Disasters in Canada Trivia Quiz

Answer: New Brunswick

The summer of 1825 had been extremely dry and hot in New Brunswick and this is blamed for the forest fires, although the exact cause is not known. On the morning of October 7, 1825 an old woodsman came running into town, beating on a drum to warn the villagers of the fire. No one paid attention to him and by early evening, the town of Newcastle, New Brunswick was completely devastated by the fire, with only 12 buildings out of 260 left standing.

The town of Douglastown was destroyed next and lost 64 out of 70 buildings.

Some people, as well as animals, survived the fire by standing in the Miramichi River, but anyone who was not able to reach the river perished, including prisoners in the Newcastle jail, who could not escape their cells.

Answer: Turtle Mountain

In the early morning hours of April 29, 1903, Turtle Mountain collapsed and more than seventy-five million tonnes of limestone fell in about a minute and a half, killing at least seventy-six people, most of whom were still asleep in their homes. The limestone spread to cover about three square kilometers of the valley below. Of the seventy-six known dead, only twelve bodies were recovered and some not until years later. Twenty-three people who were "in the rocks" survived.

The last survivor, Gladys Ennis, who was twenty-seven months old at the time of the disaster, died in 1995. Today, Frank Slide is a popular tourist attraction and has been designated a Provincial Historical site. Most of the limestone remains, but the highway has been built through it. I have been there and I have not seen anything like it since.

Answer: Regina, Saskatchewan

Known as "The Regina Cyclone", the tornado destroyed at least 500 buildings, killed 28 people and injured hundreds more. It left over 2,500 people homeless and the damage totalled $1.2m. It took over forty years to pay off the debt caused by the cyclone.

It was classified as an F5 tornado on the Fujiti scale. The criteria for wind speeds of an F5 tornado are 333-418 kmh or 207-260 mph. I remember my great aunt telling the story of two boys in a canoe on Wascana Lake. The tornado threw out one of the boys and he was killed, but the other remained in the canoe and was later found alive in Wascana park. William Henry Pratt, or later known as Boris Karloff was performing in a play in Regina at the time of the cyclone.

Answer: The Hillcrest Mine Disaster

One hundred and eighty-nine men died in the Hillcrest Mine explosion on June 19, 1914, leaving one hundred and thirty widows and four hundred fatherless children. Only forty-six men survived. It is considered the worst mining disaster in Canadian history.

Some men were killed by the initial explosion, while others died due to lack of oxygen and carbon monoxide poisoning. The story of the Hillcrest Mine Disaster is told in the 2005 movie, "The Devil's Breath" written by Stephen Hanon.

Answer: The SS Mont Blanc and the Imo

The French cargo ship "SS Mont Blanc" was loaded with war-time explosives when it accidentally collided with the Norwegian ship "Imo" in the Halifax Harbor in Nova Scotia, Canada. Approximately two thousand people were killed and nine thousand injured in the explosion and aftermath. All buildings for over two square kilometers were destroyed, including buildings in the neighboring communities of Dartmouth and Richmond.

The explosion was equivalent to approximately three kilotons of TNT, which is ten less than the thirteen kilotons of power contained in atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

The explosion also caused a tsunami, which led to more death and destruction and is blamed for the death of the captain and crew of the "Imo".

Answer: Hurricane Hazel

Hurricane Hazel was the worst hurricane of 1954, killing over a 1,000 people, after hitting Haiti, Grenada, The Bahamas, and several U.S. states including North and South Carolina. It hit New York City at a speed of over 200 mph, which is the city's highest ever recorded wind speed.

When it hit Toronto on October 15th, it dumped over 8.5 inches of rain, caused rivers to overflow and washed away entire neighborhoods. A rush of water swept down one of Toronto's streets, killing 32 sleeping people.

Answer: Air India Flight 182

Three hundred and twenty-nine people, including crew members were killed in the bombing of Air India Flight 182. As of 2008, it is the largest mass murder in Canadian history. There are numerous suspects in the bombing which are believed to be members of a Sikh group called the "Babbar Khalsa", but only one person has been convicted of manslaughter in relation to the incident.

Answer: Hinton, Alberta

The collision took place west of Edmonton, Alberta near the town of Hinton. The passenger train was travelling east to Edmonton and the freight train was travelling west when the two trains collided. The freight train was loaded with a mixture of grain, pipes and sulfur.

The death toll may have been higher, had the sulfur cars had been closer to the front, but the grain cars were behind the locomotive and although they exploded, the grain helped to smother the fires caused by explosions. There were no mechanical problems found in either of the two trains, the tracks, or the signals.

The investigation concluded that the crash was caused by human error, such as falling asleep, but the exact reason has never been determined, as both engineers and crew in the locomotives were killed in the collision. Autopsies ruled out the involvement of drugs or alcohol.

Answer: Ice storm

The Great Ice Storm of 1998 started on January 4, 1998 and lasted until January 10, 1998. The ice storm affected people in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada, as well as people in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York in the U.S. Freezing rain and wind caused major damage to power lines caused by the weight of the ice and fallen trees.

In some places, it took weeks to restore power. Shelters were set up for people to seek refuge from the cold, many hospitals lost power, the subway system shut down, banks and ATM's, grocery stores and most other businesses were forced to close. Most of the fatalities were due to hypothermia, but there were also reports of people losing their lives to fire, smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning.

Answer: Walkerton, Ontario

In May of 2000, the town of Walkerton, Ontario was struck with a series of deaths and illnesses caused by E. coli poisoning. The E. coli was found in the towns' water supply. Brothers Stan and Frank Koebel, manager and foreman of the Walkerton Public Utilities Commission were found guilty of falsifying reports and stating that the water was safe to drink, even though laboratory tests had shown otherwise. Neither of them had ever received any formal training for their jobs, but rather relied on experience.

After a criminal investigation, the Koebel brothers pled guilty to "common nuisance" through a plea bargain. Stan Koebel was sentenced to one year in jail and Frank received nine months house arrest.