The Lake Peigneur Drilling Disaster 1980 | Plainly Difficult Documentary

[@PlainlyDifficult]

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[@CaucAsianSasquatch]

Hey bud, thanks

[@AAO-Falcon]

Honestly this is the VPN i use. Linus Tech Tips endorses it so you know its a solid VPN it also comes with add blocking and different encryptions that sites arent use to so dont have issues with

[@davidhollenshead4892]

John Booth killed Lincoln, and your video says and "an acquaintance of both actorJohn Wilkes Bootth and the ,man who killed president Abraham Lincoln".... That assassin was Mr. Booth though others were involved...

[@LoneTiger]

@@AAO-Falcon Same, not because Linus endorses it but has worked very well for me, and they update their servers often.

[@ephektz]

Why the hell was this sponsor roll so long? 😂

[@ajfurnari2448]

The fact that nobody was killed in this size of an accident was nothing short of miraculous

[@PlainlyDifficult]

I was surprised when I was research it

[@aircraftandmore9775]

@@PlainlyDifficult it could of had those two fellas trying to cat fish on the lake during it, luckily they managed to get to land before the lake started drying up

[@101Volts]

@kitkatcrews It's a sound course of action. As another example that's more common, when I see something off while I'm driving, I take action immediately; I don't want to wait to "see what happens." In this way, I avoided a side-swipe from an onramp and maybe a head-on. The near side-swipe was someone gunning it from an onramp, and I would have been in literally the only car that could have been hit in a quarter mile or a half mile. Thankfully I glanced in my side mirror just in time, before slamming the brakes and going down to about 30 MPH. He / she went around 75 MPH in a 55 zone, before leaving the highway 3/4 of a mile later. The near head-on was more recent, and someone was gunning it past 3 or 4 cars in a 55 zone with not enough space to make it. I was going around 50 in the opposing lane, and so I slowed down to maybe 30 - 35, I honked the horn, and I put my 4 ways on since a pickup truck towing something was behind me. My actions may have also alerted the drivers in the other lane who might not have known someone was dangerously passing. Oh, there was another time when someone was looking at road maps while driving and then he ventured way over in my lane, but he was far ahead of me. I was unlikely to have had a head-on even if I didn't slow down from 55 to about 25. Still, honking the horn alerted him that he was about to go off the road, so that helped someone.

[@karmaisreal9341]

3 DOGS DIED?!!!!!!! 1 Dog=3 Hoomans 🐕👍😎👍🇺🇸🇺🇦

[@macaylacayton2915]

The fact is compounded because it caught everyone right off guard

[@fishea]

This is such a good story. The clash of mining titans, the reversed river, the boats disappearing as if Gob Bluth was involved, the insane physics - and nobody died! Only you, Mr. Difficult, could do this one justice. Thank you!!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@steveharrison76]

I bet the drilling guys wanted a couple of Gob’s forget-me-nows after this…

[@ExperimentIV]

illusion, alexander! it’s a good ILLUSION

[@Dong_Harvey]

Cue Europe instrumental

[@trybunt]

Crazy, the river actually reversed, that must of been weird to see. I imagine there would have been some confused fish and animals swept along and killed

[@fltmed]

This is the second week in a row that John has covered two incidents that I am extremely familiar with. This incident, The Lake Peigneur sinkhole, occurred when I was a child. While several hundred miles away from where we lived, I remember the news stories of the incident. Last week's episode, The Queen Isabella Causeway Disaster, I was involved in the rescue and recovery operations as a critical care flight paramedic. I never thought any of these incidents would see coverage like this. Once again, John never ceases to amaze and educate!

[@Sky_Guy]

You're like the Plainly Difficult channel's very own Nurse Violet Jessop!

[@lisah9561]

I like how you call him John. Personal friends?

[@fltmed]

@@lisah9561 Unfortunately, no. He seems like a great person. I definitely respect his work. I just think it's awkward calling him Plainly Difficult, lol.

[@tobias2287]

Thank you for everything you did for them.

[@bartfoster1311]

Measure twice, drill once!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Or not measure at all in this case

[@abrahamlincoln9758]

It's the ultimate "There, I fixed it" meme

[@poughkeepsieblue]

I keep cutting it, but its still not long enough..

[@VintageTechFan]

@@poughkeepsieblue Did you remember to switch the saw to reverse?

[@ananthropomorphictalkinggo6641]

@@VintageTechFan no no no, you need to use the wood stretcher for that one.

