Homes Swept Away

Throughout history, people have built shelters to keep out the elements, from modest huts to the most elaborate mansions. But when the weather turns wild, not even the best built homes can withstand the forces of nature.

the Britannia Beach Disaster: Two of Canada's worst natural disasters happened at the Britannia Mine Complex in the rugged Coast Mountains of southwest British Columbia in 1915 and 1921. Together the 2 events killed 93 people. In the 1915 disaster a catastrophic landslide at Jane Camp killed 56 people. 6 years later, in the evening of October 28, 1921, a sudden outburst flood struck Britannia Beach, the main living quarters site of the Britannia Mine. A wall of water, reported to be 20 metres high, raced down the side of the mountain from the mine complex and swept through the village. More than 50 of the 110 houses in the community were destroyed by the flood or swept out to sea. 37 people drowned in the flood.

Cyclone Tracy: Cyclone Tracy came ashore at Darwin, Australia on Christmas Eve 1974, damaging or destroying 90% of Darwin's buildings. Winds gusted from 148 mph to 187 mph. Every tree in Darwin was stripped of its foliage. Rainfall totaled 8 inches. 21 vessels were sunk. Looting was reported. Electriciy, water, and telephone utilities were cut. News of the damage to Darwin was delayed for 10 hours by communications outages. Within 6 days, 35,000 of the city's 41,000 residents were evecuated by air or road. The airport was rapidly cleared, and Royal Australian Air Force and civilian aircraft airlifted food, water, and medicine in and refugees out to hospitals and camps in Queensland. The cyclone left 66 deaths, 160 missing, 790 injuries, and 36,000 homeless.