MOST EXPENSIVE CATASTROPHES IN HISTORY

#11 TITANIC--$150 Million

On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on it's maiden voyage and was considered to be the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1500 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 Autobahnn 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 a red signal while the conductor was busy text messaging.



#8 B-2 BOMBER CRASH-$1.4 Billion

Here we have our first billion dollar accident. This B-2 Stealth bomber crashed shorthly 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 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 which was 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.

#5 CHALLENGER EXPLOSION-$5.5 Billion

The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after take off 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.

#3 SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA-$13 Billion

The Columbia was destroyed during re-entry over Texas on February 1, 2003.

#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 accident was officially attributed to power plant operators who violated plant procedures and were ignorant of the safety requirements.

AND THE #1 MOST EXPENSIVE CATASTROPHE EVER:

The 2008 Presidential Election!

To date, some $800 Billion in the first two months...... and still climbing! It looks as if there will be an additional $74 Billion for the UAW of GM and Chrysler. Also, talk is that there will be bail out money for the 7-9 million homeowners that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae underwrote mortgages for. Yes--these are the same government people that got us into this debacle in the first place! WOW