Natural disasters can occur at any point in time. While there are devices to detect possible abnormal activity; there can be no real prediction as to when they will take place. This can even happen during sporting events. Unfortunately, this has happened more often than believed.
Mount Vesuvius, most famous for the 79 A.D. eruption that buried the city of Pompeii and may have claimed between 13 000 to 16 000 victims; had been spewing lava for almost 11 months, treating the residents of nearby Naples to regular fireworks displays.
On 5 April 1906, an indication that a major eruption was imminent came in a failure in the water supply drawn from wells on the mountain sides, with such water as was still flowing having a strong taste of sulphur. The expulsions of lava became more explosive and an ash cloud began to form in the sky above the crater.
In the preceding days, there had been an earthquake on the island of Ustica some 130km (81 miles) away, which was thought to be connected to the Vesuvius eruption. On the evening of 7 April, there came the biggest explosion, as well as three earthquakes felt in the city of Naples, which were said to cause much panic but no particular damage.
That couldn't be said of some of the villages at the foot of the mountain, in particular Boscotrecase, on the southeast slope, which was effectively obliterated by a stream of lava as tall as a house and wide as a river.
For a while, there were fears that the ruins of Pompeii and the coastal city of Torre Annunziata - built on the ruins of Oplonti, another Roman city destroyed in 79 A.D. - would suffer the same fate. Mercifully, the lava stopped short.
The 1906 eruption, which came to be known as the Grand Eruption, ejected the most lava of any eruption of which there are reliable records but it was the massive volume of ash rising from the crater that caused most of the deaths, estimated at between 100 and 200, with some reports suggesting as many as 216 casualties. It would remain the deadliest eruption of the 20th century.
The mountain itself was covered in a deep layer of grit and ashes, understandably. For miles around, as far away as the plain of Sorrento and the island of Capri, buildings, trees and fields were coated in what looked like a fall of dirty snow. In the city of Naples itself, scientists calculated that some 315 000 tons of burning dust fell to earth, leaving streets and gardens unrecognisable.
The biggest single loss of life was in the village of San Giuseppe, to the east of the crater, where people crowded into a little church, imagining it would be a place of safety, only for the roof to fall in from the weight of ash. Many neighbouring houses suffered a similar fate. In neighbouring Ottojano - Ottoviano today - many poorly constructed houses were destroyed.
In Naples itself, the roof of the market of Monte Oliveto, in the old part of the city near the Spanish Quarter, also collapsed from the weight of ash, causing considerable loss of life. Residents who escaped serious injury had to contend with the threat to their eyes of falling cinder, prompting a busy trade in protective glasses and umbrellas.
The streets of the city were effectively in darkness for several days until a shift in the wind direction allowed the sunlight to shine through again. Residents offered thanks to San Gennaro, the patron saint of the city, for deliverance.
All the time there was a sense of chaos as 150 000 residents fled villages in the immediate vicinity of the mountain and descended on Naples, while the railway station was besieged by overseas visitors to the city, mainly German, English and American, trying to board trains out of the area.
The rescue efforts were shared between the army and the Carabinieri, who won much praise for their tireless work in digging among the rubble for survivors and clearing away a landslide that blocked the Circumvesuviana railway line. The royal commander of the army, the Duke of Aosta, visited in person with his wife, the popular Princess Hélène, to rally troops and raise the spirits of residents.
The people of Naples gave thanks also to Professor Raffaele Vittorio Matteucci, director of the Vesuvius Laboratory, who stayed at his post for as long as possible, despite the danger of being burnt or asphyxiated, to pass on vital warnings to citizens of what was to come.
The consequences of the catastrophe were not limited to damage to buildings and loss of life. The cost of repairing the damage and looking after the thousands made homeless inevitably fell to the government in Rome, who had to abandon their plans to host the Olympic Games in 1908 on the grounds that they could no longer justify the expense.
The Games, instead, went to London, with Rome obliged to wait another 52 years, until 1960, to host Italy’s only summer Olympics to date.
With little time remaining before the Games were due to start, the city took up the challenge of organising the Games. Despite the short notice, London threw itself into the task with admirable gusto and, for the first time ever, a stadium was built especially for the Games. The stadium in London’s Shepherd’s Bush would become the centrepiece of the Games and featured not only a running track, but also a swimming pool, cycling oval and platforms for wrestling and gymnastics.
This would be the first time that Olympic swimming events had not been held in open water, allowing fans packed in to the 66 000-capacity stadium the chance to cheer on their favourite swimmers like never before.
After the eruption, Vesuvius itself - also known as Monte Somma - had a different appearance, losing its cone and around 170m (558ft) in height.
In 1988, The eyes of the thousands of spectators at Dashrath Stadium turned from the heated game down on the ground up to the darkening sky.
Thousands had gathered to watch the finals of the Tribhuvan Challenge Shield, Nepal’s largest football tournament organised by the All Nepal Football Association, between Janakpur Cigarette Factory and Mukti Joddha from Bangladesh. With the Bangladeshi team having just taken the lead, the nervous home crowd waited anxiously for an equaliser.