[@Fusilier7]

I first learned about the Lake Peigneur disaster from the History channel, "Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters 5", this episode aired in 2003. It was wild seeing the disaster footage, as the lake drained down the bore hole, creating a giant whirlpool, and landslides as the earth itself was sucked down into the mine, this episode remains my primary source for Lake Peigneur.

[@vinterfe1558]

Love Modern Marvels, especially those disaster episodes. Such a great, and honestly underrated, show

[@worldofbrandan]

@@vinterfe1558 I loved the episode they did on Three Mile Island years ago. On the anniversary of the accident I always go back and watch it.

[@RCAvhstape]

Ah yes, back when History Channel was worth tuning in to.

[@MadScientist267]

Modern Marvels misses on a *lot* of details. Definitely enough to make it "introductory only"

[@GoredonTheDestroyer]

Hell, I learned about this from Well There's Your Problem.

[@mikeholmstrom1899]

I'm glad you did this. In 1981, a drill rig that was just starting operation in Texas hit a 12 inch pipeline shipping an ethane-propane mix. 4 workers were killed in the following fire. The drilling company failed to check property & other records for any underground utilities there.

[@eaglescout1984]

A couple more interesting occurrences due to the disaster: Once the lake had completely drained, the water coming in from the Delcambre canal (flowing backwards, as mentioned) became a waterfall, and to this day is the tallest known waterfall in Louisiana history. After the the lake was partially refilled (days after the disaster started) the pressure holding the barges and other boats down in the hole was gone, and several popped back up to the surface (9 of the 11 barges that had disappeared ultimately resurfaced).

[@raedraconis]

I work with a team of well planners for an oil and gas company, and one of the trickier things that we have to pay close attention to are the latitude/longitude and what coordinate system they are in. For example the North American Datum 1927 differs from the 1983 version but both are still equally used, and the decimal points are juuuuuust off enough to cause problems if you're not paying attention. It doesn't matter how much technology has changed and improved over the years with the advent of GPS and GIS systems; the human error factor will always be there. Excellent work, as always!

[@IanRubin2]

There’s one final bit to this story that I love. At the time, the owners of Rip Van Winkle Gardens (which was built by Mr. Jefferson around the house on the island) had just finished a new home next to the lake. The land under it and the house got destroyed, but the chimney is still there as the last remaining part of the house. It’s a few feet off the shore in the lake and is visible from the gardens, or was as of the last time I went down there a few years ago. It was how I originally heard of the story and it’s still one of the most insane things I’ve ever heard and seen and is a really surreal sight to see in person!

[@butterbeanqueen8148]

I’ve heard an interview with I think a grounds keeper at Rip Van Winkle. What he described was truly terrifying. I can’t imagine just going about my business and seeing this going on. I would have been terrified.

[@anemptykarst]

I’ve been waiting for this one. My dad grew up in the area and remembers noticing the oil rig that was always there *suddenly wasn’t*, and how bizarre for him it was that national news stations were talking about their tiny town and the surrounding area. Glad to hear about it from you!

[@MattDakus]

I can't imagine being a worker in a mine, seeing an oil drill on the lake above the mine I work in, and just shrugging my shoulders and being like "they know what they're doing." How did none of the miners raise a red flag?

[@bartfoster1311]

I'm sure the union talked with management about it. Being the early 80s, safety and oversight were minimal especially on Texaco's part.

[@ironhead2008]

I'd be curious if the mine did a quick safety refresher in the weeks leading up to the start of drilling. It definitely sounds like everyone's head was on a swivel and eyes were open. IOW, I don't think anyone "shrugged". I think management did what they could and when that failed they told everyone to keep their eyes peeled for any sign Texaco had gotten there geography wrong and punched a hole in the mine. The fact everyone got out that fast speaks of good training and a staff that had their eyes open.

[@caneyebus]

Crazy cajuns have to make a living too. 🤣

[@ironhead2008]

@@caneyebus God Bless them, just because the talk a bit funny don't mean they're fools. They knew what could happen and I think the record shows they were prepared.

[@caneyebus]

@@ironhead2008 they talk normal to me. Granted, I live down here.

[@altonwilliams17]

Plainly Difficult your level of sarcasm makes these videos amazing to watch. Thank you.

