Hazard Events

This collection of pages present visualizations, videos, press reports, and more about particular hazard events. The resources are chosen to be of use in teaching about those events as well as the general topic involved.


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2014 Oso, WA Landslide
On Saturday, March 22, 2014, at 10:37 a.m. local time, a large landslide occurred near Oso, WA, USA. The collapse of the hillside generated a massive mudflow which rushed across the valley of the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River. The resulting debris field measured roughly 1 square mile. The slide and mudflow engulfed some 50 residences, buried an important highway through the area, and created a blockage that temporarily held back the river.

2013 Chelyabinsk Meteor
At 9:20AM local time on February 15, 2013, a meteor scorched across the skies above Chelyabinsk, Russia. The meteor's entry into the atmosphere causes a bright streak of light, described by many as brighter than the sun. The meteor traveled some 200 miles through the atmosphere before vaporizing in an explosion that shattered windows and set off car alarms. More than 1000 people reported injuries, mostly from flying pieces of broken glass. Coincidentally, the meteor arrived on the same day as the asteroid 2012 DA14 made it's closest approach to Earth, ~17,200 miles - inside the orbits of geostationary weather and communication satellites. But the two events were unrelated.

2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 8.9-9 megathrust earthquake off the north eastern coast of Japan triggered a large tsunami, with wave heights reaching up to 10m. These two events caused widespread devastation and destruction in Japan, including washing away entire cities as well as damaging the country's nuclear power plants, thus causing potential meltdowns.

2010 Icelandic Volcano Eruption
The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in March and April 2010 posed significant challenges for the people of Iceland as well as millions of people across Europe whose airplanes were grounded due to the high concentrations of volcanic ash. One unresolved question centers around the whether this eruption will trigger an eruption by the larger Katla volcano which is located close by and often erupts after its smaller neighbor.

2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami
This page presents visualizations and other resources related to the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami. This event constituted one of the largest disasters in history, causing the deaths of over 230,000 people in fourteen countries, and inundating coastal communities with waves up to 30 meters (98 ft) high.

1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Visualizations
The earthquake that struck San Francisco on April 18, 1906 remains one of the strongest and most significant earthquakes in US history. The fire that developed in its aftermath brought the city to its knees. This collection presents links to images, films, panoramas and animations about the earthquake and fire.

January 2010 Haiti Earthquake Visualizations
Find still images, animations and graphics related to the Magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck the country of Haiti on January 12, 2010.

February 2010 Chile Earthquake and Tsunami
Centered off the coast near Maule, Chile, this 8.8 magnitude earthquake on February 27, 2010 was one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. The massive quake also triggered a tsunami that swept across the Pacific basin.

2010 Deep Horizon Oil Spill
The failures and explosion at the Deep Horizon platform in the Macondo Oil Field resulted in one of the worst oil spills in American history. The effects of this event will be felt in communities and ecosystems along the Gulf Coast for decades to come.

2005 Hurricane Season
This page presents a number of links to resources about the whole of the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic Hurricane Season and some of three of the most well-known storms: Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

Hurricane Sandy - October, 2012
Hurricane Sandy made itself felt in the Caribbean as a Category 1 storm that moved through the region dumping rain, lashing out with high winds, and causing the deaths of more than 40 people. After leaving the Caribbean, however, a unique set of conditions and interactions with other weather systems and the jet stream allowed the storm to stay powerful and become a "post tropical cyclone" with New England in its crosshairs. The news media have dubbed Sandy the "Frankenstorm" both for its proximity to Halloween as well as for the unprecedented combination of factors that made the storm possible.




Event Pages in Development

  • 2011 Australian Flooding
  • 1964 Good Friday Earthquake (AK)
  • April 2011 Tornado Outbreaks
  • Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
  • 1930s Dustbowl Drought
  • 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption
  • 1993 Mississippi Flooding
  • 2011 Minot ND Flooding
  • The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894
  • Great Hurricane of 1938
  • Hebgen Lake Earthquake, 1959