Disaster Area

In the early morning hours of September 22nd, 1993, a cross-country train departed from Mobile, Alabama, on its way to Miami. As it headed up along the train tracks out of the city, the train didn't know one important thing - that half of the bridge over the Big Bayou Canot wasn't there anymore. Videos: Seconds from Disaster: The Wreck of the Sunset Limited Forensic Files: Visibility Zero Rail Disasters: Wreck of the Sunset Limited Articles and books: Barge Pilot Blamed in Fatal Amtrak Wreck No Criminal Liability Is Found in Amtrak Bayou Derailment Mobile Press-Register 200th Anniversary: Sunset Limited train wreck memories not diminished by passing years NTSB report on the accident  

On a sunny Sunday morning in 2017, a man in an SUV pulled up outside a small white church in Sutherland Springs, TX. The people inside would become the targets of the weapons he carried. But when he sped away about twenty minutes later, he would be the one escaping gunfire. Videos: Miracle on 4th Street Sutherland Springs shooter recorded his confession to severe beating of stepson Victims' stories heard through videos of Sutherland Springs church services Articles and books: I’m Not a Hero’: Man Who Shot and Chased Texas Church Gunman Shares His Story Secret Service case study focused on the Sutherland Springs shooting as an example of the link between domestic violence and mass attacks From the first deadly shot until the last — how the Texas church shooting unfolded Comal County authorities didn’t charge Sutherland Springs gunman with rape, even though the victim described brutal attack Texas massacre survivors say gunman Devin Kelley became enraged by scared children during church shooti

On a sunny Sunday morning in 2017, a man in an SUV pulled up outside a small white church in Sutherland Springs, TX. The people inside would become the targets of the weapons he carried. But when he sped away about twenty minutes later, he would be the one escaping gunfire. Videos: Miracle on 4th Street Sutherland Springs shooter recorded his confession to severe beating of stepson Victims' stories heard through videos of Sutherland Springs church services Articles and books: I’m Not a Hero’: Man Who Shot and Chased Texas Church Gunman Shares His Story Secret Service case study focused on the Sutherland Springs shooting as an example of the link between domestic violence and mass attacks From the first deadly shot until the last — how the Texas church shooting unfolded Comal County authorities didn’t charge Sutherland Springs gunman with rape, even though the victim described brutal attack Texas massacre survivors say gunman Devin Kelley became enraged by scared children during church shooti

On a sunny Sunday morning in 2017, a man in an SUV pulled up outside a small white church in Sutherland Springs, TX. The people inside would become the targets of the weapons he carried. But when he sped away about twenty minutes later, he would be the one escaping gunfire. Videos: Miracle on 4th Street Sutherland Springs shooter recorded his confession to severe beating of stepson Victims' stories heard through videos of Sutherland Springs church services Articles and books: I’m Not a Hero’: Man Who Shot and Chased Texas Church Gunman Shares His Story Secret Service case study focused on the Sutherland Springs shooting as an example of the link between domestic violence and mass attacks From the first deadly shot until the last — how the Texas church shooting unfolded Comal County authorities didn’t charge Sutherland Springs gunman with rape, even though the victim described brutal attack Texas massacre survivors say gunman Devin Kelley became enraged by scared children during church shooti

A week ago, the Guadalupe River in Texas overflowed its banks and swept away dozens of campers. It turns out that this is not the first time it's done so - and not the first time some of those campers didn't survive. Videos: "Rescue 911" segment on the tragedy Señor Onion’s Archives: Guadalupe Flood of 1987 Sheriff recounts tragic Comfort, TX flood The Flood: Who Will Save Our Children? Articles and books: Toll At 8 In Texas Flooding 2 Young Campers Are Still Missing Almost 40 years ago, 10 children died in a Comfort flood that shook Texas

(Podcaster's note: The second part of the Cutter incident episode is forthcoming; I'm just trying to get it juuuuuust right. :)) November 7th, 2018, was just supposed to be another fun night of drinking and line dancing at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, CA. But at 11:18 PM, all of that ended in an instant. Videos: TikTok: shannon_mcgee visiting the site 1.5 years later TikTok: Official account of @borderlinebar RAW VIDEO: Thousand Oaks gunman seen shooting inside Borderline Bar & Grill | ABC7 Thousand Oaks shooting survivor: "My friend killed my other friends" Co-Owner Of Borderline Bar And Grill Accused Of Embezzling $43K Ventura County DA Releases New Video Of Borderline Bar Shooting Columbine Survivor Survives Virginia Tech Articles and books: Must Reads: Friends took this photo at their favorite bar in Thousand Oaks. Minutes later, the shooting started CHP officer’s bullet killed sheriff’s deputy who responded to Thousand Oaks bar shooting Authorities Describe 'Co