[@erikziak1249]

Something similar happened in Prešov. The salt mine was flooded (natural causes) but not abandoned. People started to take out the salt brine and cook it to get salt. It worked for decades. I have visited the museum there, it is very interesting and certainly worth a visit to see all the technology from the 17th century. Just search for Prešov Salt Plant if you want to find out more.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

Through the Appalachian Mountains, there are occasional Salt Water Springs, and the Land-owners are careful to keep them quiet, but will trade with locals regarding the access to cook down the salt water for salt in bulk quantities for things they might have trouble getting themselves... A lot of people have never heard of it before... BUT I've been to a couple, and traded rather inexpensively with the side agreement, that I'd harvest a little additional bulk salt for the owner(s) as well, as long as I was there anyway... haha... ;o)

[@drakesavory2019]

Unlike most Plainly Difficults, everyone saw their respective problems and reacted appropriately and everyone was saved. Usually it's "Wow! Things are going horribly wrong but I'm sure we'll be OK."

[@TheQuarterrat]

As a resident of the fine state of Louisiana, thank you. Look into the somewhat recent "Hard Rock Hotel collapse." Corruption, incompetence and 3 deaths with an 18 story hotel structure under construction In New Orleans on Oct. 12, 2019, You should find some good footage. Keep up the great work.

[@caneyebus]

Texaco was probably giving old Eddy Edwards a sweet kickback to look the other way

[@markr.devereux3385]

The HARD ROCK Hotel Collapse has me fascinated. Is there a definitive documentary you know off?

[@TheQuarterrat]

@@markr.devereux3385 I haven't seen one yet. I would like to see Plainly Difficult to tackle the project. It's a scandal that has been somewhat forgotten.

[@markr.devereux3385]

@@TheQuarterrat 👍

[@FloozieOne]

I live 6 blocks from the site. When it happened the ground shook so much stuff fell off shelves, the whole building moved and the cats hid under the bed. And still it stands, a monument to the rapacious and destructive chase after money.

[@Mousecaddet]

It is so incredibly cool to see you cover this. As someone who is immensely interested in whirlpools, natural and otherwise, this has always been one of the most interesting disasters to me. You are my favorite mini documentary maker on yt, you always make them lighthearted but in the most respectful way which is insanely difficult. Plus you never have misinformation, you make things super easy to understand, and your drawings are fantastic I love it. Thank you so much for covering this, especially since mine disasters seemed intimidating to cover. We all really appreciate it! Wishing you well always my guy.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@Fallen_Family]

Honestly missed opportunity to say plainly difficult instead of insanely difficult but other than that I love the positivity of everyone in the comments section of plainly difficult's channel

[@Mousecaddet]

@@Fallen_Family YOU'RE SO RIGHT BESTIE DAMNIT thank you for having the brain power I didnt lol

[@jaykace5160]

This, by far, is one of my favorite stories, I've actually been there to the site. Thank you plainly difficult, you always hit it out of the park and make every Saturday amazing!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you for your kind words

[@jaykace5160]

@@PlainlyDifficult thank you for all the amazing content, you are pure gold!

[@DoctorMangler]

I was going to write almost exactly the same thing. I remember this on the news when I was a kid, but I haven't been to the site. Great and crazy story, unbelievable if it weren't for the footage.

[@ironhead2008]

Honestly, I think the fact no one was killed is a testament to both the training of the mine workers and the drillers. That's what makes the difference in these situations, and my fellow Louisianans did us proud that day.

[@michaelt.5672]

Working safety procedures (even if they are just informal) are a beautiful thing.

[@restitvtororbis5330]

"... Shocked to see the rig completely disappear below the water, something that shouldn't even be possible as the lake, at its deepest point, was only 12 ft." the fact that this reads like a creepy pasta makes it all the more miraculous that, somehow, nobody actually died

[@epicspacetroll1399]

I'd read and watched documents about this one before and always thought it was one of the most bizarre disasters to be caused by man.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

It was a weird one

[@Robocopnik]

Just imagine actually watching that happen, in person, how surreal must that have been, like watching a whole lake disappear down a bath-drain.

[@SupersuMC]

And here we thought that was just a trope in fanciful fiction. Truth is stranger than fiction indeed...

[@FloozieOne]

There is actually some footage of this with the barges disappearing into the whirlpool. It is somewhere here on UT but I can't remember where, still it can't be too hard to find. What is wild is the hundreds of trees that lined the lake being ripped from the shore in huge groves and then just going missing as the water continues to drain.

[@dakotaflowers0]

There's a coal mine near me in southeast Ohio, called meigs 31, that breeched an adjacent shaft that was flooded. The subsequent reaction was to dump the waste water into leading creek/racoon creek, which turned the ohio river orange from middleport to nearly Cincinnati. Would be epic to see you do a short on that horrendous incident.

