What Happened on September 28

Maritime Disaster

1994 — Ferry Estonia Sinks in Baltic Storm; 852 Perish in Hours

The 15,500-ton ferry carried 989 people when it sank in 250 feet of water 22 miles off Finland, leaving 137 survivors in 50-degree seas.

Empty life rafts bobbed in the black Baltic morning as rescue helicopters fought gale winds to reach survivors clinging to debris.

The cruise ferry MS Estonia, sailing from Tallinn to Stockholm with 989 passengers and crew, listed and vanished beneath the waves shortly after 1:50 a.m. Only 137 survived. The 15,500-ton vessel sank in 250 feet of water some 22 miles off Finland's Turku archipelago.

Survivors reported a metallic bang, then violent listing as water flooded the vehicle deck. The ship rolled completely within minutes, giving passengers scant time to reach decks. Most were asleep in cabins below.

Estonian, Swedish and Finnish rescue craft converged on the scene, but hypothermia claimed victims rapidly in 50-degree seas. Bodies recovered wore life jackets; many had drowned inside the hull.

The Estonia's sinking surpassed the 1987 Herald of Free Enterprise disaster as Europe's worst ferry accident. Investigators will examine the bow visor, which reports suggest tore loose in heavy seas.

• The cruise ferry MS Estonia sinks in the Baltic Sea, killing 852 people.

Source: Wikipedia — MS Estonia

Indonesia Desk

2018 — Sulawesi Quake and Tsunami Kill 4,340; 10,679 Injured

Waves up to 20 feet erased neighborhoods in minutes after the 7.5 magnitude quake near Palu, a city of 380,000, while the confirmed toll reached 4,340 dead and 10,679 injured.

The confirmed death toll from Friday's earthquake and tsunami on Indonesia's Sulawesi island reached 4,340 on Thursday, with 10,679 injured and hundreds still missing beneath mud and debris.

The 7.5 magnitude quake struck near Palu at dusk, triggering tsunami waves up to 20 feet that slammed the coastal city of 380,000 within minutes. A van rests on rubble where homes stood before the tsunami struck. Entire neighborhoods were swallowed by soil liquefaction, which caused solid ground to flow like liquid.

Search teams pulled bodies from eight hotels and a shopping mall in Palu. The city's airport, damaged by quake and overrun by survivors, reopened limited flights Friday.

Relief efforts struggled with severed roads and communications. Some hard-hit areas remained unreachable six days later. The government has appealed for international aid; Australia and Thailand pledged support.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and has suffered repeated seismic disasters. A 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami killed 230,000 across the region.

• The 7.5 Mw 2018 Sulawesi earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami, leaves 4,340 dead and 10,679 injured.

Source: Wikipedia — 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami

War Reports

1781 — Allied Siege of Yorktown Opens, Trapping Cornwallis

8,000 Continentals and 7,800 French regulars converged on the peninsula while a fleet of twenty-eight ships blockaded the bay, trapping Cornwallis's 9,000 men after Washington abandoned New York for Virginia.

The long war for American independence reached its decisive hour this day as French and American forces, supported by a French fleet, closed their ring around Lord Cornwallis's army at Yorktown in Virginia.

French and American troops and ships encircle the British position. Some 8,000 Continentals under General Washington and 7,800 French regulars under the Comte de Rochambeau converged on the peninsula, while Admiral de Grasse's fleet blockaded Chesapeake Bay, preventing British escape or reinforcement.

Cornwallis, commanding 9,000 men, had fortified Yorktown and Gloucester Point across the river. The British commander had expected relief from New York, but de Grasse's twenty-eight ships of the line now command the waters.

Siege operations commenced with the digging of parallel trenches. French artillery, heavier than American pieces, will bombard the British works.

The strategy arose from Washington's bold march south, abandoning an assault on New York after learning that de Grasse sailed for Virginia. The French alliance, negotiated in 1778, thus bears its fullest fruit.

• American Revolution: French and American forces backed by a French fleet begin the siege of Yorktown.

Source: Wikipedia — Siege of Yorktown

Weather/Disaster

2022 — Hurricane Ian Slams Florida Coast as Category 4 Storm

The storm made landfall Wednesday with 150 mph winds, killing 169 people and inflicting $113 billion in destruction — Florida's costliest and deadliest hurricane in 89 years.

