November 2000 Disasters

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

• October–November, western Europe: Weeks of rain caused widespread flooding in much of Great Britain, southern France, and northern Spain and Italy.
• Nov. 3, western United States: A combination of hot, dry weather and plenty of dry vegetation led to one of the most destructive forest fire seasons in U.S. history. Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 3 about 7.2 million acres had burned nationwide, nearly double the ten-year average. States hardest hit included Alaska, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, and Oregon.
• Nov. 3, Philippines: A typhoon packing winds of up to 75 mph slammed into the island of Luzon, killing at least 24 and forcing the evacuation of over 100,000.
• Nov. 5, nr. Ibadan, Nigeria: A fuel tanker crashed into a line of stopped vehicles, causing a fire that left scores of motorists and bystanders dead.
• Nov. 11, nr. Kaprun, Austria: A cable car transporting skiers to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier broke into flames while moving through a mountain tunnel. The final death toll reached 156, including 90 Austrians, in what was termed Austria's worst Alpine disaster.
• Nov. 27, Sumatra, Indonesia: Torrential rains triggered landslides and floods, killing at least 119 people on the island of Sumatra.
• Nov. 28, Mississippi River south of New Orleans: Oil tanker Westchester lost power and ran aground near Port Sulphur, La., dumping 567,000 gallons of crude oil into the lower Mississippi. The spill was the largest in U.S. waters since the Exxon Valdez disaster in March 1989.

See also Major Earthquakes Around the World 2000

See also Recent Volcanic Activity