November 18
1999
1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse
In the early hours of November 18, 1999, a student-built bonfire stack on the Texas A&M campus in College Station collapsed during construction, killing 12 students and injuring dozens. The disaster ended a century-old tradition, triggered multiple investigations and lawsuits, and prompted broad changes in university oversight and student-safety policy. Read more
1996
1996 Channel Tunnel fire
On November 18, 1996, a heavy goods vehicle on a Le Shuttle freight train caught fire inside the north running tunnel of the Channel Tunnel. The blaze grew quickly in a confined environment, forcing an ordered evacuation into the service tunnel, a long and hazardous firefighting operation, and months of repairs and operational changes. There were injuries from smoke and minor burns but no confirmed fatalities; the incident reshaped safety rules, emergency procedures, and infrastructure for the tunnel’s future. Read more
1987
King’s Cross fire (King’s Cross St Pancras Underground station fire)
On the evening of 18 November 1987 a small fire smouldering beneath a wooden escalator at King’s Cross St Pancras station in central London transformed into a sudden, lethal flashover. Thirty-one people died and more than 100 were injured. The disaster exposed aging infrastructure, routine litter and unsafe practices, and it led to the Taylor Inquiry and sweeping safety reforms across the London Underground, including the removal of wooden escalators and a ban on smoking. Read more
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1978
Jonestown mass deaths
On November 18, 1978, more than nine hundred people died at Jonestown, a remote Guyanese settlement run by the Peoples Temple under Jim Jones. The deaths followed a visit by a U.S. congressional delegation the previous day and an earlier shooting at the Port Kaituma airstrip that left Congressman Leo Ryan and others dead. Investigations, survivor testimony, audio recordings, and forensic reports have since documented a mixture of coercion, poisonings, and killings that left a complicated legacy for families, investigators, and the public.
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1947
Ballantynes department store fire
On the evening of November 18, 1947, a blaze broke out in Ballantynes, a long-established department store on the corner of Colombo and Cashel Streets in Christchurch. A combination of combustible stock, open internal spaces and limited escape routes allowed smoke and flame to race through the building, killing 41 people and leaving a city dealing with grief, questions and calls for safer buildings.
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1943
Battle of Berlin (RAF campaign)
A sustained Royal Air Force area‑bombing campaign against Berlin that began with a large night raid on the night of November 18–19, 1943 and continued through the winter until March 31, 1944. The campaign aimed to damage industry and morale, but it became as much a test of night navigation, radar and fighter tactics as it was of will — exacting heavy costs on Bomber Command and on Berlin’s civilian population while prompting heated debate that endures to this day.
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1929
1929 Grand Banks earthquake and tsunami
On November 18, 1929, a powerful earthquake on the continental slope south of Newfoundland triggered a massive submarine landslide that severed undersea telegraph cables and sent a tsunami racing into the fishing communities of the Burin Peninsula. In minutes, wharves, boats and homes were swept away; about 28 people died and many more were left homeless. The event became a landmark case showing that submarine slides — not just fault motion — can produce deadly near‑field tsunamis.
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