Disasters of the Century Season 2 Episodes

Episode 8

The Newfoundland Snow Slide

In St. John's, on February 16, 1959, Newfoundland's worst snowstorm occurred, killing six and leaving 70,000 without electricity.

Episode 9

Islands Under Attack

Episode 10

The SS Florizel Wreck

The 1918 sinking of the Scottish-built Canadian passenger liner, SS Florizel, while en route from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Halifax, Nova Scotia. She struck a reef at Horn Head Point, near Cappahayden, Newfoundland, with 94 lives lost.

Episode 12

The Westray Mine Explosion

The Westray Coal Mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, opened in September 1991, but closed May 9, 1992, after an underground methane explosion killed all 26 miners working at the time. The mine was closed and sealed off in November 1998.

Episode 21

By Their Own Doing

The Queen Mary was larger than the Titanic - among the most famous ocean liners of her age. During WW2, she was used to transport troops and supplies for the allied war effort. On October 2, 1942, she was joined by an eight-ship escort, including the HMCS Curacoa for the dangerous Atlantic crossing. To confuse submarine attack, zigzag routes were common in such crossings, but on this day, it proved to be the undoing of the Curacoa. She swerved in front of the mighty Queen Mary and was literally cut in half, and 338 sailors died. Was human error to blame?

Episode 23

Rising from the Ashes

On February 1, 1953 a massive tidal wave struck the western coasts of England and Holland, destroying hundreds of dikes and breakwaters. Over one million people were suddenly homeless, and over 2000 drowned. Following the tragedy, a new generation of dikes and storm gates was built, preventing another occurrence of this magnitude.