List of disasters in Massachusetts by death toll

Last updated

Damage from the 1953 Worcester tornado Worcester damage 1953.png
Damage from the 1953 Worcester tornado
Wreckage of Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 fuselage.png
Wreckage of Eastern Air Lines Flight 375
Aftermath of the Grover Shoe Factory disaster Grover Shoe site after.jpg
Aftermath of the Grover Shoe Factory disaster
Streetcar involved in the Summer Street Bridge disaster being raised from the river BERy 393 being raised from Fort Point Channel, November 8, 1916.jpg
Streetcar involved in the Summer Street Bridge disaster being raised from the river
Andrea Doria sinking Andrea Doria sinking 2.jpg
Andrea Doria sinking
Ruins of the Great Boston Fire of 1872 Aftermath of Fire of 1872 (14226308730).jpg
Ruins of the Great Boston Fire of 1872
Wreckage of the Great Molasses Flood BostonMolassesDisaster.jpg
Wreckage of the Great Molasses Flood
Great Chelsea fire of 1908 PSM V74 D266 The chelsea fire viewed from the marine hospital.png
Great Chelsea fire of 1908

This is a list of disasters that have occurred in Massachusetts organized by death toll.

Contents

Year [lower-alpha 1] EventTypeDeath tollLocationSources
1918 Spanish flu pandemic Disease28,870Statewide [1]
2020 COVID-19 pandemic Disease20,872Statewide [2]
16931693 Boston yellow fever epidemicDisease3,100+ Boston [3]
1911 1911 Eastern North America heat wave Heatwave1,110Statewide [4]
1633 Massachusetts smallpox epidemic Disease1,000Statewide [5]
1721 1721 Boston smallpox outbreak Disease844 Boston [6]
16771677–1678 Boston smallpox epidemicDisease750–1,000 Boston [7]
1942 Cocoanut Grove fire Fire492 Boston [8]
1898Sinking of the Portland Shipwreck193 to 245 Gloucester [9]
1874 Mill River Flood of 1874 Flood139 Williamsburg and Northampton [10]
1963Sinking of the USS Thresher Submarine wreck129 Cape Cod [11]
1884Sinking of the SS City of Columbus Shipwreck103 Martha's Vineyard [12]
1953 1953 Worcester tornado Tornado94 Worcester [13]
1973 Delta Air Lines Flight 723 Aviation accident89 Boston [14]
1860 Pemberton Mill collapse Explosion and building collapse88 to 145 Lawrence [15] [16]
1938 1938 New England hurricane Hurricane88Statewide [17]
1875 Precious Blood Church fire Fire78 Holyoke [18]
1960 Eastern Air Lines Flight 375 Aviation accident62 Boston [19]
1905 Grover Shoe Factory disaster Explosion and building collapse58 Brockton [20]
1916 Summer Street Bridge disaster Streetcar accident46 Boston [21]
1956Sinking of the SS Andrea Doria Shipwreck46 Nantucket [22]
1925 Pickwick Club collapse Building collapse44 Boston [23]
1927Sinking of the USS S-4 Shipwreck40 Provincetown [24]
1887 Forest Hills disaster Bridge collapse38 Boston [25]
1911Septic score throat outbreakDisease38 Boston [26]
1853 USS Leyte explosion Explosion36 Boston [27]
1871 Great Revere train wreck of 1871 Railway accident30 Revere [28]
1872 Great Boston Fire of 1872 Fire30 Boston [29]
1913 Arcadia Hotel fire Fire28 Boston [30]
1946 Mount Tom B-17 crash Aviation accident25 Holyoke [31]
1874 Granite Mill fire Fire23 Fall River [32]
1890 1890 Quincy train wreck Railway accident23 Quincy [33]
1958 Northeast Airlines Flight 258 Aviation accident23 Nantucket [34]
1903 United States Cartridge Company explosion Explosion22 Lowell [35]
1915 St. John's School fire Fire21 Peabody [36]
1919 Great Molasses Flood Flood21 Boston [37]
1928 Preble Box Toe Company explosion Explosion20 Lynn [38]
1878 Wollaston disaster Railway accident19 Quincy [39]
1908 Great Chelsea fire of 1908 Fire19 Chelsea [40]
1945SS Silver Star Park and SS Mangore collisionShipwreck19 New Bedford [41] [42]
19661966 Nantucket radar plane crashAviation Accident19 Nantucket [43]
2012 2012–2013 flu season Disease18Statewide [44]
1905 Baker Bridge train wreck Railway accident17 Lincoln [45]
1910 Morewood Lake Ice Company explosion Explosion17 Pittsfield [46]
1942Garnet Hill crashAviation accident17 Peru [47]
1944Sinking of the USS YF-415 Shipwreck17 Hingham [48]
1804 1804 New England hurricane Hurricane16Statewide
19651965 Nantucket radar plane crashAviation Accident16 Nantucket [49]
1958 Westover Air Force Base KC-135 crash Aviation Accident15 Chicopee [50]
19671967 Nantucket radar picket plane crashAviation Accident15 Nantucket [51]
1984 Beverly rooming house fire Arson15 Beverly [52]
1893 Chester train wreck Bridge collapse14 Chester [53]
1928 Beacon Oil explosion Explosion14 Everett [54]
1867 Hoosac Tunnel Central Shaft accident Tunnel collapse13 Florida [55]
1906 Amsden Building collapse Building collapse13 Framingham [56] [57]
1941 Strand Theatre fire Fire13 Brockton [58]
1942Melvin Hall fireFire13 Lynn [59]
1956 Swampscott train wreck Railway accident13 Swampscott [60]
1966 Everett train-truck crash Railway accident13 Everett [61]
1890Boston tenement fireFire12 Boston [62]
1952 Camp Edwards plane collisionAviation accident12 Mashpee [63]
1958 Northeast Airlines Flight 285 Aviation accident12 New Bedford [64]
1886 Deerfield railway accident Railway accident11 Deerfield [65]
1902 Frank A. Palmer and Louise B. Crary collision Shipwreck11 Gloucester [66]
1913 Lawrence bathhouse tragedy Drowning11 Lawrence [67]
1919 Springfield Boys' Club Camp drowningsDrowning11 East Otis [68]
1964January 1964 blizzardBlizzard11Statewide [69]
1966 Paramount Hotel explosion Explosion11 Boston [70]
1902Italian lodging house fireFire10 Boston [71]
1944 Mount Holyoke bomber crashAviation accident10 South Hadley [72]
1973Worcester rooming house fireFire10 Worcester [73]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ For continuous multi-year events, the year in the year column represents the initial year of the event, unless otherwise noted.

