January 2004 Disasters

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

• Jan. 3, Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt: A Egyptian charter Boeing 737 crashed into the Red Sea shortly after take-off, killing 148 people many of whom were French tourists going home from holidays.
• Jan. 13, Tashkent, Uzbekistan: All 37 people, including the top UN official in Uzbekistan, killed in Uzbek plane crash in dense fog while landing at Tashkent airport.
• Jan. 11–17, eastern Canada and U.S.: Record low temperatures more than 9° below normal.
• Jan. 17, Pelee Island, Ontario: Flight 126 from Pelee Island bound for Windsor Ontario crashed into Lake Erie, killing all 10 on board.
• Jan. 23, New Delhi, India: Sixty-four people, including the groom, perished in a wedding hall in southern India as people panicked in the narrow stairwell.
• Jan. 24–29, eastern Europe and Mediterranean: Snow and high winds swept across Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, and Turkey. Turkey closed many shipping channels causing shortages in natural gas and disruptions to electricity and water supplies. Three freighters sunk in the eastern Mediterranean and shipping routes were closed. The Greek-owned cargo ship Kephi sank killing 15 of the 17–member crew. High winds and a sandstorm from this same system closed shipping lanes in the Suez Canal.
• Jan. 24–27, midwest and eastern U.S. Snow, ice, and freezing cold spread across the mid-west, the northern Plains, and eastern U.S. from Atlanta, Georgia north through Pennsylvania. At least 56 deaths were blamed on the weather.

See also Major Earthquakes Around the World 2004

See also Estimated Deaths from Earthquakes, 2004

See also Recent Volcanic Activity