[@angelcat621]

Being from a lesser known area of Ohio myself I can definitely believe this happened.

[@trulyinfamous]

Us Ohioans sure are great at preserving nature and caring for the environment!

[@ramblingrob4693]

@@trulyinfamous Lol

[@kegsofvomitspit]

As a born and raised Ohioan, I concur.

[@angelachouinard4581]

I love the way you tell these tales of disaster and I'm so happy you finally did this one. Thanks a lot for covering one of my favorite "What could go wrong?" stories.

[@RinoaL]

I remember seeing this on Engineering Disasters in the 2000s. Was an amazing disaster.

[@poughkeepsieblue]

As soon as i saw the logo i yelled "Texaco!" I grew up next to the Texaco research facility, in New York, so id recognize that logo anywhere. Fun fact, after that research facility closed up, my brother in law, who was just my friend at the time, lived across the street. I sold him like a dozen blockbusters, which is a quarter stick of dynamite, and he taped 3 of them together, and blew that massive Texaco logo sign, right out of the ground. Thats how we americans celebrate the birth of our country, we blow up a small piece of it. Good times.

[@diodebridge]

Your comedy was top notch on this one. "A whole lake was having a go at trying to disappear" 😂

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@davidrains3918]

There is video of the lake draining and everything getting sucked into the whirlpool. It’s frighteningly awesome and is a must watch.

[@christinanewgebaver2884]

As someone who grew up going to this lake in the 80’s immediately following the accident, I must say it was and still is a story that continues to be told in the area. Your coverage was insightful and fact based, which is very much appreciated. The lake today is such a beautiful place with signs of the mine still visible. Thank you and great job.

[@alexmoskowitz811]

I always love the little pause before the weather comment like he’s sticking his head out the window to check

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Gotta double check

[@nerdygoth6905]

In the UK, can confirm!

[@es68951]

A Plainly Difficult episode where nobody dies?? That’s a refreshing change 😄

[@PlainlyDifficult]

A rare bird indeed

[@SupersuMC]

Y'know, I don't think we've seen a disaster where everyone involved died yet...

[@thebigdog2295]

Texaco was drilling in the wrong spot, it came out in the court when they were being sued by everyone effected by the accident. The head engineer responsible for reading the map screwed up. He even got another engineer that was under him fired for trying to point it out to him. I'm old enough to have watched it on the news while it happened when I was a kid. After that came out in court Texaco had to pay out many millions of dollars, because they had been trying to blame the geologic survey company that made the map. Edit: he missed one thing Texaco had too pay the residents in the area as well, but they settled out of Court, and made them sign a nondisclosure agreement. Which was speculated to be as much as was payed to botanical garden, and salt company combined.

[@user-mv9tt4st9k]

Oh, if I was a resident my replacement home and furnishings would be incredibly nice in exchange for that non-disclosure agreement. 😉

[@TAKIZAWAYAMASHITA]

you forgot to mention the power of the whirlpool, during this event it literally pulled part ofthe island apart and you saw houses etc drop into a lake that was only 4ft deep

[@chrismaverick9828]

I first read about this in the mid 80's from a National Geographic I picked up in a donated stack of magazines. It amazed the child me and still does. I doubt that only the open areas of the mine took in all that water. The salt dome no doubt dissolved some as the water invaded and made all the chambers larger, thus able to hold more water, repeat to an extent. That it ever stabilized is amazing to consider, given how much water that would take. It's incomprehensible to most people.

[@guri256]

It stabilized because the mine was big, but the ocean is bigger.

[@bobbysenterprises3220]

Thanks for taking this on. Its amazing different creators take and presentation of the same events. I love the manner in which you present events and the depth of information you manage to present in your vids with out making it feel like I'm being thought something by cramming

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@alistairmackintosh9412]

I always thought of this incident in terms of a hypothetical phone call from the rig manager to Texaco head offices: "Head office, this is Joe from the Lake Peigneur site. We have a problem here with the drill. It's.. errr... missing... aaannd....

[@imaginethepossumbilities2337]

Your content is so informative and accessible, but what gets me is your humor. You put in the funniest things when I least expect it.Thank you for the videos!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@haardo]

"An entire lake was having a go at trying to disappear." Damn you, now there's beer everywhere. :D

[@hungryhedgehog4201]

Good to hear that everyone survived

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Very good

[@kuunib7325]

This is like the cartoon type bathtub drain at the bottom of a lake.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

😬😬

[@ajfurnari2448]

With that tub draining into the apartment below

[@waaaaantube]

Finally you did this one, John. You've done such an awesome job !

