November 16, 2008: BadaBoom

BadaBoom, Big BadaBoom.

(snip)320 were killed immediately and almost 400 were seriously injured, but that’s not the real tragedy. Most of these men were African American and this single disaster accounted for almost 15% of African American casualties.(snip)
I imagine the families of those sailors that died weren't interested in that 15% figure. !00% of their husbands, fathers, and sons died. I'll also bet they didn't consider their ethnicity in their grief.

True, but in the back of their minds, they knew the people killed were there because of their color. Even though the alternative, had they been allowed, would have been combat duty which isn't exactly safer.
I agree, however, it's only a footnote to this terrible tragedy.

Whoa. That's definitely devastating for all involved. What a story... I think the next time SF area will look like that will be a reeeally devastating earthquake. (Any minute now...) And now I have The Fifth Element quotes running rampant through my head. Thanks Bruce!

The aftermath was horrible too, but at the very least it paved the way for desegregation of the armed forces.

http://www.portchicagomemorial.org/

Stupid that it takes bad situations to make things right. But even to this day, we've still got a ways to go.

Halifax explosion from 1917. Wiped out a whole city (plus 18m tsunami after the explosion).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion
http://www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/

Biggest man-made and non-nuke explosion.

mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by StereoMike Biggest man-made and non-nuke explosion. mike

When I worked at Exxon refinery at Benicia, CA I took a shortcut by there each day.
A Naval station there now. BTW. The refinery had old ammo bunkers alll over it.

Funny, would there be that much concern for the black folk if they hadn't been blown to 'Kingdom Come'?

Hey!? Where's that guy that always climbs up my ass whenever I use the word 'black'? Or 'pimp'?

I would think that the 1917 blast did more damage because it was in deeper water. The rebounding shock wave would be spread out more that if it was in shallow water (such as being dockside)

It was dockside. After the french abandoned ship, it drifted into the dock, setting it ablaze. The firefighters had just arrived to put out the dock fire, when the ship blew up.

So the snively French are to blame? I Knew it!

I feel a good natural disaster coming on. Who is next? seriously.

Yeah, it's been a while.

This could be a thread, like the celebrity death thread. All tip where, what kind of disaster, and death toll.

Out of the blue, I'm going to say, earthquake, South America under the Andes, mmmm Peru, 6,000 dead.

I say Iran, at one of their nuke arsenals, before January 20th.

yeah while trying to launch it on a russian or chinese missile/rocket that fails.

Guess I'll have to take the Asian Tsunami - 28,634 dead.

Just from memory, I thought the tsunami (a) killed about 250,000, ten times your number, and (b) already happened, so is ineligible for the "next disaster tipping contest".

Carry on.

San Francisco earthquake. 7,400 dead.

well allrighty then, I'll take another NATURAL disaster. Ice cap melts and kills you! There now you're dead and can't tell me I'm wrong. Pbblllttt!

Ahh, but what caused the ice cap to melt. If it was anthropogenic, you're disqualified. Again. :p

What caused the ice to melt was about 144 Btu of heat input per pound of ice melted.

Here's an interesting question. If all the ice-caps melt, ocean levels would rise by about 150 meters.

How many Dwellars' dwellings would that flood? Is your house under 150 meters (roughly 500 feet)? Mine is.

We ain't afraid of no stinkin' meters.:p

Im gonna be like Lex Luther and start buying up properties that are just a bit off shore.

27% of the Netherlands is below sea level.

/fun fact

Along with nearly 10 million of its citizens...:p

I'll be above water.



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