In the skies above, a raging wind storm was brewing. Before anyone could sound a warning, 80km per hour winds began blowing, accompanied by a thick hail storm. Trees began to get uprooted, roofs flew off and utility poles fell. Large pellets of hail pelted the uncovered audience at the stadium, unleashing a state of pandemonium as screaming spectators rushed towards the exits. However, the doors were locked and the panic led to a stampede. Dozens were killed in the crush of people.
The official death toll stands at 70 but unofficial figures say that 93 people died. The disaster made international headlines as one of the largest stadium disasters globally. The tragedy, unmatched in Nepal’s sports history, is still called a "Black Day" in the history of the country's sports.
That day, the stadium, with a capacity of around 27 000, was full, according to newspaper reports following the incident and the findings of the investigative committee formed after the disaster. The crowd spoke of Nepalis’ love for football.
The history of football in Nepal dates back to the early twentieth century. In the 1980s, the arrival of television augmented this love as the screen brought the best of football from around the globe, said Raju Silwal, a senior sports journalist at Nepal Television.
“In the 1980s, people started putting up aluminium antennae and watched India’s Doordarshan channel,” he said. “They watched live the 1982 Asian Games held in New Delhi. It was the first time they had ever watched anything live on television.”
The live broadcast of the World Cup in 1986, a year after Nepal Television was born, only served to kindle the imagination of the Nepali crowd.
"For the first time, Nepalis en masse shared in the experience of global football,” said Silwal. “They saw the best football of countries like Argentina and Brazil, and of players like Maradona. This only increased their love for football."
It was this love of the game that led thousands to crowd into the Dashrath Stadium on that fateful March afternoon.
In 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay Area on 17 October, just before Game 3 of the World Series between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. The 6.9 magnitude quake caused widespread damage and the game was postponed for 10 days.
The earthquake hit around 17:04, Pacific Time; just before the first pitch of Game 3. The quake caused major damage, including the collapse of a portion of the Bay Bridge and the Cypress Street Viaduct. It was the first earthquake ever witnessed live on television.
It was because of the extensive damage and power outages, Game 3 was postponed. The World Series resumed 10 days later, and the Oakland Athletics went on to win the series. The earthquake resulted in 63 deaths and thousands of injuries.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, Louisiana on 29 August and caused extensive damage to the Louisiana Superdome. As a result, the National Football League (NFL)'s New Orleans Saints were unable to play any home games at the Superdome for the entire 2005 NFL regular season. The dome was also used as a storm shelter for people who were unable to evacuate the city before the storm.
The Saints practice facility was not flooded and suffered minimal damage during the hurricane but was unable to be used by the Saints because it was being occupied by FEMA and by evacuees.
After practicing for approximately a week in San Jose, California, where they had evacuated in conjunction with a pre-season game against the Oakland Raiders, the team set up temporary headquarters at the San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk and Henry B. González Convention Center. Practice facilities were arranged at a sports complex adjacent to Luther Burbank High School in San Antonio, Texas.
The league then announced that although the Saints' first home game on 18 September against the New York Giants would be played at Giants Stadium at 19:30, EDT. On 19 September, other home games would be split between Tiger Stadium (the stadium of the LSU Tigers football) at LSU in Baton Rouge (80 miles/130 km from New Orleans) and the Alamodome in San Antonio (540 miles/869 km from New Orleans); offices and practice would remain in San Antonio throughout the season.
Various media reports in the San Antonio Express-News indicated the owner and government officials in San Antonio were working behind the scenes concerning a possible permanent relocation to San Antonio. San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger had pushed a strong verbal campaign to pursue the Saints. Other officials, including Texas Governor, Rick Perry, had indicated that they would also support a relocation to San Antonio, including using funding to upgrade the Alamodome or possibly build a new stadium.
Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, whose team currently has San Antonio as part of its territorial rights, also supported an NFL team moving to San Antonio. However, the NFL and commissioner Paul Tagliabue were both in favor of keeping the franchise in New Orleans or at least delaying a decision on a potential relocation. Other rumours of the period said that the NFL preferred to move the team to Los Angeles or even to expand to Toronto instead; as both cities are over twice the size of San Antonio.
Fans in Louisiana were angered and felt that Hardberger and Perry were taking advantage of New Orleans' misfortunes to try to steal the Saints. Benson's actions also drew the anger of New Orleans Mayor, Ray Nagin, who called Benson's actions "shameful and disrespectful" to New Orleans fans who have supported the team for nearly four decades of mostly losing seasons.
San Antonio officials, on the other hand, countered that Benson may have no choice—at the time, it was thought by some that New Orleans might never fully recover as a viable location for an NFL franchise and that they were simply giving the franchise an option to relocate and remain economically viable. In this case, to a city in which Benson already lives and has business interests. Benson indicated in his open letter to the Gulf Coast that San Antonio officials were only doing what any city seeking a franchise would do—recruit the franchise.
CNN reported on 7 September 7 that the hurricane had so badly damaged the Louisiana Superdome that it would likely have to be demolished. On 21 October, Benson issued a statement saying that he hadn't made any decision about the future of the Saints.
