The 1939 Erzincan earthquake struck eastern Turkey at 1:57:23 a.m. on 27 December local time with a moment magnitude of 7.8 Mw and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme). It was the second most powerful earthquake recorded in Turkey, after the 1668 North Anatolia earthquake.[4] This was one of the largest in a sequence of violent shocks to affect Turkey along the North Anatolian Fault between 1939 and 1999. Surface […]
On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1–9.3 Mw struck with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake,[10][11] was caused by a rupture along the fault between the Burma Plate and the Indian Plate, and reached a Mercalli intensity up to IX in some areas. A massive tsunami with
New Zealand’s worst railway accident occurred at Tangiwai in the central North Island on 24 December 1953. Tangiwai Lahar damages bridge The worst railway disaster in New Zealand’s history occurred on Christmas Eve 1953, at Tangiwai, north-west of Waiōuru on the North Island main trunk line. A wall of the crater lake on Mt Ruapehu
The Tangiwai disaster occurred at 10:21 p.m. on 24 December 1953 Read More »
The 2007 Gisborne earthquake occurred under the Pacific Ocean about 50 kilometres (31 mi) off the eastern coast of New Zealand’s North Island at 8:55 pm NZDT on 20 December. The tremor had a moment magnitude of 6.7 and maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very Strong), and affected the city of Gisborne, but was felt widely across the country from Auckland in the north to Dunedin
2007 Gisborne Earthquake M6.7 – NZ Earthquake History Read More »
On December 16, 1920, a massive earthquake struck Haiyuan County in north-central China’s remote Gansu Province, today part of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It struck just after 7 p.m. local time at a depth of about 15 km and aftershocks followed for three years. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) describes it as an M8.3 event,
The 1920 Haiyuan Earthquake: One of the 20th Century’s Deadliest Read More »
Fire broke out at Seacliff Mental Hospital on 8 December, 1942. Ward 5, which housed 39 women patients, was quickly reduced to ashes. The fire killed all but 2 of the 39 women and was the worst fire in New Zealand until Ballantyne’s fire, five years later. What happened? In 1884 the Seacliff Lunatic Asylum was
On 3 Dec. 1926, about 3.05 a.m., two explosions left the Dobson coal mine engulfed in fire and 9 men trapped within. The explosions were of such terrific force that some houses neighboring had their windows broken and their roofs pierced. About 90 minutes after the initial impact, a rescue party was able to descend
Dobson Mine Disaster, West Coast, New Zealand, 3rd Dec. 1926, about 3.05 a.m Read More »
The 464-ton coastal freighter MV Holmglen sank in a storm off Timaru on 24 November 1959. All fifteen crew died, although only three bodies were recovered. The ship was only three years old and a court of inquiry could find no explanation for the sinking. Holmglen left Oamaru on 23 November bound for Wanganui via Wellington under the
Holmglen sinks, New Zealand. 24th of November 1959 Read More »
I invite you to come on an enchanting and haunting storytelling told by early settlers and historic peoples of Aotearoa, New Zealand. You will be privileged to see mesmerising historic peoples, photographs, and stories told of phantom Māori war canoes, curses, sickness, fatal Tapu and the ultimate heartbreaking tragedy that encompasses many people’s ancestors, the
1886 The Eruption of Tarawera (The Pink and White Terraces) Read More »
On the afternoon of 19 November 2010, an explosion ripped through the remote Pike River mine on the West Coast of the South Island, killing 29 men. Their bodies have not been recovered and remain in the mine. Underground coal mining has always been a dangerous occupation. In addition to the risk of asphyxiation and
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