History Lesson: The Top 11 Most Expensive Castrophes in World History

[dusred]

Most Expensive Catastrophes in World History

# 11. Titanic - $150 Million

The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it barely makes our list of top 10 most expensive. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage and was considered to be the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1,500 people lost their lives when the ship ran into an iceberg and sunk in frigid waters. The ship cost $7 million to build ($150 million in today ' s dollars)

# 10. Tanker Truck vs Bridge - $358 Million

On August 26, 2004, a car collided with a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters of fuel on the Wiehltal Bridge in Germany . The tanker crashed through the guardrail and fell 90 feet off the A4 Autobahn resulting in a huge explosion and fire which destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge. Temporary repairs cost $40 million and the cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $318 Million.

# 9. MetroLink Crash - $500 Million

On September 12, 2008, in what was one of the worst train crashes in California history, 25 people were killed when a Metrolink commuter train crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles . It is thought that the Metrolink train may have run through a red signal while the conductor was busy text messaging.. Wrongful death lawsuits are expected to cause $500 million in losses for Metrolink.

# 8. B-2 b0mber Crash - $1.4 Billion

Here we have our first billion dollar accident (and we ' re only #7 on the list). This B-2 stealth b0mber crashed shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam on February 23, 2008. Investigators blamed distorted data in the flight control computers caused by moisture in the system. This resulted in the aircraft making a sudden nose-up move which made the B-2 stall and crash. This was 1 of only 21 ever built and was the most expensive aviation accident in history. Both pilots were able to eject to safety.

# 7. Exxon Valdez - $2.5 Billion

The Exxon Valdez oil spill was not a large one in relation to the world ' s biggest oil spills, but it was a costly one due to the remote location of Prince William Sound (accessible only by helicopter and boat). On March 24, 1989, 10.8 million gallons of oil was spilled when the ship ' s master, Joseph Hazelwood, left the controls and the ship crashed into a Reef. The cleanup cost Exxon $2.5 billion.

# 6. Piper Alpha Oil Rig - $3.4 Billion

The world ' s worst off-shore oil disaster. At one time, it was the world ' s single largest oil producer, spewing out 317,000 barrels of oil per day. On July 6, 1988, as part of routine maintenance, technicians removed and checked safety valves which were essential in preventing dangerous build-up of liquid gas. There were 100 identical safety valves which were checked. Unfortunately, the technicians made a mistake and forgot to replace one of them. At 10 PM that same night, a technician pressed a start button for the liquid gas pumps and the world ' s most expensive oil rig accident was set in motion.

Within 2 hours, the 300 foot platform was engulfed in flames. It eventually collapsed, killing 167 workers and resulting in $3.4 Billion in damages.

# 5. Challenger Explosion - $5.5 Billion

The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after takeoff due on January 28, 1986 due to a faulty O-ring. It failed to seal one of the joints, allowing pressurized gas to reach the outside. This in turn caused the external tank to dump its payload of liquid hydrogen causing a massive explosion. The cost of replacing the Space Shuttle was $2 billion in 1986 ($4.5 billion in today ' s dollars). The cost of investigation, problem correction, and replacement of lost equipment cost $450 million from 1986-1987 ($1 Billion in today ' s dollars).

# 4. Prestige Oil Spill - $12 Billion

On November 13, 2002, the Prestige oil tanker was carrying 77,000 tons of heavy fuel oil when one of its twelve tanks burst during a storm off Galicia , Spain . Fearing that the ship would sink, the captain called for help from Spanish rescue workers, expecting them to take the ship into harbour. However, pressure from local authorities forced the captain to steer the ship away from the coast. The captain tried to get help from the French and Portuguese authorities, but they too ordered the ship away from their shores. The storm eventually took its toll on the ship resulting in the tanker splitting in half and releasing 20 million gallons oil into the sea.

According to a report by the Pontevedra Economist Board, the total cleanup cost $12 billion.

# 3. Space Shuttle Columbia - $13 Billion

The Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space worthy shuttle in NASA ' s orbital fleet. It was destroyed during re-entry over Texas on February 1, 2003 after a hole was punctured in one of the wings during launch 16 days earlier. The original cost of the shuttle was $2 Billion in 1978. That comes out to $6.3 Billion in today ' s dollars. $500 million was spent on the investigation, making it the costliest aircraft accident investigation in history. The search and recovery of debris cost $300 million.

In the end, the total cost of the accident (not including replacement of the shuttle) came out to $13 Billion according to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics..

