Disasters happen daily, but unless they are especially horrific, international, or deadly, we might not hear about them. In our online world, we can certainly find out about disasters that happen on "smaller scales" elsewhere in the world, or past disasters that may be largely forgotten these days.
Choose a disaster from the list below (or use as inspiration one you know about) and write a poem about it. There are many choices as far as perspective--someone who survived but was a victim, a first responder, a victim's loved one, a historian examining the results/effects, etc.
1859 Carrington Event, worldwide
1874 Locust Plague, Great Plains states
1901 Jim the Horse Tetanus Scandal, Saint Louis
1904 Eden Train Wreck, Colorado
1908 Tunguska River Explosion, Siberia
1917 The Narrows Explosion, Canada
1919 Molasses Flood, Boston
1940 Tacoma Tarrows Bridge Collapse, Washington
1942 Cocoanut Grove Fire, Boston
1944 Hartford Circus Fire, Connecticut
1947 Port of Texas City Explosions, Texas
1948 Donora Death Fog, Pennsylvania
1952 Great Smog, London
1958 Our Lady of the Angels School Fire, Chicago
1960 Air Collision, New York City
1961 Argon Low Power Reactor meltdown, Idaho Falls
1962 Centralia Mine Fire, Pennsylvania
1963 Vajont Dam Landslide, Italy
1967 Silver Bridge Collapse, West Virginia/Ohio
1969 Cuyahoga River Fire, Ohio
1971 Mass Grain Poisoning, Iraq
1973 Athens Hellinikon Airport Terrorist Attack, Greece
1978 Love Canal Toxic Dump Scandal, New York
1979 Easter Flood, Mississippi
1985 Antifreeze Wine Scandal, Austria
1986 Lake Nyos Carbon Dioxide Disaster, Cameroon
1990 I75 Fog Disaster, Tennessee
1991 Salem Express Sinking, Egypt
1997 Red River Flood, North Dakota
2008 Sugar Plant Explosion, Georgia
2013 Goat Cheese Fire, Norway
2015 Mina Stampede, Saudi Arabia
