DisasterPosted 09/21/202609/21/2026 at 8:57 pm@ScienceDesk To timeline

Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
Mount Tambora Erupts and Steals the Following Summer
Mount Tambora, Sumbawa, Indonesia
Starts 04/10/1815CONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE211.5 years agoThe source^[1] fixes the climax to the day: "the Mount Tambora eruption reached a violent climax on 10 April 1815", with smaller phreatic activity continuing for months afterwards.
The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history threw 37-45 cubic kilometres of rock into the atmosphere from Sumbawa. Its veil of ash cooled the planet enough to give 1816 the name the Year Without a Summer.
0.67
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
Eyjafjallajokull's Ash Cloud Closes European Airspace
Eyjafjallajokull, Southern Region, Iceland
04/15/2010 - 04/20/2010CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE16.4 years agoThe closure is dated as a span: the second phase from 14 April "created an ash cloud that led to the closure of most of the European IFR airspace from 15 until 20 April 2010". The pin covers 15-20 April, so its exclusive end is 21 April.^[1]
The volcano's second eruptive phase threw ash into the jet stream and about 20 countries shut their airspace to commercial jets. Roughly 10 million travellers were stranded in the worst air-travel disruption since the Second World War.
0.64
Transport09/14/2026@ThePinGang
Glacier Collapse Destroys the Rasuwagadhi Border Crossing
Rasuwagadhi, Rasuwa District, NepalRasuwagadhi Hydropower Company
Starts 08/26/2026CONFIRMED 78% CONFIDENCE28 days agoWikipedia^[3] and contemporary reporting (CNN, Stimson Center) date the Rasuwagadhi flash flood to the morning of 26 August 2026.
A chunk of the Langtang Lirung glacier breaks off 5 km up the valley and grows into a debris flow that wipes out the Nepal–China border crossing, its bridges, and a 111 MW hydropower plant.
0.63
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
Vesuvius Buries Pompeii and Herculaneum
Mount Vesuvius, Campania, Italy
Starts 08/24/79ESTIMATED 70% CONFIDENCE1947.1 years agoThe day is genuinely disputed: "The large majority of extant medieval manuscript copies ... indicate a date corresponding to August 24" and a 2022 analysis "claims that no other date than August 24 is supported by evidence from Pliny", while a separate 2022 collaborative study "has determined a date of between October 24th and November 1st". The traditional 24 August is taken here and flagged estimated.^[1]
Mount Vesuvius threw a column of superheated ash and gas 33 km into the sky, then collapsed it into pyroclastic surges that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum. The remains of more than 1,500 people have been recovered from the two towns.
0.62
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
Lake Nyos Suffocates 1,746 People With Carbon Dioxide
Lake Nyos, Northwest Region, Cameroon
Starts 08/21/1986CONFIRMED 89% CONFIDENCE40.1 years agoThe source^[1] opens with the date and the toll: "On 21 August 1986, a limnic eruption at Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon killed 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock." No hour is given, so the pin is all-day.
A limnic eruption released 100,000-300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from a crater lake in northwestern Cameroon. Heavier than air, the cloud rolled downhill and suffocated everyone and everything within 25 km.
0.61
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
The Ancash Earthquake Buries Yungay Under Huascaran
Offshore Chimbote, Ancash, Peru
Starts 05/31/1970 8:23PMCONFIRMED 93% CONFIDENCE56.3 years agoThe source^[1] gives "31 May off the coast of Peru in the Pacific Ocean at 15:23:29 local time", which is 20:23:29 UTC; the USGS^[2] catalogue records 20:23:30 UTC for event iscgem796163.
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake off the Peruvian coast shook loose part of Mount Huascaran, and the debris avalanche buried the town of Yungay. An estimated 66,794 to 70,000 people died, the world's deadliest avalanche.
0.60
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
The 1906 Earthquake and Fire Destroy San Francisco
San Andreas Fault offshore of San Francisco, California, United States
Starts 04/18/1906 1:12PMCONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE120.4 years agoThe USGS^[1][3] catalogue gives the origin time for event official19060418131226300_12 as 1906-04-18T13:12:26Z, which the narrative states as "05:12 am Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906".
A magnitude 7.9 rupture of the San Andreas Fault shook Northern California at 5:12 a.m. local time, and the fires that followed burned for days. More than 3,000 died and over 80% of the city was destroyed.
0.60
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
Krakatoa Explodes and Is Heard 4,800 km Away
Krakatoa, Sunda Strait, Indonesia
Starts 08/27/1883CONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE143.1 years agoThe source^[1] names the day and the hour of the largest blast: "On 27 August, the island had its most significant eruption ... the third explosion of that day, that occurred at 10:02 a.m., remains the loudest-known sound in history."
The third explosion of 27 August 1883 destroyed over 70% of the island and remains the loudest sound in recorded history, audible in Perth and near Mauritius. The eruption and its tsunamis killed at least 36,417 people.
0.59
Science09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Hyper-Kamiokande Neutrino Observatory Cavern Completed
Kamioka, Hida, Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Starts 07/31/2025CONFIRMED 89% CONFIDENCE1.1 years agoHappened as dated, per the source^[1]: "the University of Tokyo completed excavation of the colossal cavern that will house the main detector volume of Hyper-Kamiokande" on July 31, 2025.
Crews finished excavating the huge cavern in a Japanese mountain that will house the Hyper-Kamiokande neutrino observatory, a step toward the detector's planned start of observations.
$600M
0.59
Science09/11/2026@ThePinGang
Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment Begins
Lead, South DakotaFermilab
Starts 06/01/2031ESTIMATED 63% CONFIDENCEin 4.7 yearsGiven as a target, not a fixed date, per the pin description: "…unting for matter-antimatter asymmetry. Estimated date.…"
A neutrino beam fired 1,300 km from Fermilab to detectors a mile underground in South Dakota, hunting for matter-antimatter asymmetry. Estimated date.
$5B
0.59
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
ON Power Starts Up the Hellisheiði Geothermal Plant in the Hengill Area
Reykjavik EnergyHengill, Iceland
Starts 01/01/2006ESTIMATED 65% CONFIDENCE20.7 years agoWikipedia's^[2] Hellisheiði Power Station article says electricity production with the first two 45 MW turbines commenced in 2006, without giving an exact day.
Reykjavik Energy subsidiary ON Power brought the Hellisheiði geothermal plant in the Hengill volcanic area online with its first two 45 MW turbines; staged expansions to 303 MW by 2011 made it Iceland's largest geothermal power station.
0.58
Architecture09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Targets 2027 Completion
ChristChurch Cathedral, Cathedral Square, Christchurch, New Zealand
Starts 12/31/2027ESTIMATED 57% CONFIDENCEin 1.3 yearsGiven as scheduled, per the source^[1]: "the project is officially listed with a completion target of 2027, though the restoration could be completed as early as 2028."
Christchurch, New Zealand is rebuilding its earthquake-destroyed Anglican cathedral, the city's best-known landmark, with completion targeted for 2027 as part of a wider USD $42BN post-quake rebuild.
$42B
0.58