Hurricane Ian made landfall at Cayo Costa State Park on Wednesday afternoon as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 150 mph, devastating coastal communities and pushing catastrophic storm surge across Southwest Florida.

The storm killed 169 people and caused $113 billion in damage, becoming Florida's costliest hurricane and deadliest in 89 years. Hurricane Ian approaches the Florida coast on September 28. Fort Myers Beach, Pine Island and Sanibel saw structures swept away by surge estimated at 12 to 18 feet. The Sanibel Causeway collapsed, cutting island residents off from mainland rescue.

More than 2.6 million customers lost power across Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis called the damage "historic" and requested federal major disaster declarations for multiple counties.

Ian weakened to tropical storm status as it crossed Florida, then re-intensified over Atlantic waters before a second South Carolina landfall Friday.

The $113 billion damage figure surpasses Hurricane Andrew's 1992 record for Florida. The 169 fatalities mark the state's highest storm death toll since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane.

• Hurricane Ian makes landfall in Cayo Costa State Park, Florida as a category four hurricane, killing 169 and doing $113 billion in damage, becoming Florida's costliest hurricane and the deadliest in 89 years.

Source: Wikipedia — Hurricane Ian

Aerospace Desk

2008 — SpaceX Falcon 1 Reaches Orbit, First Private Liquid-Fuel Rocket to Succeed

The RatSat mission achieves what no commercial venture had before.

Four tries and six years after its founding, SpaceX has become the first private company to put a payload into orbit using a liquid-fuel rocket developed and built with non-government funds.

The Falcon 1 lifted off at 4:15 p.m. Pacific time Sunday from Omelek Island in the Kwajalein Atoll, carrying a 165-pound dummy payload called RatSat. The two-stage rocket achieved orbital velocity roughly nine minutes later, completing a trajectory that placed the payload in an elliptical orbit of 310 by 500 miles.

Elon Musk, the company's founder and chief executive, had staked his personal fortune on the venture after selling PayPal in 2002. Previous launch attempts in 2006, 2007, and August 2008 failed, destroying payloads that included an Air Force satellite and NASA experiments.

• Falcon 1 becomes the first privately developed liquid-fuel ground-launched vehicle to put a payload into orbit by the RatSat mission.

Source: Wikipedia — Falcon 1

Greater China Bureau

2014 — Hong Kong Protesters Mass Against Beijing Election Restrictions

Demonstrators occupy central districts to oppose NPC-imposed reforms limiting candidate choice.

Thousands of demonstrators converged on Hong Kong's financial district early Sunday. The protesters targeted restrictive political reforms announced by China's National People's Congress. New rules require chief executive candidates to be vetted by a pro-Beijing committee. The occupation began in 2014.

• The 2014 Hong Kong protests begin in response to restrictive political reforms imposed by the NPC in Beijing.

Source: Wikipedia — 2014 Hong Kong protests

Motoring

2008 — Singapore Night Race Lights Up Formula One History

Fernando Alonso wins the sport's first race held entirely under floodlights.

Floodlit streets replaced sunlight as 1,500 lighting projectors illuminated the Marina Bay circuit for Formula One's inaugural night race. Fernando Alonso of Renault took the checkered flag at the Singapore Grand Prix, capitalizing on a timely safety car deployment that bunched the field.

• The Singapore Grand Prix is held as Formula One's inaugural night race, with Fernando Alonso winning the event. Almost a year later it was revealed that Alonso's team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr. had been ordered to crash his car to help bring out the safety car and give Alonso the advantage and win.

Source: Wikipedia — 2008 Singapore Grand Prix

Diamond Scoreboard

1941 — Williams Hits .406, Sets Standard Unmatched in 23 Years and Likely Forever

The 23-year-old Red Sox outfielder finishes with a batting average no one has topped since.

No man has hit .400 in the major leagues since 1930, and perhaps none will again. Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox closed the 1941 season Sunday with a .406 average, becoming the first player in 11 years to reach that mark and, at 23, the youngest ever to do so.

Williams entered the final day at .39955, technically .400 by rounding rules, but chose to play both ends of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Athletics rather than sit on the figure. He went 6-for-8, raising his average to .4057, which rounds to .406.

The feat came in a season that saw Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak dominate headlines through July.

• Ted Williams achieves a .406 batting average for the season, and becomes the last major league baseball player to bat .400 or better.

Source: Wikipedia — Ted Williams