Nature's Veto

The five moments in this challenge

1. 

   Round 1 · 365

   The Great Tsunami of Alexandria

   Alexandria, Egypt

   Following a massive Mediterranean earthquake, the sea dramatically retreated before rushing back as a devastating wave that hurled merchant ships over the seawalls and onto the roofs of the ancient Egyptian metropolis.

2. 

   Round 2 · 1281

   The Divine Wind Saves Japan

   Hakata Bay, Japan

   As Kublai Khan’s mighty Mongol armada prepared to conquer the Japanese home islands, a ferocious typhoon shattered thousands of their wooden vessels, coining the term kamikaze or divine wind.

3. 

   Round 3 · 1524

   The Invisible Invader Strikes the Inca

   Quito, Ecuador

   Years before Spanish conquistadors physically reached the Andes, a devastating outbreak of smallpox swept down the continent, claiming the life of Emperor Huayna Capac and triggering a ruinous civil war.

4. 

   Round 4 · 1683

   The Great Frost Fair on the Thames

   London, England

   At the bitter climax of the Little Ice Age, the River Thames froze so solidly that Londoners set up a bustling winter market directly on the ice, complete with shops and taverns.

5. 

   Round 5 · 1906

   The Quake That Broke San Francisco

   San Francisco, California, USA

   A massive rupture along the San Andreas Fault shook the thriving coastal metropolis to its core, but it was the subsequent raging infernos ignited by broken gas lines that truly consumed the city.