June 2000 Disasters

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

• June 4, Sumatra, Indonesia: An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale struck late in the day, resulting in the deaths of at least 120 people. The quake, which was centered beneath the Indian Ocean 60 miles west of Bengkulu City, was followed by hundreds of aftershocks and tremors and caused widespread panic.
• June 18, Dover, England: British customs officials discovered the bodies of 58 illegal immigrants in the back of a truck carrying tomatoes via ferry from Belgium. The victims, who were believed to be from China, died of asphyxiation in an overheated hidden compartment.
• June 27–29, nr. Richland, Washington: Sparked by a fatal car crash, a fast-moving brush fire burned out of control, spreading across the Hanford nuclear complex, a radioactive waste site. Thousands were evacuated from their homes and nearly 200,000 acres were destroyed in just 2 days.
• June 29, Sulawesi, Indonesia: A ferry carrying mostly Christian refugees from the island of Halmahera sank approximately 40 miles off the coast of Sulawesi. None of the nearly 500 passengers survived.

See also Major Earthquakes Around the World 2000

See also Recent Volcanic Activity