# 2. Chernobyl - $200 Billion

On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed the costliest accident in history. The Chernobyl disaster has been called the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in peacetime history. 50% of the area of Ukraine is in some way contaminated. Over 200,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled while 1.7 million people were directly affected by the disaster. The death toll attributed to Chernobyl , including people who died from cancer years later, is estimated at 125,000. The total costs including cleanup, resettlement, and compensation to victims has been estimated to be roughly $200 Billion. The cost of a new steel shelter for the Chernobyl nuclear plant will cost $2 billion alone. The accident was officially attributed to power plant operators who violated plant procedures and were ignorant of the safety requirements needed.

# 1. 2008 Presidential Election- $800 Billion in the first two months.....

[Logan76]

Wow, even though it was just an Anti-Obama post, theres some hella intresting material in there. That Chernobyl s*** is crazy!

[Koshin]

Nice.....

[Papi Chulo]

Cool.

[Looneybomber]

I forgot all about the Columbia explosion.

Dang Obama.

[dusred]

I forgot all about the Columbia explosion.

Yeah, that was pretty crazy. Is what was even more crazy is when pieces of it landed in peoples back yards they were arrested if they even touched the pieces.

[Jacko3]

Why do you dislike Obama nd his policies so? Do you not know that he might be the source of your next bread and butter?

[dusred]

Why do you dislike Obama nd his policies so?

Because he's destroying my country. I'm just starting in life and I'm going to have to pay this bill out of my earnings. That's why.

I don't dislike Obama as a person but I do dislike his policies.

Do you not know that he might be the source of your next bread and butter?

God forbid. It's not HIS money that he's spending, it's ours (the young people who will pay the bill).

I want to work for my bread and butter I don't want some fancy a** politician giving me bread and butter while I sit on my a** and do nothing.

[szh]

Why do you dislike Obama nd his policies so?

This comic explains it all:



Z

[480sx]

Chernobyl WAS freaken crazy. The Russians had a ticking time bomb of a reactor design. One of the first people to die in that accident was a man who was frantically trying to do something with manually operated(tf, really.) control rod. They found his body impaled with that same control rod dangling from the ceiling.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_disaster

If you want to learn a bit more.

/end threadjack

800 billion.. Not exactly B.O's fault 100%, congress voted for it too. Dont forget this is not simply a presidential problem, this is a "Our government is out of control" problem.

[nismofly]

How come the two shuttles were both 2 billion, but one in 78 dollars and one in 86 dollars, leading to their today cost being way different.

[Cold_Zero]

How come the two shuttles were both 2 billion, but one in 78 dollars and one in 86 dollars, leading to their today cost being way different.

Only thing I can think of is that the description for Columbia says 2 billion (1978 dollars) original construction cost and Challenger says 2 billion (1986 dollars) replacement cost. 2 billion in 1978 equals 6.3 billion today and 2 billion in 1986 equals 4.5 billion today, it appears it got cheaper to build them over time?

[Jacko3]

Because he's destroying my country. I'm just starting in life and I'm going to have to pay this bill out of my earnings. That's why.

I don't dislike Obama as a person but I do dislike his policies.

God forbid. It's not HIS money that he's spending, it's ours (the young people who will pay the bill).

I want to work for my bread and butter I don't want some fancy a** politician giving me bread and butter while I sit on my a** and do nothing.

Well, since you may still be a young man, I am gonna need you to keep working so that when I get older, I can cash in on Social Security. Without your hardwork, I won't get paid when I am all grey and done.

[Jacko3]

This comic explains it all:



Z

Well said!

[1unar3clipse]

#9 happened between my town and Chatsworth..I drive by the accident site everyday.

a lot of kids I went to highschool/middle school were on that train, my brothers best friend didn't make it

[telcoman]

Because he's destroying my country. I'm just starting in life and I'm going to have to pay this bill out of my earnings. That's why.

I don't dislike Obama as a person but I do dislike his policies.

God forbid. It's not HIS money that he's spending, it's ours (the young people who will pay the bill).

I want to work for my bread and butter I don't want some fancy a** politician giving me bread and butter while I sit on my a** and do nothing.

He is attempting to correct eight years of fiscal mismanagement of the previous administration.

Remember we had a surplus when Clinton left office.

Perhaps you would like to explain why the costs of the two wars were conveniently left out of his budgets?

Telcoman

[Jacko3]

He is attempting to correct eight years of fiscal mismanagement of the previous administration.

Remember we had a surplus when Clinton left office.

Perhaps you would like to explain why the costs of the two wars were conveniently left out of his budgets?

Telcoman

[Cold_Zero]

Remember we had a surplus when Clinton left office.

Telcoman

Howie, When will you get it right? We had a Budget Surplus under Bill Clinton. Which means the budgets were balanced so that over long period of time we would actualize paying off the national deficit. Don’t count your budget chickens before the hatch

[dusred]

He is attempting to correct eight years of fiscal mismanagement of the previous administration.

Remember we had a surplus when Clinton left office.

Perhaps you would like to explain why the costs of the two wars were conveniently left out of his budgets?