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References

  1. ↑ Shea, Lois R. (November 1, 1998). "Sudden, swift, silent, and deadly 80 years ago, flu ravaged New England". The Boston Globe.
  2. ↑ "COVID-19 Response Reporting". Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  3. ↑ "1693 — June 17 start, Yellow Fever, Boston, British fleet arrival from Martinique[1]—<10?". 17 June 1693. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. ↑ Aldrich, Ian (March 24, 2010). "Natural Disasters: New England Numbers". Yankee Magazine. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "1633–34 — Smallpox Epidemic, New England Natives, Plymouth Colonists, MA –>1000". usdeadlyevents.com. January 1632. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  6. ↑ Kelly, M.D., Howard; Burrage, M.D., Walter (1920). American Medical Biographies. The Norman, Remington Company. p. 134. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  7. ↑ "1677–1678 — Smallpox Epidemic, Massachusetts Bay Colony, esp. Boston & vic. –750-1,000". usdeadlyevents. January 1676. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  8. ↑ Daniel J. Fleming, "The Cocoanut Grove Revisited: U.S. Navy Records Document How 492 Died in a Deadly Nightclub Fire 75 Years Ago." Prologue Magazine, Fall 2017, Vol. 49, No. 3
  9. ↑ "Passenger and Crew Lost with the Steamship Portland". Maritime Heritage. Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. 5 January 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "Passenger and Crew Lost with the Steamship Portland". Maritime Heritage. Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. 5 January 2009. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  11. ↑ Duddu, Praveen (6 March 2014). "Peril in the depths – the world's worst submarine disasters". Navaltechnology.com. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  12. ↑ King, Irving H. (1996). The Coast Guard Expands, 1865–1915: New Roles, New Frontiers . Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN   978-1-55750-458-6.
  13. ↑ "The 25 Deadliest U.S. Tornadoes". National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  14. ↑ Burden, Leanne; Tuite, Lisa (2012-08-01). "Flight 723: Boston's worst plane crash in history". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  15. ↑ Date, Terry. "The walls trembled, then fell: Lessons from the Pemberton disaster". The Eagle Tribune. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  16. ↑ "THE FALL OF THE PEMBERTON MILL". The New York Times . April 18, 1886.
  17. ↑ Scotti, R. A. "Sudden Sea — The Great Hurricane of 1938". Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 2003. Archived from the original on January 2, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2007.
  18. ↑ Corbeil, Art (2000). "Fire at Precious Blood". HolyokeMass.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017.
  19. ↑ Reints, Renae (October 5, 2017). "Throwback Thursday: The Worst Bird Strike in U.S. History". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Fifty-eighth Brockton Victim Dead". The New York Times . April 16, 1905.
  21. ↑ Moskowitz, Eric (October 29, 1916). "STREET CAR PLUNGE 46 DROWNED: 'WORST TRAGEDY IN THE HISTORY OF THE CITY' (And the one Boston completely forgot)". Boston Globe. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  22. ↑ "PBS Online – Lost Liners – Comparison Chart". PBS.
  23. ↑ "Disaster Probe Again Delayed". The Boston Daily Globe. July 10, 1925.
  24. ↑ Hoppe, Jon (October 29, 2015). "Anatomy of a Tragedy: The Sinking of the USS S-4". U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  25. ↑ "Bussey Bridge Disaster: Feature News Account". Boston Daily Globe. Jamaica Historical Society. March 15, 1887.
  26. ↑ Vaughan, Victor C. (1922). Respiratory infections. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby Company. p. 124. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  27. ↑ "Sabotage Hunted in Carrier Blast; Toll Rises to 36 Dead and 40 Hurt". The New York Times. October 18, 1953.
  28. ↑ The New York Herald August 30, 1871 page 10 lists 30 fatalities
  29. ↑ "The Great Boston Fire of 1872 – New England Historical Society". www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com. March 9, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Record Toll in Fire Victims" (PDF). The Boston Daily Globe. December 4, 1913. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  31. ↑ "25 Bodies Found in Bomber Crash". The New York Times. July 11, 1946.
