Typhoons, monsoons, cyclones, and bursting dams – readers will be transfixed by the floods these monster storms create. Photographs capture these breathtaking phenomena and their devastating effects on human society. This exploration of the ten worst floods humanity has endured will be a key feature in STEM, history, and geography curricula. Readers will delve into scientific explanations for these disasters, gain experience with maps, and ponder critical thinking questions that assess their understanding of this fascinating topic.

Typhoons, monsoons, cyclones, and bursting dams – readers will be transfixed by the floods these monster storms create. Photographs capture these breathtaking phenomena and their devastating effects on human society. This exploration of the ten worst floods humanity has endured will be a key feature in STEM, history, and geography curricula. Readers will delve into scientific explanations for these disasters, gain experience with maps, and ponder critical thinking questions that assess their understanding of this fascinating topic.

On August 11, 1979, after a week of extraordinary monsoon rains in the Indian state of Gujarat, the two mile-long Machhu Dam-II disintegrated. The waters released from the dam’s massive reservoir rushed through the heavily populated downstream area, devastating the industrial city of Morbi and its surrounding agricultural villages. As the torrent’s thirty-foot-tall leading edge cut its way through the Machhu River valley, massive bridges gave way, factories crumbled, and thousands of houses collapsed. While no firm figure has ever been set on the disaster’s final death count, estimates in the flood’s wake ran as high as 25,000. Despite the enormous scale of the devastation, few people today have ever heard of this terrible event. This book tells, for the first time, the suspenseful and multifaceted story of the Machhu dam disaster. Based on over 130 interviews and extensive archival research, the authors recount the disaster and its aftermath in vivid firsthand detail. The book presents important findings culled from formerly classified government documents that reveal the long-hidden failures that culminated in one of the deadliest floods in history. The authors follow characters whose lives were interrupted and forever altered by the flood; provide vivid first-hand descriptions of the disaster and its aftermath; and shed light on the never-completed judicial investigation into the dam’s collapse.

Katrina, Nina, Mitch, and Camille – these deadly hurricanes earned their names through monstrous devastation. This versatile volume gives readers a comprehensive understanding of the science behind hurricanes, how we categorize their high-speed winds, and how we measure the scale of their destruction. Photographs of the ten most catastrophic hurricanes since the 19th century will amaze readers while simultaneously demonstrating connections between STEM, geography, and history curricula. An informative map shows where these catastrophic hurricanes occurred, and critical thinking questions allow readers to assess their understanding of the topic.

Volcanic activity reduced Pompeii to ashes, but the Mount Vesuvius eruption is only the seventh most destructive volcanic eruption out of the top ten in human history! This fiery volume covers all ten natural disasters with mesmerizing photographs and visuals of these natural phenomena. A helpful map shows the location of each historical eruption, and critical thinking questions allow readers to test their new knowledge. Even reluctant readers will want to explore this high-interest topic, making this book an essential for any STEM, geography, or history library.

Oceans sustain our globe, but they can also act as powerful tyrants of destruction. This volume provides an in-depth study of the ten most devastating tsunamis, exploring humanity’s historical relationship with these epic forces of nature. Photographs and visuals of these aquatic disasters will captivate all readers as they learn the science behind the storms. This versatile text introduces readers to maps and challenges critical thinking skills with dynamic questions. The multi-subject nature of this volume and its high-interest topic will attract readers in any academic setting.