1915 Çanakkale Bridge opened
The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge is a road suspension bridge in the province of Çanakkale in northwestern Turkey. Situated just south of the coastal towns of Lapseki and Gelibolu, the bridge spans the Dardanelles, about 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the Sea of Marmara. The bridge is the longest suspension bridge in the world, with a main span of 2,023 m.
Thanlwin Bridge (Mawlamyine) construction started
Thanlwin Bridge (Mawlamyaing) was the longest bridge in Myanmar before the construction of the Pakouku Bridge and it connects the city of Mawlamyaing with Mottama. Constructed at the confluence of the Thanlwin River, the Gyaing River and the Attayan River in Mon State, the bridge has features a two-mile (3 km)-long motor road and a four-mile (6 km)-long railroad as well as pedestrian lanes. The approach structure of the rail bridge on Mawlamyaing bank is 1.22 miles (1,960 m) long, while on the Mottama bank is 1.42 miles (2,290 m) long. The total length of the rail bridge is 4.1 miles (6,600 m) long.
1953 Yenice-Gönen earthquake
The 1953 Yenice-Gönen earthquake occurred at 21:06 local time (19:06 UTC on 18 March in the province of Çanakkale and Balikesir in the Marmara Region at western Turkey. It had a surface wave magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum felt intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It caused widespread damage, killing 1,070 and causing damage that was estimated at US$3,570,000 repair value.
Mount Vesuvius erupted
Mount Vesuvius is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about 9 km (5.6 mi) east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera, resulting from the collapse of an earlier, much higher structure. From 13 to 18 March 1944, volcanic activity was confined within the rim. Finally, on 18 March 1944, lava overflowed the rim. Lava flows destroyed nearby villages from 19 March through 22 March. On 24 March, an explosive eruption created an ash plume and a small pyroclastic flow.
Tri-State tornado outbreak
On March 18, 1925, one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in recorded history generated at least twelve significant tornadoes and spanned a large portion of the midwestern and southern United States. In all, at least 751 people were killed and more than 2,298 were injured, making the outbreak the deadliest tornado outbreak, March 18 the deadliest tornado day, and 1925 the deadliest tornado year in U.S. history. The outbreak included the Tri-State tornado, the deadliest disaster in Illinois, the deadliest tornado in U.S. history, and the second-deadliest registered in world history.
1068 Near East earthquake
Two major earthquakes occurred in the Near East on 18 March and 29 May, AD 1068. The two earthquakes are often amalgamated by contemporary sources. The first earthquake had its epicentre somewhere in the northwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula around Tabuk, while the second was most damaging in the city of Ramla in Palestine, some 500 km to the northwest. The March earthquake affected the southern portion of the Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system. The combined events were responsible for an estimated 20,000 deaths, of which some 15,000 occurred in Ramla alone, and caused damage throughout Greater Syria, including Palestine. Also, a resulting tsunami devastated the Mediterranean coast.
