July 2000 Disasters

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

• early July, southern Europe: Recording breaking heat wave in Italy and the Balkans resulted in dozens of deaths and set the stage for numerous wildfires damaging crops and forests. Temperatures in some areas climbed as high as 50° C (122° F).
• July 7, Philippines: 2 typhoons struck the Philippines, killing at least 16 people and forcing 400,000 from their homes. Torrential rains caused landslides and widespread flooding.
• July 10, Philippines: A mountain of garbage at the Payatas garbage dump in Quezon City collapsed and then burst into flame, destroying about 100 squatters' houses and killing at least 124 people. More than 800 people were left homeless.
• July 10, Adeje, Nigeria: A broken petroleum pipeline exploded, killing approximately 250 people who were scavenging gasoline. Many of the victims were schoolchildren.
• July 16, nr. Curitiba, Brazil: More than one million gallons of crude oil leaked into the Barigue River, a tributary of the Iguacu River, from a refinery operated by the state-owned oil company Petrobras. It was Brazil's worst oil spill in 25 years.
• July 16, Warri, Nigeria: Another Nigerian pipeline exploded, this one near a refinery in the oil town of Warri. At least 30 villagers who were siphoning off gasoline were killed.
• July 17, Patna, India: An Alliance Air 737-200 crashed into a housing complex near the airport in Patna, killing 56 people, including five on the ground.
• July 19, Bombay, India: Monsoon rains set off a landslide, burying a shantytown on a hillside in the eastern part of the city. More than 50 people were believed dead.
• July 20, central China: The death toll rose to 213 after a week of floods and landslides in Shaanxi province. Thousands of homes were destroyed, and roads and telephone communications were also badly damaged.
• July 25, Gonesse, France: Air France Concorde jet en route to New York crashed into a hotel just after taking off from Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris; all 109 aboard and four on the ground were killed; first Concorde jet to crash since the plane went into commercial service in 1976.

See also Major Earthquakes Around the World 2000

See also Recent Volcanic Activity