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Jerusalem, Israel -

An epicenter for religious struggles for thousands of years, Jerusalem has constantly been under siege. But one of the most notable disasters happened in 66 CE.

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Jerusalem, Israel -

Jewish rebels seized control of the area from Roman occupiers, who responded with 70,000 men storming in and burning the Second Temple and slaughtering Jews. It was a brutal five-month-long siege that destroyed the city.

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Warsaw, Poland -

During the invasion of Poland in 1939, the Germans heavily bombed the capital city of Warsaw. Churches, palaces, and libraries that dated back to the 13th century were all struck to the ground.

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Warsaw, Poland -

When the war ended, it took six years to plan the city's reconstruction with the help of street maps from the 18th century. The Old Market Square, the Royal Castle, city walls, and palaces were all rebuilt in the 1960s.

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Lisbon, Portugal -

On All Saints' Day, November 1, 1755, Lisbon was struck by a huge earthquake followed 40 minutes later by a tsunami. A fire spread across the city and burned it down over five days.

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Lisbon, Portugal -

Around 30,000 people were killed and 85% of the city is believed to have been destroyed. The recovery of the city was led by the Marquis of Pombal, who effectively ruled the Portuguese Empire from 1750 to 1777 as chief minister to King Joseph I.

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Chicago, Illinois -

In 1871, one very unlucky barn unintentionally ignited the Great Chicago Fire. The fire was carried into the central district from that barn by the heavy winds that were taking place.

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Chicago,Illinois -

The fire killed approximately 300 people, and burnt down almost 17,000 buildings. It also displaced more than 100,000 residents.

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Tokyo, Japan -

In March 1945, Tokyo suffered firebombing air raids by the United States Army Air Forces during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. Known as Operation Meetinghouse, it's the single most destructive bombing raid in human history.

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Tokyo, Japan -

Central Tokyo was destroyed, leaving an estimated 100,000 civilians dead and over one million people homeless.

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London, England -

Between 1940 and 1941, the UK suffered a German bombing campaign known as the Blitz. The bombing of London lasted for 37 weeks, with 57 nights of consecutive bombing.

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London, England -

London experienced 20,000 bombs, which destroyed over a million homes and buildings. As soon as fighting ended, the rebuilding began.

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San Francisco, California -

In 1906, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake destroyed nearly 80% of the city’s buildings, and left as many as 300,000 people homeless.

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San Francisco, California -

One of the deadliest disasters in US history, it killed around 3,000 people. But by 1915 the city had recovered, with wider street plans instituted.

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Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina -

For centuries, Mostar was famous for its architecture, like its famous bridge, the Stari Most. But during the Croat-Bosniak War that raged from 1992 to 1995, Mostar became a strategically important site, which left it bombed.

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Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina -

Since the end of the conflict, international organizations have funded the rebuilding of the city. And in 2004 a huge step forward was taken with the restoration of the bridge.

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Dresden, Germany -

The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American aerial bombing attack during World War II. With four raids in 1945, around 25,000 people were killed.

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Dresden, Germany -

Since 1945, the center of Dresden has been rebuilt, with the Frauenkirche, Zwingler Palace, and Opera House restored as they were before the bombings.

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Hiroshima, Japan -

The nuclear explosions by the US Air Force during World War II wiped out the entire city of Hiroshima. By the end of 1945, between 90,000 and 166,000 people had died as a result of the blast and its effects.

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Hiroshima, Japan -

Since being rebuilt after the war, Hiroshima has become the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu.

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St. Louis, Missouri -

In 1896, the city of St. Louis was hit by a historic tornado. One of the deadliest and most destructive in US history, this tornado was the most notable of a major tornado outbreak across the central region of the country.

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St. Louis, Missouri -

In just about 20 minutes, the tornado killed at least 255 people, and caused more than US$10 million in damage, equivalent to $326 million today. It also left more 5,000 people homeless.

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Nagasaki, Japan -

Another Japanese city that got totally destroyed, Nagasaki was also a target of the American nuclear bombs in 1945. About 35,000 people were killed.

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Nagasaki, Japan -

Like Hiroshima, Nagasaki also faced a lot of post-explosion fatalities. But slowly, the city rose from its ashes and its horrific past.

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Berlin, Germany -

The epicenter of Nazi Germany, Berlin faced massive widespread destruction. With bombing raids by the Royal Air Force, the American Eighth Air Force, and the Soviets, around 80% of Berlin was destroyed.

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Berlin, Germany -

Right after the war ended, prompt renovations were underway, and have been ongoing ever since. Berlin is today one of Germany’s most visited cities.

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Aceh, Indonesia -

The earthquake and tsunami that rocked countries around the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day 2004 was one of the deadliest in history. In Indonesia, the province of Aceh had over 170,000 casualties.

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Aceh, Indonesia -

Ten years after the disaster, the World Bank called the rebuilding of Aceh a "remarkable resilience and recovery."

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New Orleans, Louisiana -

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the low-lying city of New Orleans. One of the deadliest hurricanes in the US, it resulted in 1,392 fatalities.

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New Orleans, Louisiana -

Since the hurricane, the city's flood protection system has been rebuilt and improved.

Sources: (Culture Trip) (ArchDaily)

See also: Catastrophic natural disasters of the 21st century

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