Mother Nature seems to have been an especial bitch on this day throughout history. A list of the devastation:
1343 An earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea created a tsunami that destroyed much of Naples
1667 An earthquake near Shemakha, in the Caucasus, left 80,000 dead
1703 The Great Storm of 1703 devastated southern England. The storm began on 24 November, but reached a climax on 26/27 November, with winds up to 120 mph. Somewhere between 8000-15000 people were killed (including the Bishop of Bath and Wells). Daniel Defoe reported that 700 ships were destroyed from Shadwell to Limehouse, alone, and the Royal Navy lost 13 ships.
1759 An earthquake in the Mediterranean killed 30,000-40,000 and destroyed Beirut and Damascus.
1833 An earthquake measuring between 8.7 and 9.2 on the Richter scale created a tsunami that ravaged Sumatra.
1839 A cyclone hit India, destroying the port city of Coringa, 20,000 ships and killing 300,000 people.
1926 Twenty-seven tornadoes hit the several states in the Central US, killing 76 and injuring 400.
1950 A violent snowstorm slammed the Northeastern US and Appalachia. The storm killed 323 people and parts of West Virginia received as much as 57 inches of snow.
1987 Typhoon Nina hit the Philippines, with wind speeds as high as 165 mph. 1036 people were killed.
1996 An ice storm hit the Midwestern US, killing 26 people. Florida was hit with 90 mph winds on the same day.
2000 An earthquake measuring 7.0 hit Baku, Azerbaijan, killing 26 people.
Born today: Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), Karl Benz (1844-1929), Percy Sledge (1941), Imran Khan (1952), John F. Kennedy, Jr. (1960-1999), Xabi Alonso and the Bush twins (Barbara and Jenna) were born in 1981.
It is National Day in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
