Many disasters occur due to nature itself, from tsunamis and earthquakes to long droughts and floods. However, in numerous cases over the last centuries, human beings have been the culprit of causing serious disasters in nature and many of them caused irreparable damage to the planet. From fires and explosions to polluting spills, they have been caused by the hand of man.
At Ecologist Verde we want to review these 7 man-made natural disastersWe consider that it is important to remember them, learn from them and try not to repeat them ever.
Oil Dumped into the Oceans: Prestige and Exxon Valdez
Unfortunately, there have been many oil spills to seas and oceans Because of the oil tankers that transported it, some even dumping its entire content into the waters, that is, tons of this highly polluting product. Of course, they have been accidents but at an irreparable cost to the planet.
Some of the best known were the Prestige disaster in Galicia, Spain, on November 13, 2002. 77,000 tonnes of fuel oil were spilled when the ship got a hole and ended up sinking. Without a doubt, this was one of the biggest natural disasters caused by man in Spain, but also in the entire world. Another well known was Exxon valdez, which ran aground in Alaska on March 24, 1989 and dumped 37,000 tons.
Besides, there have been many other cases of oil slicks, such as Amoco Cádiz, which is the one in the image below.
The great plastic islands
One of the major environmental catastrophes it is still present and continues to increase every day. These are the so-called plastic islands, of which there are thousands in the oceans and seas. However, the most worrying is the so-called giant plastic soup or island found in the Pacific Ocean. It is estimated that until recently it contained more than 1.4 square kilometers of garbage and more than 100 million tons of it, but it is getting bigger every day.
Find out more about What are plastic islands and how they are formed in this other Green Ecologist article.
Nuclear disasters: Castle Bravo and Chérnobil
Without a doubt, one of the worst environmental disasters was Castle bravo. This is the code name they gave to the largest nuclear explosion ever, the one that happened during Operation Castle. It is another clear example of how the hand of man has accelerated the destruction of the planet, as this disaster ended the lives of many and a large part of the territory.
The cause was thermonuclear bomb launched as a test in the Marshall Islands, in Micronesia, in 1954. The well-known mushroom cloud, due to the shape of the "smoke" after the explosion, had a power of 15 megatons, much more than they thought it would reach. The result was the immediate destruction of the area and the radiological contamination spread not only in this part, but also affected the nearest islands and even the boats in the area. Thus, the entire territory is devastated and contaminated with radiation, dying people, plants and animals, although there were survivors who had serious consequences throughout their lives.
Something similar happened at Chernobyl, the most serious nuclear power plant disaster ever. The Chernobyl reactor explosion In 1986, although it instantly killed more than 30 people, it continued to harm the environment and those who inhabited the area, affecting countries such as Ukraine, Belarus and part of Russia. Many died over the following years due to this problem, others were born with serious health problems and malformations because of it and, furthermore, there is still radiation there today.
Oil fires in Kuwait
Another of the disasters caused by man in nature, and that therefore affect all kinds of life including us, were the oil fires in Kuwait that occurred during the first Gulf war. It was the Iraqi military forces who started the fire, since 700 oil wells were turned on. Not only did they start the fires, but they also made sure the fire was even more difficult to control by laying mines around it, making it impossible for firefighters and other aid agencies to do anything about it.
The result was that the fires were active for the next 10 months, producing an unimaginable level of contamination of the air, soil and nearby groundwater.
Jilin Petrochemical Factory Explosions
In 2005 another of the worst man-made catastrophes for the environment occurred and happened in Jilin, China. In a petrochemical factory there was a chain of explosions that, in addition to ending the lives of several people, left behind serious damage to the planet, as huge amounts of nitrobenzene and benzene. They are not only harmful to the environment directly, but in addition to being toxic when breathed in, they also cause cancer in the long term, either by inhaling them continuously or by ingesting them even in small doses, through contaminated water or food grown on contaminated soil.
A few days after the accident, a benzene stain about 80 kilometers long could be clearly seen in the water. The inhabitants closest to the area, mainly Harbin, were without a water supply for quite some time.
In the image below you can see the explosions of said petrochemical in Jilin.
Image: hutong9.net
The Bhopal disaster
Bhopal, India, suffered a human disaster that took a heavy toll. The Bhopal disaster, which happened in 1984, occurred when at the Union Carbide pesticide plant there was a leak of methyl isocyanate, a very toxic element in the form of gas. The error was human, they were wrong, and there was an investment in maintenance equipment that resulted in this leak.
Between 6,000 and 8,000 people died in the first week after this disaster, but more than 12,000 more died within a short time. It is considered that in total it affected more than half a million people. All kinds of animals and plants died and the entire environment was contaminated by this toxic substance and heavy metals. The consequences are still suffered today and it is not a safe area to live in.
The well of Darvaza is the door to hell
Finally, although there have been and still are many more man-made natural disasters, we explain why the well of Darvaza is called "The gate of hell".
The well or crater of Darvaza He's in Turkmenistan and he's in what was a gas prospect that ended up turning into a huge, fiery crater. Specifically, it measures 30 meters deep and 69 meters in diameter. Its temperature reaches 400ºC.
The gas prospecting was carried out by Soviet geologists in 1971. Working in the area and camped there, their work area and camp sank into an underground cave that contained a large amount of natural gas. The simplest solution they could find at the time, to prevent the problem from getting worse and there was a large escape of dangerous gases, was to set the gas on fire. They did it believing that in a few days it would be consumed and it would be extinguished, because they did not believe that the amount was as great as it really is, because the fire already it's been burning for almost half a century. Of course, the damage to the environment is tremendous in many ways.
If you want to read more articles similar to 7 man-made natural disasters, we recommend that you enter our Pollution category.
