The 1999 Paddington Rail Crash
Compact Disasters
On the morning of 5 October 1999, two passenger trains collided head-on just outside Paddington Station during the rush hour. At 08:11 a.m., a Thames Trains commuter service passed a red signal and crossed into the path of a high-speed Great Western Trains service travelling at up to 125 mph. The impact and resulting fire killed 31 people and injured more than 400, exposing deep failures in signalling safety, training, and the fragmented structure of Britain’s privatised railways. In this episode of Compact Disasters, we examine what went wrong, why known risks were left unresolved, and how...
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The Tri-State Tornado
Compact Disasters
On 18 March 1925, a single tornado carved a path of destruction across three U.S. states in just over three hours. Travelling more than 219 miles through Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, the Tri-State Tornado killed at least 695 people and injured more than 2,000, making it the deadliest tornado in United States history. With no warning system, no sirens, and little understanding of tornado behaviour, entire towns were struck with seconds to spare. In this episode of Compact Disasters, we examine how the storm formed, why it was so lethal, and how its legacy reshaped tornado science and public...
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The Rana Plaza Collapse
Compact Disasters
On the morning of 24 April 2013, thousands of garment workers were ordered back into a building that engineers had declared unsafe just hours earlier. At 08:57 a.m., Rana Plaza collapsed in under two minutes, killing 1,134 people and injuring more than 2,500 in the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the global garment industry. In this episode of Compact Disasters, we examine how illegal construction, ignored warnings, and international supply-chain pressure combined to turn a preventable failure into a mass grave, and why Rana Plaza still matters more than a decade later. Visit...
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The Mount Pelée Eruption
Compact Disasters
On the morning of 8 May 1902, the Caribbean city of Saint-Pierre was alive with routine, unaware it had less than a minute left to exist. When Mount Pelée erupted at 07:52 a.m., a superheated pyroclastic surge raced down the volcano’s flank and erased an entire city almost instantly, killing around 28,000 people. There was no lava river, no slow warning, and almost no chance of escape. In this episode of Compact Disasters, we reconstruct the final weeks before the eruption, the fatal decisions that kept people in harm’s way, the science behind the blast, and how Mount Pelée permanently...
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The Icelandic Volcano that Grounded Europe
Compact Disasters
In 2010, a volcanic eruption beneath an Icelandic glacier did something no government or crisis had ever achieved. It shut down European air travel. In this Compact Disasters episode, we explore how Eyjafjallajökull grounded millions, disrupted global supply chains, and revealed just how fragile modern systems really are. Visit our website: Find us on our social media sites: #eyjafjallajokull #icelandvolcano #airtravel #volcanicash #compactdisasters #naturalhazards #geographyfacts #truehistory #modernhistory
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The Vasa Shipwreck
Compact Disasters
How does a warship sink within minutes of launch? In this Compact Disasters episode, we explore the sinking of the Vasa, Sweden’s most ambitious naval project, and how politics, pressure, and poor engineering sent it to the bottom of Stockholm harbour in 1628. Visit our website: Find us on our social media sites: #vasashipwreck #swedishhistory #maritimedisaster #engineeringfailure #compactdisasters #truehistory #navalhistory #europeanhistory #historypodcast.
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The Collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Compact Disasters
Discover how a powerful earthquake triggered one of the most destructive avalanches in history, wiping entire towns from the map beneath Mount Huascarán in Peru. Listen now to this devastating story and the lessons it forced the world to learn. Visit our website: Find us on our social media sites: #huascaran #peruhistory #andes #glacialhazards #cordillerablanca #compactdisasters #earthquakefacts #historypodcast #naturalhazards #geographyclass #truehistory
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The Huascarán Debris Avalanche
Compact Disasters
Discover how a powerful earthquake triggered one of the most destructive avalanches in history, wiping entire towns from the map beneath Mount Huascarán in Peru. Listen now to this devastating story and the lessons it forced the world to learn. Visit our website: Find us on our social media sites: #huascaran #peruhistory #andes #glacialhazards #cordillerablanca #compactdisasters #earthquakefacts #historypodcast #naturalhazards #geographyclass #truehistory
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The Tangiwai Rail Disaster
Compact Disasters
Listen now to our Compact Disasters episode about the Tangiwai rail disaster, where nature struck without warning and a Christmas homecoming turned into a national tragedy. Visit our website: Find us on our social media sites: #tangiwai #newzealandhistory #ruapehu #raildisaster #compactdisasters #volcanichazards #lahar #nz #historypodcast #truehistory #geographyfacts
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The Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004
Compact Disasters
On 26 December 2004, a powerful undersea earthquake off the coast of Sumatra triggered a devastating tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean. In this episode, we revisit one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history — the Boxing Day Tsunami — to understand how a single seismic event killed over 230,000 people, displaced millions, and reshaped global disaster awareness forever. Visit our website: Find us on our social media sites: #tsunami #boxingdaytsunami #2004disasters #indianocean #naturaldisaster #earthquake #disasterhistory #catastrophe #humanitariancrisis...
info_outlineIn August 2020, a massive explosion tore through Beirut, killing over 200 people and leaving the city in ruins. At the heart of the tragedy? A forgotten cache of ammonium nitrate, years of negligence, and a system in freefall. This episode unpacks the blast, the blame, and the long road to justice for a wounded capital.
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Check out our other Compact podcasts - Compact Biographies, Compact History, Compact Murder, Compact Mysteries, and Compact Warfare at: