| Tom Levitt, MSN Environment Editor |
World's worst environmental disasters
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Twenty years ago, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker disaster spilled more than 11m gallons of crude oil off the Alaskan coast, devastating local marine wildlife. MSN examines other environmental catastrophes and the damage they caused.
The Exxon Valdez tanker split open after hitting a reef in Prince William Sound on March 24 1989. Strong winds hampered attempts by the coastguard to clean up the resulting oil slick which eventually contaminated about 1,300 miles (2,080 km) of coastline.
Although it was not the biggest in terms of the amount of crude oil spilled, it caused a tragic amount of damage to the natural environment. Around 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbour seals, 250 bald eagles and 20 or more killer whales died as a result.
Sadly, this is only one of many environmental disasters. Below, we take a look at some of the worst - both natural and induced by man.
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