In Rome, Italy, back in 27 C.E., an estimated 20,000 people lost their lives at the Fidenae Amphitheatre, when it collapsed to the ground. The amphitheater, which was constructed very cheaply with wood, wasn't able to contain the 50,000 people who went to watch the gladiator games, which caused it to collapse. To date, it's the deadliest structural failure in recorded history. It's one of the 30 deadliest structural failures ever, as shown on this new infographic coming from the research team at ForneyVault. Even the last-ranked structural failure on this infographic was extremely catastrophic. In 1904, in Eden, Colorado, the Eden Railroad Bridge experienced a thunderstorm that caused a flash flood, which was so severe that part of the bridge collapsed and pushed half of a train into the river. As a result, 111 people lost their lives. How many of these very deadly structural failures from the past had you been previously aware of?
Infographic by: forneyvault