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@waaaaantube]

@@PlainlyDifficult sidenote : that sidenote pun was so you. Had me take a breath, hold, nod for a total of 3 seconds before continuing. 😆

[@jlemaire9418]

Sweet! I live just a couple minutes west of Delcambre. Been waiting for this!

[@Mini_Celeste]

We really need to get Plainly Difficult on Well There's Your Problem, the amount of overlap you lot have is amazing and I love hearing all the angles

[@scott_lego_city]

Hey Plainly Difficult. Maybe you could dive into a big fire that happened here in the Netherlands in 2011, it’s the Moerdijk fire. It happened in a indrustrial area and luckily it did not spread further or it could’ve torched a acetone company. Of that would’ve happened it could’ve torched an area of 1km2.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thanks for the suggestion

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

@Scott_lego_city Wasn't the Moerdijk fire in 2014, or are we talking about two separate events?

[@webby2275]

@@ianmacfarlane1241 The 2014 explosion is nearby the 2011 fire, but they are separate events at different locations in the same general area.

[@ianmacfarlane1241]

@@webby2275 Thanks for the information. Extremely unfortunate to have two serious incidents in the same area within three years.

[@rolfdekkers1043]

@@ianmacfarlane1241 ha I lived in a village 15km away from that and I still remember the alarm and the bang from the explosion in 2014, luckily the windows survived haha

[@XenaThreat]

Fascinating story, that of which I had not heard of before. Your channel deserves more recognition

[@aircraftandmore9775]

Crazy thing, me and some other guy decided to calculate how fast the water was moving in that whirlpool. Calculating from how strong it was flowing into it, it was flowing at 410 mph Into the mine. An absolutely absurd speed

[@SupersuMC]

I'm half-surprised there wasn't a sonic boom at some point. Half. O_o

[@aircraftandmore9775]

@@SupersuMCit was flowing faster than the strongest tornado of all time. I wonder if it caused seismeic waves from how strong the whirlpool was

[@aircraftandmore9775]

Due to the uniqueness of the incident I call the crater from the whirlpool a whirldera, a hybrid between a caldera and a whirlpool as it involved a whirlpool making part of the salt mine to callapse and excevate massive amounts of mud

[@aircraftandmore9775]

@@SupersuMCalso the speed of sound underwater is 3,550 mph

[@Galfrid]

So... Texaco was drilling for gas and oil on a lake, right over a salt mine? WTF? What'd they expect to happen?

[@randyhavener1851]

Hi John! Excellent job as usual!!! This is one of the most comprehensive accounts of that incident that I have seen!!! Keep up the great work!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@spider0804]

What a legendary disaster. I know this was a known mine but breaking into previously unknown caves is a lot more common than people might think. Happens fairly often in well drilling.

[@patc1096]

Hey, sir. Love the content, I've watched and read hundreds of hours of this disaster. The visuals and the language used were expert. Well done! Hope you have a wonderful week!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you 😬

[@UserCreated44]

I've been using PIA for years and love the service and am so glad to see they sponsored one of my favorite youtubers!

[@finner_1415]

I worked at the Houston museum of natural science over the summer! They have a really cool exhibit over this disaster and salt mines in general!!

[@asteverino8569]

Very great report on this non fatal disaster. I have seen other reports on this disappearing lake. You seemed to cover the ambiguities very well. Thanks. What a colossal event!

[@DanknDerpyGamer]

> *"100, 000 lbs. A.K.A the weight of doughnuts I would like to eat in one go."* 😂

[@ginger7344]

Morning difficulties. Enjoy the weekend. Thx for the upload.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@TheAbyssalStorm]

For me, the surprising thing isn’t that the lake drained into a mine. It’s that the Gulf backwashed into the lake. God knows HOW much water was actually inside of that labyrinth.

[@Robocopnik]

Yeah, when a flowing body of water straight-up changes direction, that's not something you see too often I don't think.

[@Deviantchaos]

Just going to say it, i have the same socks. Tesco's own work wear socks for £8. Hell yeah

[@PlainlyDifficult]

😬😬loving the dream!

[@Lrr_Of_Omikron]

On the subject earlier about how we would think it was an April's fools joke, I would just think it was Lake Mead in Las Vegas.

