Washington Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival

By Rob McNair-Huff and Natalie McNair-Huff

Book Overview

True accounts of major disasters in Washington history are retold in this engagingly written collection. From The Seattle fire of 1889, the 1910 train avalanche on Stevens Pass, and the 1915 Ravensdale Coal Mine explosion, the 1955 airliner crash in residential Riverton, to the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, Washington has been home to some of the nation's most dramatic moments. Each story reveals not only the circumstances surrounding the disaster and the magnitude of the devastation but also the courage and ingenuity displayed by those who survived and the heroism of those who helped others, often risking their own lives in rescue efforts.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 149301322X
• ISBN13: 9781493013227
• Release Date: December 2015
• Publisher: Globe Pequot Press
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

300 Years of Death & Destruction in Washington State

What better follow-up could there be to Oregon Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival than Washington Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival? For a native of the Pacific Northwest, this was a chance to re-visit some of the significant disasters that have occurred during my lifetime in the area I call home. It was also an introduction to some I had not previously been aware of, because they happened prior to my birth. Some were natural disasters, others happened because of human error, but all make for fascinating reading. Native Washingtonians Rob and Natalie McNair-Huff cover 22 disasters beginning with the "great Cascadia subduction zone earthquake" in 1700 and ending with the Thirtymile Fire in 2001. The McNair-Huffs have chosen to cover a variety of disasters that occurred during the 300 years between those two events: shipwrecks, floods, fires, several wind storms, a bridge collapse, a mine explosion, a trolley derailment, an airfield collision, a plane crash on Mt. Rainier, a train swept from the tracks by an avalanche, and of course the well-known eruption of Mount St. Helens. The authors provide the facts, but also show the human side of the disasters and in some cases, changes that were made to try to prevent such a disaster from happening again. A map of the state of Washington at the front of the book shows where each disaster occurred. At the end of the book there is a bibliography of sources, many of which are newspaper articles from the times of the events. This is a good place to start for those wishing to dig deeper into this aspect of Washington State history. Along with Oregon Disasters, Washington Disasters is part of Insiders' Guide's "Disaster Series." Could California Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival be next? I can only hope so!