Great Disasters (Kari Fay)
Explore every episode of Great Disasters
| Pub. Date | Title | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Mar 2019 | The Bradford City Stadium Fire | 00:37:20 | |
It started as a wisp of smoke, but within a few short minutes it turned into a deadly inferno from which fifty six football fans were unable to escape. | |||
| 12 Apr 2019 | Galveston Hurricane 1900 | 00:36:52 | |
People gathered on the beaches to watch the awesome waves, but this was no mere squall coming in from the Gulf. It was a hurricane, and by the following day there would not be a single building in Galveston standing undamaged.
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| 26 Apr 2019 | Chernobyl Part One | 00:39:18 | |
In April 1986, power plant operators prepared to carry out a planned test which would take less than a minute. Instead, they triggered a disaster with consequences that would last for thousands of years.
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| 03 Jun 2022 | 2013 Lampedusa Migrant Shipwreck | 00:38:38 | |
In this episode of Great Disasters, I'll be looking at the shipwreck of a migrant boat off the coast of Lampedusa in 2013. | |||
| 10 May 2019 | Chernobyl Part Two | 00:46:07 | |
The people of Pripyat knew something had happened at the nearby power plant - but they only realised how serious it was two days later, when they were ordered to evacuate the city. This is the second of two episodes on this topic. | |||
| 24 May 2019 | The Princess Alice Disaster | 00:39:12 | |
The Princess Alice was a popular pleasure steamer plying the waters of the River Thames. The Bywell Castle was a collier ship from Newcastle, making its way out to sea after repainting. When the two met on the river, hundreds died.
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| 23 Dec 2022 | 2010 Copiapo Mining Incident | 01:39:40 | |
The story of 33 men trapped deep within a Chilean mine gripped not only their nation, but the whole world. This episode of Great Disasters draws on contemporary reporting and the survivors' accounts to tell a fascinating story of hope and survival against the odds. | |||
| 13 Mar 2023 | 2022 In Review | 00:42:13 | |
How much tragedy can a single year bring? From the Hunga Tonga volcano to the Buffalo snow storm, let's take a look at the disasters which shaped the year 2022. | |||
| 07 Jun 2019 | The Great Hunger, Ireland 1845-50 | 00:43:09 | |
Also known as "an Gorta Mór" in Irish, or the Irish Potato Famine to those outside the Emerald Isle, the Great Hunger created a dividing line in Irish history. It was triggered by the potato blight, but the true depth of misery that it brought was largely created by the politics of the British government.
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| 21 Jun 2019 | The Sampoong Department Store Collapse | 00:31:15 | |
In the glamorous Gangnam area of Seoul, South Korea, hundreds of shoppers browsed through luxury goods or stopped to grab a couple of things on their way home from work. Then, with a loud bang, the store literally collapsed around them.
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| 22 Jan 2024 | 2023 In Review | 00:46:40 | |
Every year brings its share of tragic events. A few are somewhat predictable - we will always expect a number of hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones, for example - while others are more unusual. Some grab headlines and make history, and others are quickly forgotten. These are the events which shaped 2023. | |||
| 26 Feb 2024 | Empire State Building Plane Crash | 00:31:11 | |
On a foggy day in 1945, the busy streets of New York City were interrupted by a sound that shouldn't have been there - a plane, flying between the skyscrapers, and set on a collision course with the tallest building in the world. | |||
| 06 Sep 2019 | The Carrington Event | 00:30:31 | |
In 1859, a spectacular auroral display astonished people all around the world - it was visible far beyond the usual latitudes for such a sight. At the same time, the nascent telegraph system went haywire, and an English astronomer gazing at the sun spotted the connection.
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| 20 Sep 2019 | Space Shuttle Columbia | 00:45:26 | |
On January 16th, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia launched on its 28th mission, a scientific expedition that would see the crew spend sixteen days in orbit carrying out research. All went well - until it was time to come home.