It would start with a headache, a fever, maybe a funny tummy. But soon enough your knee would give out, or your arm would hang limp, or you would struggle to breathe. You'd be taken to the hospital, where you'd get your diagnosis - polio. If you survived, you ran the risk of doing so with paralyzed limbs, struggling to walk on bulky leg braces. Your parents would be terrified they might lose you, and so everybody wanted the one thing that could stop all of this - a vaccine. Videos: New England Journal of Medicine: The Cutter Incident, 50 Years Later American Experience: The Polio Crusade The Iron Lung and Polio by M.Rockoff | OPENPediatrics Articles and books: Polio: An American Story, by David M. Oshinsky The Cutter Incident, by Dr. Paul Offit NEJM: The Cutter Incident

In a bustling city of pirates and wickedness, one might think things couldn't get any more dangerous. But in the Jamaican city of Port Royal in 1692, that thought would be tested, and tested hard. Videos: History of Port Royal (Underwater Cities) Articles and books: Apocalypse 1692: Empire, Slavery, and the Great Port Royal Earthquake, by Ben Hughes Historic Earthquakes: Jamaica, 1692 June 07 UTC Jamaica Port Royal If you'd like to donate to the GFM for my car, you can find that here: https://gofund.me/a0585132

To raise money for car repairs, Jennifer answers the question you've all been wondering - how well can she talk about a disaster while ... let's say "not sober." Please help Jennifer fix her car! It takes our esteemed cohost Professor on rides to go see cows and he therefore cannot live without it. Links below: GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/59bec8ad Paypal: disasterarea@mail.com Cashapp: $disasterareapod Venmo: @disasterareapodcast  

It was almost the end of a typical Tuesday for workers at the Sofa Super Store in Charleston, South Carolina, in June of 2007, and several of them went out to the loading dock to smoke and kill a little time. One stray cigarette butt thrown too near the trash, and within an hour and a half nine firefighters would be dead. Videos: Charleston Fire Department’s recovery from deadly Sofa Super Store fire First hour of dispatch audio from the Sofa Super Store fire Charleston 9: The Ultimate Sacrifice Line-of-Duty Death and Injury Investigations - NIST Fire Modeling - The Charleston Investigation Articles and books: Newsweek: 'It looked like Hell was burning' Post and Courier: Sofa store owner tells his side Post and Courier: Trapped: The story of nine Charleston firefighters' deaths NIST Study on Charleston Furniture Store Fire Calls for National Safety Improvements Remembering the Charleston 9: 17 years after deadly Sofa Super Store fire The Sofa Super Store fire: The blaze that reshaped the

On a warm November evening in 1996, in the rural farmland not far from Delhi, the remains of two aircraft plummeted from the skies. The collision which caused them to fall is still the deadliest mid-air collision in history. Videos: Mayday/Air Crash Investigation episode on Charkhi Dadri collision Disaster Breakdown: The Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision Remains of Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision "Head On" Articles and books: Accident report Human error is blamed for crash At Least 349 Are Killed in Collision Indian Officials Gather Evidence on Midair Collision Haryana's Charkhi Dadri plans a memorial for 1996 mid-air collision victims

Let us celebrate the 250th episode of the podcast by doing literally anything else but watching "Cats."  Videos: Cats: The Musical Cats (2019) The Late Late Show with James Corden: Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts with Chrissy Teigen "Cats" commercial for the Broadway show Articles and books: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, by T.S. Eliot What's a Jellicle, Anyway? Everything You Need to Know About Cats Before You See the Movie 21 Funny Reactions From Critics Who Thought The New “Cats” Movie Was A Catastrophe Cats review: a sinister, all-time disaster from which no one emerges unscathed 'Oh God, my eyes': The reviews for 'Cats' are hilarious and traumatic ‘It Became This Joke. But It Was the Most Spectacular Thing of Its Time.’ An oral history of Cats on Broadway, as told by its original cats. Cats (2019): Performance Editing the Buttholes Out of ‘Cats’ Was a Total Nightmare for VFX Crew The ‘Cats’ trailer dropped. We have 34 questions. Cats mistake revealed as Judi Dench's

It turns out that I have not disappeared into a magical world to be romanced by a fae prince - more's the pity. Anyway, let's talk about the Los Angeles wildfire, misinformation, and knowing when you need to give yourself space so you can give others the help they need.

