October 2006 Disasters

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

• Oct. 1, Vietnam Typhoon Xangsane hits central Vietnam, killing 68.
• Oct. 12–13, Buffalo, NY.: a freak early snowstorm dropped 2 feet of snow on Buffalo, causing widespread outrages and disruptions and killing three people.
• Oct. 15, Hawaii a 6.6 magnitude earthquake rocked the Big Island of Hawaii, causing damage to some buildings and a loss of power but no casualties. The last large quake was in November 16, 1983 and the largest recorded quake, 7.9 magnitude, to hit Hawaii was April 2, 1868, killing 77.
• Oct. 11, New York City, NY.: a single-engine plane carrying two people, one of them New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, crashed into a 42-story building on the Upper East Side. Both men died in the crash. Several others, including residents of the building and firefighters, were injured.
• Oct. 16, Rome, Houston-Galveston area Tex.: torrential rains in southeast Texas flooded roads, spawned tornados, and killed 4 people.
• Oct. 17, Rome, Italy: two subway trains collided during the morning commute, killing one and injuring at least 60 people.
• Oct. 21–23, North Korea: strong storms left more than 7,300 homeless, however, due to early evacuation there were no casualties.
• Oct. 22, Midwest and South, U.S.: strong storms and tornadoes destroyed more than 400 structures and killed 13.
• Oct. 26, Colorado: more than 25 inches of snow hit parts of Colorado causing power failures and setting off avalanches and rockslides.
• Oct. 26–30, Cabazon, Calif.: a fire, set by an arsonist, killed 5 firefighters, burned more than 60 square miles of land, and destroyed 34 homes. Raymond Oyler has been accused of setting this fire
• Oct. 29, Abuja, Nigeria: ADC airlines flight 53, a Boeing 737, crashed in bad weather after take-off, killing 103. This was Nigeria's third fatal air disaster in 12 months.

See also Major Earthquakes Around the World 2006

See also Estimated Deaths from Earthquakes, 2006

See also Recent Volcanic Activity