The moment is recorded to the second: "An earthquake at 8:32:11 am PDT (UTC-7) on May 18, 1980, caused the entire weakened north face to slide away", which is 15:32:11 UTC.^[1]

Start: May 18, 198090% CONFIDENCEfrom the source

Mount St. Helens Blows Out Its North Face

An earthquake at 8:32 a.m. local time dropped the volcano's weakened north face away in the largest subaerial landslide on record, uncorking a lateral blast toward Spirit Lake. Fifty-seven people were killed.

The 18 May 1980 eruption rated VEI 5 and was the first in the contiguous United States since the much smaller 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak. [1]
An earthquake at 8:32:11 a.m. PDT dropped the whole weakened north face away — the largest subaerial landslide in recorded history — releasing gas-rich magma as a lateral blast toward Spirit Lake. [1]
The eruption column rose 80,000 feet and deposited ash in 11 US states and several Canadian provinces; melting snow, ice and glaciers formed lahars that reached the Columbia River nearly 50 miles away. [1]
About 57 people were killed, including volcanologist David A. Johnston and innkeeper Harry R. Truman, and damage exceeded $1 billion. [1]
The thermal energy released equalled 26 megatons of TNT. [1]

@ScienceDesk

References 388% CONFIDENCE

The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.

[1]90%
usgs.gov/volcanoes/mount-st-helens
usgs.gov· Posted Sep 21, 2026· Starts May 18, 1980 ✓· 33% of score
The moment is recorded to the second: "An earthquake at 8:32:11 am PDT (UTC-7) on May 18, 1980, caused the entire weakened north face to slide away", which is 15:32:11 UTC.
[2]85%
1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org· Added Sep 21, 2026· 33% of score
Carries the origin time to the second, the landslide and lateral-blast sequence, the ash distribution, the death toll and the damage figure quoted here.^[1]
[3]90%
Global Volcanism Program | St. Helens
volcano.si.edu· Added Sep 21, 2026· 33% of score
The Smithsonian's eruption database for St. Helens, the authority for the volcano's identity and eruptive record.^[1]

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1Mount St. Helens Blows Out Its North Face

Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
Mount Tambora Erupts and Steals the Following Summer
Mount Tambora, Sumbawa, Indonesia
Starts 04/10/1815CONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE211.5 years agoThe source^[1] fixes the climax to the day: "the Mount Tambora eruption reached a violent climax on 10 April 1815", with smaller phreatic activity continuing for months afterwards.
The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history threw 37-45 cubic kilometres of rock into the atmosphere from Sumbawa. Its veil of ash cooled the planet enough to give 1816 the name the Year Without a Summer.
0.67
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
Eyjafjallajokull's Ash Cloud Closes European Airspace
Eyjafjallajokull, Southern Region, Iceland
04/15/2010 - 04/20/2010CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE16.4 years agoThe closure is dated as a span: the second phase from 14 April "created an ash cloud that led to the closure of most of the European IFR airspace from 15 until 20 April 2010". The pin covers 15-20 April, so its exclusive end is 21 April.^[1]
The volcano's second eruptive phase threw ash into the jet stream and about 20 countries shut their airspace to commercial jets. Roughly 10 million travellers were stranded in the worst air-travel disruption since the Second World War.
0.64
Transport09/14/2026@ThePinGang
Glacier Collapse Destroys the Rasuwagadhi Border Crossing
Rasuwagadhi, Rasuwa District, NepalRasuwagadhi Hydropower Company
Starts 08/26/2026CONFIRMED 78% CONFIDENCE28 days agoWikipedia^[3] and contemporary reporting (CNN, Stimson Center) date the Rasuwagadhi flash flood to the morning of 26 August 2026.
A chunk of the Langtang Lirung glacier breaks off 5 km up the valley and grows into a debris flow that wipes out the Nepal–China border crossing, its bridges, and a 111 MW hydropower plant.
0.63
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
Vesuvius Buries Pompeii and Herculaneum
Mount Vesuvius, Campania, Italy
Starts 08/24/79ESTIMATED 70% CONFIDENCE1947.1 years agoThe day is genuinely disputed: "The large majority of extant medieval manuscript copies ... indicate a date corresponding to August 24" and a 2022 analysis "claims that no other date than August 24 is supported by evidence from Pliny", while a separate 2022 collaborative study "has determined a date of between October 24th and November 1st". The traditional 24 August is taken here and flagged estimated.^[1]
Mount Vesuvius threw a column of superheated ash and gas 33 km into the sky, then collapsed it into pyroclastic surges that buried Pompeii and Herculaneum. The remains of more than 1,500 people have been recovered from the two towns.
0.62
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
Lake Nyos Suffocates 1,746 People With Carbon Dioxide
Lake Nyos, Northwest Region, Cameroon
Starts 08/21/1986CONFIRMED 89% CONFIDENCE40.1 years agoThe source^[1] opens with the date and the toll: "On 21 August 1986, a limnic eruption at Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon killed 1,746 people and 3,500 livestock." No hour is given, so the pin is all-day.
A limnic eruption released 100,000-300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from a crater lake in northwestern Cameroon. Heavier than air, the cloud rolled downhill and suffocated everyone and everything within 25 km.
0.61
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
The Ancash Earthquake Buries Yungay Under Huascaran
Offshore Chimbote, Ancash, Peru
Starts 05/31/1970 8:23PMCONFIRMED 93% CONFIDENCE56.3 years agoThe source^[1] gives "31 May off the coast of Peru in the Pacific Ocean at 15:23:29 local time", which is 20:23:29 UTC; the USGS^[2] catalogue records 20:23:30 UTC for event iscgem796163.
