All Time Top Ten Expensive Disasters

Hootanany

Be patient until you get to number 1

---

At - 11. Titanic - $150 Million


The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it doesn't quite make the list of top 10 most expensive, and is here because of its historical prominence.

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 31,000 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. 100 identical safety valves 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 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 - $30 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.










And now for Number 1....

€75 Billion

Brian Cowen and Bertie have sunk this Country down the Jacks
Bailed out Banks & Developers gave them self huge pension and perks etc etc

Ciaran500

Going to post the source of this?

TPD

Ciaran500 wrote: »

Going to post the source of this?

Oddee I think. OP might have added no1 themselves though.

Hootanany wrote: »

2. Chernobyl - $30 Billion

On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed the costliest accident in history.

Only no2?

Hank_Jones

Somehow I'd be more inclined towards thinking of Chernobyl as a bigger disaster than whats going on in this country currently.

But hey, that's just me.

Nice post though.

seclachi

Hootanany wrote: »

2. Chernobyl - $30 Billion

The total costs including cleanup, resettlement, and compensation to victims has been estimated to be roughly $200 Billion.

Uh huh.

Captain_Generic

Wasn't the US bailout $2.5 trillion or something?

Tipsy Mac

September 11 attacks not mentioned? :rolleyes:

anonymous_joe

Captain_Generic wrote: »

Wasn't the US bailout $2.5 trillion or something?

Yeah, but you'd get less thanks in AH if you pointed that out.

My name is URL

At least we're not dying horrible deaths though.. and I doubt those figures include long-term damage to the economies they happened in

whadabouchasir

Hank_Jones wrote: »

Somehow I'd be more inclined towards thinking of Chernobyl as a bigger disaster than whats going on in this country currently.

I'd have to agree with you there.Thousands dying as well as children being born with severe health problems is that bit worse.

Hank_Jones wrote: »

But hey, that's just me.

That's because us Irish are a bunch of self pitying moaners that think we have it worse than anyone else.

Overheal

Objection! Titanic eventually grossed $1.84 billion. Whats $150m and a $200m movie budget compared to that?

efb

I honestly think this proves Ireland'a a nation of whingers. 3 inchs of snow brings the country to a standstill, and a guy walking to Dundrum slips on the pavement and rings Joe Duffy.

Yeah Just like Haiti...

Perspective would be nice.

Comparing our Economic downturn to Chernobyl is laughable...

Overheal

And if we're going to compare recessionary disasters you cant hold a candle to $2 Trillion.

That will be all

jumpguy

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

September 11 attacks not mentioned? :rolleyes:

That wasn't an accident.

Alot of that is bull**** when it comes to specifics tbh:

"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. 100 identical safety valves were checked. Unfortunately, the technicians made a mistake and forgot to replace one of them"

The engineers did actually replace the valve, the problem was that they didn't tighten the bolts correctly, they only hand-tightened them. There's loads of other discrepancies too.


Oh yeah, and putting Ireland's disaster over Chernobyl? Yeah...cause we have problems compared to Chernobyl...lol

Biggins

Hootanany wrote: »

And now for Number 1....
€75 Billion
Brian Cowen and Bertie have sunk this Country down the Jacks
Bailed out Banks & Developers gave them self huge pension and perks etc etc

...followed up by one secret held inquiry, designed, run and involving Fianna Fail behind close doors.
However "Government Chief Whip Pat Carey said the Government is not excluding public hearings at a later stage."
This will probably happen later when they know the limit and scope of their own members who are involved.
That way, they can limit further investigations so that they will be excluded from the range of the inquiry.

Fianna Fail, who says cover-up's can't be state organised!

The government will this week unveil plans for an inquiry into the banking crisis, but will rule out holding hearings in public.
Rather than holding an Oireachtas inquiry or tribunal, the government will propose using a system similar to the Murphy Commission, which investigated the Catholic Church’s response to child abuse in Dublin.
This would be mean that the inquiry would be conducted in private, with the report published at the conclusion of the hearings.

Source: http://www.sbpost.ie/news/bank-probe-will-be-held-in-private-46824.html
and
RTE: http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0117/banks.html

Fine Gael's Leo Varadkar said the revelations surrounding loans to Fianna Fail politicians had exposed a "21st century golden circle of banks, speculators and Fianna Fail politicians that dragged our economy to the brink of bankruptcy for the second time in 30 years".

Full report: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/mccreevy-used-euro16m-loan-for-a-luxury-k-club-home-1985701.html

Some of those from Fianna Fail involved include Councillor Sean McCarthy, Senator Francie O'Brien, Senator Don Lydon, Charlie McCreevy and even Bertie Ahern's then other half!

bluto63

There I was enjoying the list, very interesting read seeing what the most expensive disasters were, even decided to overlook the fact at no. 6 you claimed it was the most expensive off-shore oil spill but then claimed a larger one at no. 4. No, I was willing to look the other way. But then, never have I been more disappointed in a list such as this, to see you pushed all the disasters down one place, so you could make such a lame joke as that which is supposedly number 1. If you're gonna start a thread all for the sake of a joke, make sure it's original and witty, ok?

xw2lj9uspm1eyh

Honourable mention

Juan Sebastian Veron

Lazio-Man U

£28.1 million

Hootanany

I was just trying to put things into perspective 75 billion is a lot for us and our children and childrens children from these greedy feckers

biko

I would have thought Iceland were much worse off than Ireland?

efb

Yeah, but they try to improve thing. We whinge to Joe Duffy

Mrmoe

Surely the Bhopal disaster should rank up there in the top ten?

Adriatic

The grammar difference between number one and the rest. :pac:

Misty Chaos

The list was nice and informative until I read number 1.

That was as lame as those ' make a wish or else! ' chain mails I used to get when I was on Bebo. :rolleyes:

Hootanany

Misty Choas wrote: »

The list was nice and informative until I read number 1.

That was as lame as those ' make a wish or else! ' chain mails I used to get when I was on Bebo. :rolleyes:

Oh and you have transgressed to Boards now;)

MagicMarker

We need more informative list threads. I enjoyed this, except for no. 1, which greatly ruined it for me.

galwayrush

MagicMarker wrote: »

We need more informative list threads. I enjoyed this, except for no. 1, which greatly ruined it for me.

No 1 has been the cause of ruination for many people in the country.:rolleyes:

Buford T Justice

Found the Link. Chernobyl is down as $200 Million

stepbar

Has to be the most retarded thread of all time. :rolleyes:

RMD

No offense OP, but you butchered a well made list of disasters with your unfunny joke.

vincenzolorenzo

No Lake Peigneur??

humanji

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

September 11 attacks not mentioned? :rolleyes:

That only cost the price of the plane tickets.

tommyhaas

Hootanany wrote: »

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.

The Exxon Valdez ran aground because the 3rd Officer didnt alter the ships course as required, not the Captains fault. Pretty sure the Capt made alot of money from claming against those who made such accusations

artanevilla

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

September 11 attacks not mentioned? :rolleyes:

I've read it twice and don't see it mentioned no.

scubakid

September 11th should definitely be mentioned

Hootanany

RMD wrote: »

No offense OP, but you butchered a well made list of disasters with your unfunny joke.

None taken

hooradiation

Hootanany wrote: »

Oh and you have transgressed to Boards now;)

That word doesn't mean what you think it means.

Jip

I want the time I wasted reading that crap original post back.

Hootanany

hooradiation wrote: »

That word doesn't mean what you think it means.

Pardon me Sir

Run_to_da_hills

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

September 11 attacks not mentioned? :rolleyes:

That wasn't an accident :rolleyes: