July 2002 Disasters

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

• July 1, nr. Ueberlingen, Germany: Russian airliner and cargo jet collided in midair over Germany near the Swiss border, killing 71 people. The Russian plane was a Bashkirian Airlines Tupolev 154, carrying 45 school children to a Spanish beach resort near Barcelona; the Boeing 757 cargo jet was operated by DHL International delivery service. Faulty monitoring by Swiss air traffic control may have led to the crash.
• July 1–6, south-central Texas:Heavy rains and severe flooding resulted in damage to at least 48,000 houses, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars.
• July 7, Ukrainsk, Urkraine: Fire gutted the Ukraina coal pit in the eastern Donetsk region, leaving 35 miners dead. Ukrainian coal mines are among the world's most dangerous; according to the Associated Press, some 3,700 miners have been killed in Ukraine since 1991.
• July 16, Philippines and Japan: Typhoon Halong caused widespread evacuations in Japan and left 61 people dead in the Philippines. In all, four typhoons (Rammasun, Chata'an, Nakri, and Halong) swept through region in early July, killing about 100 people in Micronesia, the Philippines, China, and the Korean Peninsula.
• July 18, nr. Lutoto, Uganda:Fuel truck hit a passenger bus and exploded, killing more than 60 people.
• July 27, nr. Lviv, Ukraine:Russian-built Sukhoi-27 fighter jet crashed while performing an acrobatic maneuver during an air show. Eighty-three people were killed, including 23 children; the 2 pilots ejected to safety. It is the worst air show disaster in history. In 1988 70 people were killed when three Italian Air Force jets collided in midair at an air show at the American Air Force Base in Ramstein, West Germany.

See also Major Earthquakes Around the World 2002

See also Recent Volcanic Activity