உலக வரலாற்றில் முதல் 10 மிக விலையுயர்ந்த விபத்துகள்[photos]

Throughout
history, humans have always been prone to accidents. Our aim is to
list the top 10 most expensive accidents in the history of the world as
measured in dollars.
This includes property
damage and expenses incurred related to the accident such as cleanup and
industry losses. Many of these accidents involve casualties which
obviously cannot be measured in dollar terms. Each life lost is
priceless and is not factored into the equation. Deliberate actions such
as war or terrorism and natural disasters do not qualify as accidents
and therefore are not included in this list.
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#10. Titanic $150 Million




The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the
world. But it barely makes our list of top 10 most expensive. 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).
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#9. 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.
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#8. 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.
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#7. 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.
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#6. 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.
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#5. 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.

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.
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#4. Challenger Explosion $5.5 Billion




The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after takeoff
due 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).
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#3. 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.
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#2. 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.
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#1. 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 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.
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