Great Disasters

Social, political and geological factors combined to create disaster on an almost unbelievable scale. The 2010 Haiti earthquake killed at least 100,000, and displaced millions.

Drawing on eyewitness accounts, official reports and contemporary news reports, I'll tell the full story of the worst disaster the 21st century has so far seen.

Visit www.greatdisasters.co.uk for the full transcript and more.

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With an experienced driver in the engine, the Flying Scotsman service was steaming along at full speed on its way to London when suddenly, it left the rails. 28 people were killed in the mangled wreckage. The question was, why?

Drawing on official reports and contemporary accounts, I'll tell the full story of what went wrong.

Visit www.greatdisasters.co.uk for the full transcript and more.

Check out the Great Disasters Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - let me know what you think of the show.

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This episode looks at a disaster which struck close to my home - the Morecambe Bay cocklepicking disaster. A large group of Chinese immigrant labourers were sent out onto the sands to collect cockles, but they didn't know just how dangerous the tide can be.

Drawing on official reports and witness accounts, I'll tell the full story of what went wrong.

Visit www.greatdisasters.co.uk for the full transcript and more. Thanks to Tim Liardet for permission to include part of his poem, Priest Skear.

Check out the Great Disasters Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - let me know what you think of the show.

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In this episode, I'm looking at the case of the de Havilland Comet - the first commercial jet airliner. Three crashes within short succession in the 1950's hinted at a deadly flaw in the plane's design, but it would take pioneering investigative techniques to reveal it.

Drawing on official reports and contemporary accounts, I'll tell the full story of what went wrong.

Visit www.greatdisasters.co.uk for the full transcript and more.

Check out the Great Disasters Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - let me know what you think of the show.

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In this episode of Great Disasters, I'll be looking at the Piper Alpha explosion; the deadliest off-shore oil rig disaster to date.

There were more than two hundred men aboard Piper Alpha that summer night, 120 miles out in the midst of the North Sea. When the platform they called home exploded, they were thrown into a battle for survival between the flames and the waves.

Drawing on official reports and the accounts of witnesses and survivors, I'll tell the full story of what went wrong.

Visit www.greatdisasters.co.uk for the full transcript and more.

Check out the Great Disasters Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - let me know what you think of the show.

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The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the world's most prestigious motor races. Established in 1923, it challenges both man and machine to compete at the very edge of their ability. In 1955, that challenge led to catastrophe.

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With America lagging behind the Soviet Union in the space race, JFK made a promise to reach the moon. Three men paid the price on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral. 

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An ordinary summer's day in Italy was disturbed by the sudden appearance of a white cloud. The cloud was vapour that had been released by a local chemical plant, and Seveso would forever be known for its impact.

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