However, the San Antonio Express-News reported that sources close to the Saints organisation said that Benson planned to void his lease agreement with New Orleans by declaring the Superdome unusable.
On 17 October, Benson faced further criticism after dismissing vice-president, Arnold Fielkow. Reports say Fielkow was called into Benson's office and, when Fielkow refused an offer to keep information between them confidential in exchange for payment, he was fired.
NFL Commissioner, Paul Tagliabue met with Benson and Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco at the Saints' first home game in Baton Rouge on 30 October against the Miami Dolphins. After the meeting, he stopped just short of making a formal commitment to keep the Saints in New Orleans. Tagliabue said: "The Saints are Louisiana's team and have been since the late '60s when my predecessor Pete Rozelle welcomed them to the league as New Orleans' team and Louisiana's team. Our focus continues to be on having the Saints in Louisiana." He dispelled rumours that had the Saints relocating to Los Angeles. Tagliabue appointed an eight-owner advisory committee to help decide the team's future.
Benson left the game with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, with the Saints losing to the Miami Dolphins. A WWL-TV camera crew recorded him leaving the stadium and Benson angrily pushed the camera away, causing a microphone to fall off and then got into an argument with a fan.
Three days later, Benson issued a statement to NFL Commissioner Tagliabue stating that he would no longer go to Baton Rouge for Saints home games because he felt he and his family were in danger from abuse at the game, adding that security at Tiger Stadium was "inadequate to nonexistent."
The following day, Benson agreed with Louisiana state officials to extend his opt out clause with the Superdome and Louisiana because of the disaster until January 2007.
In the midst of the Katrina relocation controversy, several groups of investors approached Benson with offers to buy the team and keep them in Louisiana, the most notable group being one led by Fox Sports analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Terry Bradshaw, who is a Louisiana native. However, Benson expressed that he had no intention of selling the team and planned to eventually hand down ownership to his granddaughter, Saints owner/executive, Rita Benson LeBlanc.
Benson spoke to the press following an NFL owners' meeting on 15 November; during which he reiterated that the team is not for sale but also stated that other NFL owners, along with Tagliabue, were working with him to keep the team in New Orleans.
On 5 December, Tagliabue met with Benson and New Orleans officials to tour the city and to assess the viability of playing in New Orleans in 2006. Tagliabue stated, "Our goal is to play some games in the Superdome in 2006."
On 11 January 2006, at a press conference in New Orleans, Tagliabue announced that the Saints would likely play all eight home games at the Superdome. The NFL announced on 5 February 2006, that the Superdome would re-open on 24 September when the Saints were to host the Atlanta Falcons.
Starting in the fall of 2006, the Saints returned to playing all of their regular home games of the 2006 season in New Orleans at the Superdome. Their first game back in New Orleans, on 25 September 2006, was marked by a dramatic blocked punt early in the first quarter, with Steve Gleason blocking the punt and Curtis Deloatch recovering the ball in the Falcons' end zone for a touchdown.
It was the first score in the Saints' first game in New Orleans in nearly 21 months. The Saints won the game and, unexpectedly, went on to have the most successful season in their history up to that time, reaching the NFC Championship Game for the first time in franchise history.
In April 2009, the franchise reached a deal that would keep the Saints in New Orleans until at least 2025 and a deal with the NFL that awarded them the Super Bowl after defeating the Minnesota Vikings.
In the 2009 season, the Saints finished 13–3 and defeated the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. In July 2012, Rebirth, a statue depicting Gleason blocking the punt, was erected outside the Superdome; a news report commented that the blocked punt "etched Steve Gleason into Saints lore and became symbolic of New Orleans' resilience in the face of disaster."
This past week, The third day of Ireland's second Test in Bangladesh was temporarily stopped because of a 5.7 magnitude earthquake in the capital city of Dhaka.
According to Reuters, the government in Bangladesh said at least five people had been killed in the incident on Friday and around 100 people had been injured.
Ireland were batting at the time the earthquake struck and players remained on the field of play at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. Coaches and players not involved gathered at the boundary, while those in the stands took shelter.
The game was stopped for three minutes but play soon resumed with Ireland in pursuit of Bangladesh's total of 476. Cricket Ireland said "all involved in this game today are thinking of those affected by this event."
Ireland head coach, Heinrich Malan, said: "I've been involved in a couple of earthquakes from my time living in New Zealand. It's never a nice feeling and you're trying to understand what is happening in the moment around you but also the bigger impacts about where the earthquake struck.
"Everything stood still for a couple of minutes and we got back to business but we're thinking of everyone and hoping there wasn't too much damage done."
Despite a fourth Test half-century from Lorcan Tucker and a 49 from Jordan Neill, Ireland, who were 98-5 at close of play on Thursday, were all out for 265 but as Bangladesh captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, opted against enforcing the follow-on and the hosts returned to the crease.
These disasters can be deadly. What's interesting is how it was responded to. I suppose each is situation based. However, I believe that it's a bit over dramatic to move to a different city. It's heart warming to see when the team and players choose to remember those who lost their lives as an aftermath action.