When studying ancient history, it's sometimes surprising humanity ever made it to the 20th century. Ancient civilizations were repeatedly hit by disasters, both natural and man-made, the likes of which modern civilization has rarely seen. It seems that when nature was trying to wipe us off the face of the map, we were also busy doing it to each other. Here are 7 of the worst disasters to shake the ancient world.

​1.    The Chicxulub Crater: An Asteroid and a Mass Extinction Event
Let’s start with a disaster that predates human civilization by a wide margin, but can confidently be called the greatest natural disaster to have ever shaken the world: the asteroid impact that changed everything.

The Chicxulub crater can be found on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula . Measuring in at 111 miles (180 kilometers) wide and 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) deep, this massive crater marks an asteroid impact from around 66 million years ago.

It’s believed that the asteroid was around 6 miles (10 kilometers) in diameter. This may not sound that large, but the speed at which it was traveling meant when it collided with the Earth, it did so with the power of over a billion atomic bombs. Shockwaves were felt around the globe, and winds of up to 600 miles per hour (965 kilometers per hour) scoured the ground surrounding the impact bare.

Millions of tons of ash, gases, and debris choked the atmosphere, blocking out the sun and leading to massive global cooling. When this debris began to fall to Earth, it was still so hot that it caused massive wildfires wherever it landed.
This all caused an extinction-level event that wiped out up to 75% of all life on Earth during the Cretaceous Period . If this sounds familiar, it is because this is the asteroid strike widely believed to be responsible for the death of dinosaurs. So, really, this is perhaps one we should be grateful for!

Scientists look for evidence of previous Armageddon-style destruction by identifying “chaotic sediments” where narrow layers of earth, rock and ice record oddball events in the earth’s history in the form of bands of mud and tiny magnetically-charged fragments. To scientists, these are clear indicators of sudden floods, ice-melt or ash deposits. When this is found outside a long period of the cycle of freezing and melting in the earth’s history, it is an indicator of a pole shift.

Pole shifts cause a major increase in the movement of the tectonic plates, the giant lines of opposing cracks in the earth’s crust which push and grind against each other until they periodically release like a balled fist in a closed palm flicking upwards.

There are now signs among the sharp increase in natural disasters and other strange, apparently unrelated incidents which point towards a possible reversal. It is widely-recognised that magnetic north, that point at the top of the globe which compasses and devices which depend on magnetic navigation rely, is shifting increasingly quickly towards Russia from its current position above Greenland and nearer to Canada. It has moved 400 km in the last decade and is accelerating.

Our sun swaps its north and south pole every 11-13 years and has just done so. The effect on the sun is to stimulate the number and intensity of solar storms which can have a major effect on the earth. They can interfere with tv transmissions and power supplies.

Other signs which might indicate the effects of a magnetic reversal between magnetic north and south are an unprecedented seven volcanoes which have started to erupt around the world in the last few days, and a major spike of 7.0 magnitude plus earthquakes almost all of which I have witnessed personally a few days after the event as a documentary maker.

The cycle started in Indonesia in 2004 and occurred again very recently in Nepal. These sharp increases in seismic activity do occur every 30 years or so and may be part of a natural ebb and flow but they are another aspect of what could be a major trend in the light of the relentless and quickening march of magnetic north east away from its original position.

USGS and NASA are very concerned about a new magma chamber the University of Utah have discovered recently under Yellowstone National Park in addition to the enormous lake of molten rock and iron they already knew about. This one is an astonishing 11 times the volume of the Grand Canyon. A sudden pole shift could become the push the magma chamber with the surface area of Los Angeles needs to blow up. If it does, most of North America would be destroyed instantly and a new ice age would begin.

Another story which begs the question “what on earth is going on” is a 300 meter (900 feet) high island which has appeared from the sea bed just north of the tip of Japan in just one night. This area was the origin of the 8.9 Magnitude earthquake which ripped through Japan in 2011, causing one of the worst tsunami of all time.