  32. ↑ "23 Killed---26 Wounded". The Pilot. September 26, 1874. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  33. ↑ Massachusetts Board of Railroad Commissioners (1890). Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners 1890. pp. 113–135. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  34. ↑ Walsh, Robert (August 17, 1958). "Air Safety Probe Demanded for N.E.: Nantucket Crash Toll Rises to 23; 11 Survive". The Boston Daily Globe.
  35. ↑ "Makes 22 Lives Lost". The Boston Daily Globe. September 25, 1903.
  36. ↑ BURKE, ALAN (October 27, 2015). "Suffer the little children: Remembering the 21 who died in the St. John's fire 100 years ago". Salem News. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  37. ↑ Sohn, Emily (January 15, 2019). "Why the Great Molasses Flood Was So Deadly". The History Channel. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  38. ↑ "John Coleman Dies, 20th in Lynn Blast". The Boston Daily Globe. November 25, 1928.
  39. ↑ Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners Volume 11, Part 1880. 1880. pp. 186–187. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  40. ↑ "Great Chelsea Fire of 1908". Celebrate Boston. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  41. ↑ "19 Dead, 3 Missing in Ship Collision". The New York Times. April 14, 1945.
  42. ↑ Barry, William R.; Chisholm, Doug; Parsons, Beth (2005). Age Shall Not Weary Them: Saskatchewan Remembers Its War Dead. People Places Pub.
  43. ↑ "19 Lost in Crash of Radar Plane". The Boston Globe. November 12, 1966.
  44. ↑ "Boston declares flu emergency; 18 dead statewide from outbreak". The Berkshire Eagle. January 9, 2013.
  45. ↑ "Rear-End Collision Brings Deaths to 17". The Boston Daily Globe. November 27, 1905.
  46. ↑ "17th Victim of Explosion". The Boston Daily Globe. December 30, 1910.
  47. ↑ "17 Die in Army Plane Crash". The Boston Globe. August 17, 1942.
  48. ↑ "USS YF-415". Northern Atlantic Dive Expeditions. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  49. ↑ "9 Airmen Perish in Plane Ditching". The New York Times. July 13, 1965.
  50. ↑ "Jet Tanker Crashes; 15 Killed". The Boston Daily Globe. June 27, 1958.
  51. ↑ Jenner, Edward (April 26, 1967). "Plane Crash Off Nantucket Kills 15--1 Survivor". The Boston Globe.
  52. ↑ "July Fire in Beverly Claims 15th Victim". The Boston Globe. August 8, 1984.
  53. ↑ "List of Dead Numbers 14". The Boston Daily Globe. September 4, 1893.
  54. ↑ "Ask Beacon Plant Permit Be Revoked". The Boston Daily Globe. March 13, 1928.
  55. ↑ "The Hoosac Tunnel Disaster of 1867". New England Historical Society. 2014-10-18. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  56. ↑ "Only One is Now Missing". The Boston Daily Globe. July 26, 1906.
  57. ↑ "Chester Nicholson Dead". The Boston Daily Globe. November 14, 1908.
  58. ↑ "Herlihy's Death 13th From Brockton Fire". The Boston Daily Globe. March 13, 1941.
  59. ↑ Monahan, James (January 21, 1942). "Probe Ordered of Lynn Blaze Which Killed 13". The Boston Daily Globe.
  60. ↑ Linscott, Seymour (February 29, 1956). "Probe 13-Death Wreck: B & M Blames Dead Budd Liner Engineer". The Boston Daily Globe.
  61. ↑ "Everett Rail Crash Claims 13th Victim". The Boston Daily Globe. February 6, 1967.
  62. ↑ "Victims of a Death Trap". The New York Times. February 3, 1890.
  63. ↑ "Planes Crash Aloft; 12 in Air Force Die". The New York Times. April 10, 1952.
  64. ↑ "12th Crash Victim Dies". The New York Times. September 25, 1957.
  65. ↑ Massachusetts Board of Railroad Commissioners (1887). Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners 1887. pp. 64–68. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  66. ↑ "11 Dead, 10 Saved". The Boston Daily Globe. December 23, 1902.
  67. ↑ Volger, Mark E. (June 30, 2013). "The day 'many happy homes were made silent and sorrowful'". The Eagle-Tribune. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  68. ↑ "Eleven Boys Are Drowned At One Picnic". The Boston Globe. July 26, 1919. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  69. ↑ "New England Digs Out, Counts 31 Dead, Millions Spent". The Boston Daily Globe. January 15, 1964.
  70. ↑ Turner, R. L. (May 20, 1966). "Gas Leak Blamed For Hub Blast". The Boston Globe.
  71. ↑ "Fire Kills Ten Italians in Boston". The New York Times. January 30, 1902.
  72. ↑ "New England Digs Out, Counts 31 Dead, Millions Spent". The Boston Daily Globe. January 15, 1964.
  73. ↑ "10th victim found from Worcester guest house fire". The Boston Globe. July 16, 1973.
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