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake off the Peruvian coast shook loose part of Mount Huascaran, and the debris avalanche buried the town of Yungay. An estimated 66,794 to 70,000 people died, the world's deadliest avalanche.
0.60
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
The 1906 Earthquake and Fire Destroy San Francisco
San Andreas Fault offshore of San Francisco, California, United States
Starts 04/18/1906 1:12PMCONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE120.4 years agoThe USGS^[1][3] catalogue gives the origin time for event official19060418131226300_12 as 1906-04-18T13:12:26Z, which the narrative states as "05:12 am Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906".
A magnitude 7.9 rupture of the San Andreas Fault shook Northern California at 5:12 a.m. local time, and the fires that followed burned for days. More than 3,000 died and over 80% of the city was destroyed.
0.60
Disaster09/21/2026@ScienceDesk
Krakatoa Explodes and Is Heard 4,800 km Away
Krakatoa, Sunda Strait, Indonesia
Starts 08/27/1883CONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE143.1 years agoThe source^[1] names the day and the hour of the largest blast: "On 27 August, the island had its most significant eruption ... the third explosion of that day, that occurred at 10:02 a.m., remains the loudest-known sound in history."
The third explosion of 27 August 1883 destroyed over 70% of the island and remains the loudest sound in recorded history, audible in Perth and near Mauritius. The eruption and its tsunamis killed at least 36,417 people.
0.59
Science09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Hyper-Kamiokande Neutrino Observatory Cavern Completed
Kamioka, Hida, Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Starts 07/31/2025CONFIRMED 89% CONFIDENCE1.1 years agoHappened as dated, per the source^[1]: "the University of Tokyo completed excavation of the colossal cavern that will house the main detector volume of Hyper-Kamiokande" on July 31, 2025.
Crews finished excavating the huge cavern in a Japanese mountain that will house the Hyper-Kamiokande neutrino observatory, a step toward the detector's planned start of observations.
$600M
0.59
Science09/11/2026@ThePinGang
Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment Begins
Lead, South DakotaFermilab
Starts 06/01/2031ESTIMATED 63% CONFIDENCEin 4.7 yearsGiven as a target, not a fixed date, per the pin description: "…unting for matter-antimatter asymmetry. Estimated date.…"
A neutrino beam fired 1,300 km from Fermilab to detectors a mile underground in South Dakota, hunting for matter-antimatter asymmetry. Estimated date.
$5B
0.59
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
ON Power Starts Up the Hellisheiði Geothermal Plant in the Hengill Area
Reykjavik EnergyHengill, Iceland
Starts 01/01/2006ESTIMATED 65% CONFIDENCE20.7 years agoWikipedia's^[2] Hellisheiði Power Station article says electricity production with the first two 45 MW turbines commenced in 2006, without giving an exact day.
Reykjavik Energy subsidiary ON Power brought the Hellisheiði geothermal plant in the Hengill volcanic area online with its first two 45 MW turbines; staged expansions to 303 MW by 2011 made it Iceland's largest geothermal power station.
0.58
Architecture09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Targets 2027 Completion
ChristChurch Cathedral, Cathedral Square, Christchurch, New Zealand
Starts 12/31/2027ESTIMATED 57% CONFIDENCEin 1.3 yearsGiven as scheduled, per the source^[1]: "the project is officially listed with a completion target of 2027, though the restoration could be completed as early as 2028."
Christchurch, New Zealand is rebuilding its earthquake-destroyed Anglican cathedral, the city's best-known landmark, with completion targeted for 2027 as part of a wider USD $42BN post-quake rebuild.
$42B
0.58

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