It was a hot and muggy summer day as the steamboat Sea Wing carried passengers down the Mississippi River for what was to be a lovely excursion to the National Guard settlement near Lake City, MN. And it was ... until the storm hit. Videos: The Sea Wing Disaster So Minnesota: Haunted history of the Sea Wing disaster Sea Wing Disaster on KSMQ's "Off 90" (Sponsored by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment) Articles and books: Shipwrecked on Lake Pepin: The Sea Wing disaster Historic Disasters in Southeast Minnesota, by Steve Gardiner The Sea Wing disaster killed 98, yet the tragedy is little known beyond Red Wing

For years, the hook holding up the power lines at transmission tower 27/222 in northern California had been wearing down bit by bit. On November 8th, 2018, the hook finally broke, and the resulting series of events led to the deadliest wildfire in California in a century. Videos: Netflix: Fire in Paradise Frontline: Fire in Paradise Camp Fire: One Year Later The Deadliest Fire in California History Drone fire of Camp Fire devastation in Butte County Trump confused over fire-hit town Paradise: 'Pleasure, what a name' Articles and books: Fire in Paradise: An American Tragedy, by Alastair Gee and Dani Anguaino Trump refused to give California wildfire aid until told how many people there voted for him, ex-aide says Trump’s Misleading Claims About California’s Fire ‘Mismanagement’ ABC10 Investigation: PG&E knew old power line parts had ‘severe wear’ months before deadly Camp Fire Trump blames forest management again on California fires visit The Camp Fire public report ‘Hell on Ear

For years, the hook holding up the power lines at transmission tower 27/222 in northern California had been wearing down bit by bit. On November 8th, 2018, the hook finally broke, and the resulting series of events led to the deadliest wildfire in California in a century. Videos: Netflix: Fire in Paradise Frontline: Fire in Paradise Camp Fire: One Year Later The Deadliest Fire in California History Drone fire of Camp Fire devastation in Butte County Trump confused over fire-hit town Paradise: 'Pleasure, what a name' Articles and books: Fire in Paradise: An American Tragedy, by Alastair Gee and Dani Anguaino Trump refused to give California wildfire aid until told how many people there voted for him, ex-aide says Trump’s Misleading Claims About California’s Fire ‘Mismanagement’ ABC10 Investigation: PG&E knew old power line parts had ‘severe wear’ months before deadly Camp Fire Trump blames forest management again on California fires visit The Camp Fire public report ‘Hell on Ear

Sometimes it feels as though Columbine was our first experience with school shootings. But it very much wasn't, as the town of West Paducah, Kentucky, can attest. Videos: Very Bad Men: Michael Carneal Articles and books: Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings, by Katherine S. Newman, Cybelle Fox, David J. Harding, Jal Metha, and Wendy Roth 1997 Kentucky school shooter denied parole COMMONWEALTH v. CARNEAL (2008) When Grief Wanted a Hero, Truth Didn't Get in the Way Carneal Recalls 1997 High School Shooting Rampage WHEN THE SILENCE FELL

In part two, we watch as the Atlantic continues to head toward the southern coast of Nova Scotia ... with dangerous consequences. Videos:  The Terrifying Wreck of the SS ATLANTIC (Halifax, 1873 - 150th ANNIVERSARY) A Real-Time Animation of the Sinking A Visit to the SS Atlantic Heritage Park Interpretation Center, Nova Scotia Articles and books: Atlantic’s Last Stop: Courage, Folly, and Lies in the White Star Line’s Worst Disaster Before Titanic, by Bob Chaulk Descendants of 'heroic people' mark anniversary of SS Atlantic wreck The SS Atlantic Heritage Park website  

It's been a rough week and a half on stormy seas as you and your family make the trip from Ireland to your new home in America in March of 1873. Now finally, the ship is making a stop in Halifax to refuel and you might all be able to rest. But there will be no rest for the passengers on the SS Atlantic. Videos: The Terrifying Wreck of the SS ATLANTIC (Halifax, 1873 - 150th ANNIVERSARY) A Real-Time Animation of the Sinking Articles and books: Atlantic’s Last Stop: Courage, Folly, and Lies in the White Star Line’s Worst Disaster Before Titanic, by Bob Chaulk Descendants of 'heroic people' mark anniversary of SS Atlantic wreck The SS Atlantic Heritage Park website

It was just supposed to be a fun college party with a great band at a popular Brazil nightclub. But once the pyrotechnics came out, Kiss turned into Hell in an instant. Videos: Inside Kiss nightclub, purportedly minutes before the fire started: temospoucotempo and vinnicius.massagnini Tiktok video from diariodesantamaria of the ceremony prior to the nightclub's demolition World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine video by Dr. Silvana Dal Ponte about the emergency response New video shows destroyed Brazil nightclub Brazil Nightclub Fire: Amateur footage shows firefighters battling the blaze Articles and books: NFPA: Boate Kiss Revisited Boate Kiss: No one in jail ten years after nightclub fire tragedy Brazilian Kiss Nightclub Disaster Brazil nightclub fire: No fire alarm, just one door THE SAD TRUTH ABOUT THE KISS NIGHTCLUB FIRE Band in Brazil Nightclub Tragedy Known for Pyrotechnics A Brief but Frantic Struggle for Victims of Fire in Brazil How the Santa Maria Fire Could Ma