Sections of crustal plates which suddenly move under enormous heat and pressure which cause earthquakes and tsunami have been known to move dramatically, although it is often never seen as it occurs miles down on the seabed. A new shelf 800 km (500 miles) and 60 metre (180 feet high) appeared off the west coast of Indonesia in 2004 which triggered the infamous tsunami wave which swept completely round the earth’s circumference three times.

The new Japanese landmass appeared at almost exactly the same time as the Nepal 7.9 Magnitude earthquake took place 5,000 km (3,000 miles) away at the opposite end of the Eurasian tectonic plate.

Finally the weirdest account of nature behaving strangely are reports of a strange humming noise coming from the sea. Scientists have explained this as the effect of the currents running though the oceans.

Watch a volcano from space here.

Is a reversal of the earth’s magnetic poles taking place? Volcanoes, earthquakes, strange noises from the sea. New shocking evidence points to a pole shift which, if it happens fast, will cause chaos around the world. 

A pole reversal, when the earth’s north and south magnetic poles start to swap places, reversing the world’s magnetic polarity, has happened before. Scientists who track the history of the planet have identified 74 of these events by studying core samples. These are extracted from hundreds or thousands of feet down in the ground and in the thick polar ice.

A sudden shift would throw the earth’s balance out so significantly it could trigger lethal earthquakes, tsunami on a scale we can hardly imagine capable of washing right across the United States and every other major landmass, volcanic eruptions so large and widespread that the resulting ash clouds and gases could blanket the sun’s rays and trigger a new sudden ice-age.

On the Big Island of Hawaii, where the Kilauea volcano has explosively erupted, there is a geothermal energy plant. It is the Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) Plant, in Puna.
 
There is a long-running debate about whether PGV is fracking. The debate may be a matter of terminology, because in the geothermal process, as hawaiifracking.com reports, "...the drilling and the injection of cold water into hot rocks used in geothermal energy plants does fracture the rocks, which can induce earthquakes and through contamination of the atmosphere and water tables can affect our health and safety."

​Whether deep injection of fluid aims to capture oil, gas, or heat (geothermal), the beginning stage of the process is the same.
 
Earthquakes induced by this water-injection could obviously trigger a volcano.
 
For example, here is an alarming article about a geothermal project in Switzerland. Swissinfo.ch, December 10, 2009: "The authorities in canton Basel City say they will cancel a geothermal energy project, which three years ago caused minor tremors that damaged many buildings."
 
"A risk analysis study published on Thursday found that the danger of setting off more earthquakes was too great if drilling at the site resumed."
 
"The project was put on hold three years ago after thousands of claims for damage were filed with insurers. Total costs for the damage were around SFr9 million ($8.78 million)."
 
"The study, commissioned by the canton, concluded that Basel was 'unfavourable' for geothermal power generation."
 
"It said the resumption of Deep Heat Mining project and its operation over a 30-year period could set off around 200 tremors with a strength of up to 4.5 on the Richter Scale - in 2006, the quakes were about 3.4."

"This would result in damages up to SFr40 million."
 
"The Basel facility drilled five kilometres into the earth. The borehole was designed to be injected with water to capture the extreme heat. Back at the surface, the hot water - at a temperature of around 160° Celsius - would run a steam turbine coupled with a generator."

(Via thebarcaroller)
​Four geocentric planetary alignments taking during this important six day watch period. Planetary geometry of these almost simultaneous interactions should coincide with very high levels of solar activity from February 26-28 but also the potential for significant geophysical events felt here on the Earth. Therefore a significant watch for a major earthquake from February 28 to March 3, 2017 with the forecast magnitude of this event expected (M 8.0-8.5). This event highlights subduction zone prone areas of the 'Pacific Ring Of Fire' and represents a genuine Tsunami warning if this large event in ocean based. Areas of interest for this warning are Indonesia and South America.

​Stay updated on world wide earthquakes at Apparently Apparel's Quake Watch.