Telcoman

How many wars were we fighting when Clinton came into and left office?

How many buildings were crashed into by airplanes?

How much terrorism was going on in our Country?

How many country's wanted to obliterate us from off of the face of the earth when Clinton was in office?

How much was our military strengthened during Clinton's administration?

How much did you pay of your paycheck each month when Clinton was in office?

Answer these for me, Howie.

[480sx]

How much legislation was passed in clear violation of the Constutition of the United States?

How many allegations of war crimes/atrocities?

How many POW violations?

Was international law disregarded as badly as it was during the Bush administration?

How many scandals(other than the whole impeachment thing ) went down in his administration?

How much global destabilization happened during Clintions presidency?
Modified by 480sx at 6:00 PM 3/5/2009

[dusred]

How much legislation was passed in clear violation of the Constutition of the United States?

How many allegations of war crimes/atrocities?

How many POW violations?

Was international law disregarded as badly as it was during the Bush administration?

How many scandals(other than the whole impeachment thing ) went down in his administration?

How much global destabilization happened during Clintions presidency?

Modified by 480sx at 6:00 PM 3/5/2009

I'm not really a big fan of Bush and don't really care for the war. I'm well aware of all the bulls*** policy's Bush put into place.

Howie was saying how good the Economy was during Clinton's presidency and I'm saying that things are alot different now then they were in Clinton's time.

[Jacko3]

How many wars were we fighting when Clinton came into and left office?

How many buildings were crashed into by airplanes?

How much terrorism was going on in our Country?

How many country's wanted to obliterate us from off of the face of the earth when Clinton was in office?

How much was our military strengthened during Clinton's administration?

How much did you pay of your paycheck each month when Clinton was in office?

Answer these for me, Howie.

1. There was no need to fight a war---we were experiencing a great economic boom.

2. WTC was attacked and Oklahoma City bombing. While air planes crashed in the WTC under Bush, Bush was busy reading children's book about his PET GOAT.

3. Terrorism from middle-east has been plotted against our nation since Regan era or before that time by the Russians (cold war).

4. Libya, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, etc.

5. Strength of a military can only be detrmined by a thorough assessment.

6. Clinton raised taxes and reduced unemployment. Bush dropped taxes and increased unemployment.

[480sx]

Yea i know my post came out of left field, i fail.

[dusred]

1. There was no need to fight a war---we were experiencing a great economic boom.

Thank you for proving my point. There was not a war sucking our nation dry and on top of that he came into office while the economy was booming (from the .com boom)

Quote »2. WTC was attacked and Oklahoma City bombing. [/quote]And that is somehow comparable to 2 airplanes crashing into the 2 world trade centers and one into the pentagon - destroying 3 buildings and severely damaging another while killing thousands of people? I think not.

Quote »3. Terrorism from middle-east has been plotted against our nation since Regan era or before that time by the Russians (cold war).[/quote]But they weren't in our nation killing us.

Quote »4. Libya, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, etc.[/quote]Okay, let me ask this then, how many were building nuclear weapons and thumbing their nose at us to stop them?

Quote »5. Strength of a military can only be detrmined by a thorough assessment. [/quote]Go read some history books. Clinton greatly weakened our military.

Quote »6. Clinton raised taxes and reduced unemployment. Bush dropped taxes and increased unemployment.[/quote]Like you said before, he was president during a booming economy, right during the time of the .com boom when millions of new businesses were introduced (ebay, google, craigslist just to name a few).

Raising taxes to reduce unemployment simply doesn't work.

[audtatious]

He is attempting to correct eight years of fiscal mismanagement of the previous administration.

Yes, you fix excess spending by spending over 3.5 trillion. Sounds like your big O is doing a Bush x1000

[dusred]

Yea i know my post came out of left field, i fail.

Nope. There's still 'Hope', 'Change', and 'Yes We Can' for you.

. . . as for Jacko

[mcheddadi]

Obama pwns your souls with his awesomeness! he is soo awesome!

[audtatious]

He needs to have that mole looked at. Might be cancerous...

[Cold_Zero]

Thank you for proving my point. There was not a war sucking our nation dry and on top of that he came into office while the economy was booming (from the .com boom)

No dusred, if you remember back to 2001 the economy was in a recession. The markets finally crashed after 9-11 and in order to get things rocking and rolling, bush ordered the first (of 3) round of tax cuts. The major reasons cited for the recession was the collapse of the dot com boom, the 9-11 attacks. I am sure World Com and Enron scandals didnt help either in the recovery.

Obama pwns your souls with his awesomeness! he is soo awesome!

Shoo Shoo, the men folk are talking here. If you dont have anything to contribute, dont let the door hit you on the way out.

[BusyBadger]

He needs to have that mole looked at. Might be cancerous...

The one at the end of his neck with hair on top, right?