the ice and floods the valley below including St. Gervais-les-Bains. More than 200 victims involved in this flood. This disaster is the subject of a Nova TV program wherein folks rappel into glacial wells to see what is going on. Emphasis on measuring the likelihood/prevention of such events in the alps and on Mt. Rainier.

toc

toc - Nov 15, 2008 6:17 am - Hasn't voted

Re: St. Gervais-les-Bains

Thank you for that info, now added to the list

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