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| 04 Oct 2019 | Pearl Harbor | 00:43:04 | |
In December, 1941, thousands of American servicemen were enjoying themselves on the idyllic Hawaiian island of Oahu, where the Pacific Fleet was in port. Then, on a date that would "live in infamy", they were abruptly and dramatically pulled into the Second World War. | |||
| 18 Oct 2019 | Vesuvius | 00:32:17 | |
It is perhaps the most famous volcano in the world - but the event it’s best known for happened almost two thousand years ago. So what is it about Mount Vesuvius that allows its story to endure? | |||
| 01 Nov 2019 | 1931 China Floods | 00:31:08 | |
The Yangtze River is the third longest in the world - and when it breaks its banks, its power should not be underestimated. | |||
| 15 Nov 2019 | Air New Zealand Flight 901 | 00:43:07 | |
More than 250 people boarded a DC-10 airliner for a luxurious sightseeing trip in one of the most remote parts of the world. Their trip came to an unexpected and tragic end on the side of a mountain. | |||
| 29 Nov 2019 | 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami | 00:36:03 | |
Japan is a country that's accustomed to earthquakes, and one you might have thought would be prepared for anything. However, they were not prepared for the scale of the megathrust earthquake that happened one Friday afternoon in March. | |||
| 20 Dec 2019 | Fukushima Daiichi | 00:39:14 | |
The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami brought unspeakable devastation to Japan, but they were only part of the story. A third disaster followed when the first two cut off power to one of the world's largest nuclear power plants. Now a race was on to contain the meltdown and save the country. | |||
| 10 Jan 2020 | The Victoria Hall Disaster | 00:34:31 | |
It was supposed to be a fun afternoon; hundreds of children packed into Sunderland's Victoria Hall for a magic show. Their tickets promised the greatest treat ever given, and the chance of presents, too. However, for many it would end in the most heartbreaking tragedy possible. | |||
| 24 Jan 2020 | The General Slocum | 00:42:16 | |
A bright, sunny New York morning turned to disaster in a matter of moments - and it would be the city's most deadly disaster for almost a hundred years. This heartbreaking disaster literally decimated a community, with a death toll of over a thousand, mostly women and children. | |||
| 07 Feb 2020 | Harrow & Wealdstone Rail Crash | 00:41:07 | |
It should have been an ordinary Wednesday morning commute, with the biggest worry being whether there would be any seats free on the train. Instead, it was described as being akin to the battlefields of the war just seven years past. | |||
| 08 May 2020 | The Boston Molasses Flood | 00:53:06 | |
A wave of black, sticky molasses engulfs a Boston neighbourhood, wreaking a sweet-tasting but deadly kind of havoc. It's one of history's more unusual disasters, but that doesn't mean it should be treated lightly. | |||
| 22 May 2020 | Carrollton Bus Crash | 00:51:44 | |
After a church outing to an amusement park, an old yellow school bus full of sleepy kids made its way home along the interstate. At the same time, a pickup truck was driving the other way - in the same lane. | |||
| 05 Jun 2020 | Herald of Free Enterprise | 00:49:12 | |
A crowded ferry set sail from Zeebrugge on a cold March evening - but just outside the harbour walls, tragedy struck, and a straightforward crossing turned into a fight to survive. | |||
| 28 Jun 2020 | The Tulsa Race Massacre | 01:07:05 | |
An incident in an elevator led to an outpouring of hatred, gunfire and flame. It was America's worst single incident of racial violence, yet for decades many had never even heard of it. | |||
| 17 Jul 2020 | Hyatt Regency Skywalk Collapse | 00:45:25 | |
It should have been a fun evening of music and dancing - but it abruptly turned into a gruesome scene of tragedy. | |||
| 08 Dec 2017 | Prologue | 00:11:06 | |
Introducing the Great Disasters podcast, I look at what makes us want to look at a disaster, and how that fascination can be used to make the world a safer place. | |||
| 15 Dec 2017 | The Sinking of the Titanic (Part One) | 00:22:29 | |
The sinking of the Titanic is probably one of the best known disasters in the world, but even over a century later it still holds a fascination for many. The people of Belfast are still proud of her, and people all around the world still flock to see the remnants and souvenirs which have been brought to the surface. | |||
| 15 Dec 2017 | The Sinking of the Titanic (Part Two) | 00:26:14 | |
