Catastrophe
Disasters, collapses, fires, storms, shortages, and systems that failed.
Investigations
The Gas Had No Smell
The gas beneath New London School was odorless. When it exploded in 1937, nearly 300 students and teachers died—and Texas changed the way leaking gas warns us it…
The Fire Department Was Already There
When the Grandcamp caught fire in Texas City in 1947, the city sent all four of its fire trucks to the docks. Minutes later the ship exploded, leaving…
A Wall in the Dark
When fire trapped hundreds inside Illinois’s Cherry Mine in 1909, a small group built a wall underground to keep poisonous air out. A week later, rescuers found them…
The Lifeboats Never Left the Deck
SS Eastland carried extra lifesaving equipment when it capsized beside a Chicago wharf in 1915. More than 800 people died before a single lifeboat could leave the deck.
The Fire He Lit Himself
In 1949, smokejumper foreman Wag Dodge stopped running from the Mann Gulch Fire and deliberately lit another fire in front of himself. His crew had never been trained…
The Men Who Wouldn’t Turn Left
Three weeks after the Port Chicago explosion killed 320 people, Black sailors were ordered back to ammunition loading. Their refusal led to a mass mutiny trial—and exoneration 80…
The Hoses That Wouldn’t Fit
When fire companies rushed to Baltimore in 1904, many discovered their hose couplings would not fit the city’s hydrants. The disaster helped force a national firefighting standard.
They Checked the Dam That Morning
On the morning of March 12, 1928, engineers inspected a troubling leak at California’s St. Francis Dam and found no immediate danger. Before midnight, the dam was gone.
They Lifted the City
After the 1900 hurricane killed thousands, Galveston built a seawall—then raised streets, utilities, homes and churches while pumping millions of cubic yards of sand beneath the city.
They Taught the Lake to Breathe
In 1986, Lake Nyos released an invisible cloud of carbon dioxide that killed about 1,700 people. Then engineers found a way to make the lake vent itself safely.