greatest DISASTERS

Most Expensive Catastrophes in 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 Bomber Crash - $1.4 Billion

Here we have our first billion dollar accident (and we ' re only #7 on the list).
This B-2 stealth bomber 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...



And rising!

here are the captions

Most Expensive Catastrophes in 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 Bomber Crash - $1.4 Billion

Here we have our first billion dollar accident (and we ' re only #7 on the list).
This B-2 stealth bomber 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...



And rising!