The sinking of the Titanic is probably one of the best known disasters in the world, but even over a century later it still holds a fascination for many. The people of Belfast are still proud of her, and people all around the world still flock to see the remnants and souvenirs which have been brought to the surface. (Part Two) | |||
| 15 Dec 2017 | The London Smog | 00:18:46 | |
Londoners had been accustomed to "peasouper" fogs for centuries, but the one that descended in December 1952 was worse than usual. It was deadly; killing people in their thousands. | |||
| 15 Dec 2017 | The Munich Olympics Massacre | 00:26:21 | |
In the early hours of the 5th September, 1972, eight armed gunmen broke into the apartments of sleeping Israeli athletes and coaches, taking them hostage and beginning a series of events which would turn the Olympics of Peace into the Olympics of Horror. | |||
| 29 Dec 2017 | Air France 358 | 00:27:45 | |
Air France Flight 358 was a transatlantic journey from France to Canada with over three hundred people on board. When it careened off the end of the runway on landing and caught fire, creating a huge blaze that burned for two hours, everyone feared the worst. But the worst didn't come; everyone on board got out alive. | |||
| 12 Jan 2018 | The Spanish Flu | 00:19:20 | |
The flu pandemic of 1918 was not like other outbreaks of influenza. It attacked the young and healthy, not just the infirm, and swept the globe to create a deadly outbreak of unprecedented proportions. It was called the Spanish Flu, and even in the wake of the Great War which preceded it, it was terrifying. | |||
| 09 Feb 2018 | San Francisco Earthquake 1906 | 00:25:01 | |
Shortly after five am on the 18th April 1906, San Francisco was rudely awoken by a major earthquake. It was only the first part of a double tragedy; fire then swept through the city leaving only destruction in its wake. | |||
| 23 Feb 2018 | Hillsborough | 00:39:13 | |
For the thousands of fans who flocked to Hillsborough Stadium for the FA Cup semi-final in 1989, it was supposed to be an enjoyable afternoon on the terraces. A series of errors turned it into a day of unforgettable tragedy. | |||
| 27 Nov 2020 | R101 | 01:03:00 | |
It was the age of airships - gigantic silver balloons which floated almost silently across the sky - but Britain's dreams of an Imperial airship fleet were about to be tragically dashed. | |||
| 09 Mar 2018 | Everest Avalanche and Nepal Earthquake | 00:26:49 | |
The allure of the tallest mountain in the world drew hundreds of people to the slopes of Mount Everest. Even though they were prepared for a risky journey, they did not expect the disaster which befell them - and the country who welcomed them. | |||
| 23 Mar 2018 | Exercise Tiger | 00:30:19 | |
There was a common quip that American troops in the Second World War were "oversexed, overpaid and over here", but they put their lives on the line just like every other nation involved. So how could around seven hundred of them be killed in one event and then forgotten? | |||
| 06 Apr 2018 | Mount Tambora | 00:22:48 | |
In this episode, I'm looking at one of the most violent volcanic eruptions in history. It measures a 7 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index - dwarfing more famous events like Vesuvius in 79 AD (a 5), Krakatoa in 1883 (a 6) and Pinatubo in 1991 (another 6). This was an eruption so huge that its effects were felt all around the world. | |||
| 11 Dec 2020 | Peshtigo Fire | 00:38:02 | |
It burned around 1.5 million acres, killed over a thousand people, and ranks as the deadliest wildfire in history. Yet it is largely forgotten, because it happened the same night as the Great Fire of Chicago. | |||
| 20 Apr 2018 | Monongah | 00:31:11 | |
Mining has never been a job to take lightly. With the weight of the world above their heads, and only the lights they took underground with them, the miners of Monongah worked in dirty, cramped spaces for the Fairmont Coal Company. They trusted their bosses when they said the mine was safe. | |||
| 04 May 2018 | The Station Nightclub Fire | 00:32:32 | |
On a cold night in February, hundreds of people packed into The Station nightclub to see the band Great White playing. It would be a night none of them would forget - but the band didn't even finish their first song. | |||
| 18 May 2018 | The Goiânia Incident | 00:29:06 | |
It started with some abandoned equipment and two scavengers looking for scrap metal. The stuff they found inside looked so pretty, with its magical blue glow, that people passed it around and wore it like carnival glitter. They didn't know that it was deadly. | |||
| 01 Jun 2018 | North Sea Floods 1953 | 00:24:15 | |
British weather in January doesn't tend to be very pleasant, if we're honest about it. However, sometimes it moves far beyond the realms of "slightly miserable" and into a completely different category - deadly. | |||
| 15 Jun 2018 | Seveso Chemical Disaster | 00:32:35 | |
An ordinary summer's day in Italy was disturbed by the sudden appearance of a white cloud. The cloud was vapour that had been released by a local chemical plant, and Seveso would forever be known for its impact. | |||
| 01 Jul 2018 | Apollo 1 | 00:30:58 | |
With America lagging behind the Soviet Union in the space race, JFK made a promise to reach the moon. Three men paid the price on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral. | |||
| 13 Jul 2018 | 1955 Le Mans Crash | 00:29:54 | |
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the world's most prestigious motor races. Established in 1923, it challenges both man and machine to compete at the very edge of their ability. In 1955, that challenge led to catastrophe. | |||
| 31 Jan 2021 | The Schoolhouse Blizzard | 00:42:35 | |
It started as a lovely, mild winter's day - but it turned deadly, and those most at risk were the children. | |||
| 13 Apr 2021 | LAM Mozambique Flight 470 | 00:33:53 | |
A commercial airliner drops from the sky over Africa without a single word; what happened, and how could it have prevented further tragedy? | |||
| 12 Jul 2021 | HMS Thetis | 01:25:24 | |
The submarine sank in relatively sheltered waters, just fourteen miles from shore. Although her front end was on the sea bed, her rear end was lifted several feet out of the water. Surely rescue for the 103 men on board would be quite simple? | |||
| 10 Sep 2021 | 9/11 - Overview | 01:07:16 | |
It was one of the most shocking events of modern times; an attack on an a scale previously unimaginable, and a day that should never be forgotten. | |||
| 10 Sep 2021 | 9/11 - American 11 and the North Tower | 00:58:08 | |
It was one of the most shocking events of modern times; an attack on an a scale previously unimaginable, and a day that should never be forgotten. | |||
| 10 Sep 2021 | 9/11 - United 175 and the South Tower | 00:54:15 | |
It was one of the most shocking events of modern times; an attack on an a scale previously unimaginable, and a day that should never be forgotten. | |||
| 10 Sep 2021 | 9/11 - Trauma in New York | 00:58:43 | |
It was one of the most shocking events of modern times; an attack on an a scale previously unimaginable, and a day that should never be forgotten. | |||
| 10 Sep 2021 | 9/11 - American 77 and The Pentagon | 00:56:13 | |
It was one of the most shocking events of modern times; an attack on an a scale previously unimaginable, and a day that should never be forgotten. | |||
| 10 Sep 2021 | 9/11 - United 93 | 00:55:18 | |
It was one of the most shocking events of modern times; an attack on an a scale previously unimaginable, and a day that should never be forgotten. | |||
| 18 Jan 2019 | Piper Alpha | 00:27:43 | |
In this episode of Great Disasters, I'll be looking at the Piper Alpha explosion; the deadliest off-shore oil rig disaster to date. | |||
| 01 Feb 2019 | The de Havilland Comet | 00:26:04 | |
In this episode, I'm looking at the case of the de Havilland Comet - the first commercial jet airliner. Three crashes within short succession in the 1950's hinted at a deadly flaw in the plane's design, but it would take pioneering investigative techniques to reveal it. | |||
| 15 Feb 2019 | Morecambe Bay Cocklepicking Disaster | 00:33:53 | |
This episode looks at a disaster which struck close to my home - the Morecambe Bay cocklepicking disaster. A large group of Chinese immigrant labourers were sent out onto the sands to collect cockles, but they didn't know just how dangerous the tide can be. | |||
| 01 Mar 2019 | The Flying Scotsman, 1947 | 00:34:26 | |
With an experienced driver in the engine, the Flying Scotsman service was steaming along at full speed on its way to London when suddenly, it left the rails. 28 people were killed in the mangled wreckage. The question was, why? | |||
| 10 Jan 2022 | 2021 In Review | 00:34:20 | |
A look back over the disasters and tragedies which shaped 2021, from COVID-19 to the Surfside Condo Collapse, the La Palma Volcano, and more. | |||
| 15 Mar 2019 | Haiti Earthquake 2010 | 00:30:43 | |
Social, political and geological factors combined to create disaster on an almost unbelievable scale. The 2010 Haiti earthquake killed at least 100,000, and displaced millions. | |||