[@TheDagraner4576]

Big oil back at it again being one of the worst things regular people want to have end up in their area.

[@evanthompson1517]

Glad to see this covered by such a well researched person. Thanks Plainly Difficult!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@RalphCunha]

Another awesome video,John. Keep up the great work 🎉

[@partariothegoth]

is it really a miracle that everyone survived or is it just that they actually prioritized safety? Actually, that's a miracle in and of itself so, yea, I'll agree

[@chri-k]

i would not be surprised if the mine workers were half-expecting this. i mean, seeing an oil rig in a lake clearly right above your mine must set off some red flags

[@davidaprians]

I don't think you have cover this topic before, or if this is interesting enough, but maybe you want to look about "lapindo mud" in Indonesia.. I think similar to this topic, which is begin with some drilling, but instead of draining a lake, it caused or create a mud lake, which is still erupting from the drilling hole until today (started in 2006)..

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thanks for the suggestion

[@That_Emily]

i love how its like serious and educational and then theres a sudden joke and personally filmed b-roll

[@dfuher968]

Wow, John and his cartoons and his wonderful storytelling style can make even the sponsor story sound interesting! They really should trust you with a sponsorship much more often 😁😁

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Seat1AJoe]

John, thanks for presenting this story. I’ve seen a few shows about this disaster and those weren’t as thorough. Good job as always!

[@budbud13411]

Your videos are awesome. I could listen to them all day. Truly great work!

[@Rachniax]

Great story, your take on it is always interesting! As for PIA, I just finished a 3 year term with them, they do not work with Hulu. You will have to turn the VPN off to watch Hulu, atleast here in the US.

[@jondough76]

I am a Louisiana native and my class took a trip to Jefferson Island in the early 90's. Quite a beautiful place to visit during the right time of the year.

[@PaulaElaineMiles]

I live only 27 minutes away from Jefferson Island, in Lafayette. This story has always fascinated me and it’s been interesting to visit Jefferson Island many many times throughout my childhood as a little fun day out. The salt mine on Avery Island, not that far from Jefferson Island, recently collapsed. You did a decent job at pronouncing Cajun names, but Delcambre wasn’t correct 😂 It’s pronounced “Del-colm”, like you’d say for Malcolm. There’s unfortunately a lot of events like the one Jefferson Island and I hope you cover some more from Louisiana

[@butterbeanqueen8148]

At first I was confused when he said that. Then I realized what he was saying.

[@TheThora17]

I've heard this story before but you brought information of its early history-thank you! Makes it all that much more interesting👍

[@CieraMychele]

Yay, love mining videos. Love that everyone survived too

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@COBBL]

The mine I work in the Pilbara region of Australia moves 1.8 million tonnes of dirt EVERY DAY. >220k of this goes through the process plant and about 200k tonnes of iron ore is shipped every single day. The scale of the minesite is actually unbelievable

[@michaelmichael2382]

That sounds massiv, i probably held a piece of Metal from that Mine in my hands at some point in my life

[@craigh5236]

This one is so amazing!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@wolf986]

This is one of my favorite disasters, and I don't know why, its only sort of spectacular, but still interesting.

[@Slikx666]

The interesting thing is near the salt mine there was a pepper mine, but it shut down years before the flooding.

[@Pawzeez92]

What a fascinating story thanks alot John! So glad they gave you a sponsor again this is honestly one of the best videos on KZbin for me the way you blend a great swathe of information into simplistic terms and still remain completely accurate and informative is just beautiful all the best brother Kia ora from New Zealand 🇳🇿 ❤️

[@jooleebilly]

You've really outdone yourself, John. I even knew a bit about this one, but you added so many interesting facts and background information that I got a much better idea of what happened. Kudos!!

[@mommy2libras]

Louisiana has some crazy disasters. One I remember was a gas well fire back around 2007 or 2008. It was close to I-10, which is a major transportation route among Southern states- you pretty much don't travel at all along the gulf coast or near it without using I-10. We were traveling from south Alabama to southeast Texas and the detour was an added hour or more going west to an already long trip with an infant in the car. That stretch of interstate between Lafayette and Baton Rouge stayed closed for a bit, too. There have also been some fires right on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge through the years. Luckily it's a strong bridge or a lot of people could be really hurt.

[@TwilightWolf2508]

You should look into the Banner Mine Tragedy. In 1911, a sudden explosion killed several miners and caused over 100 to suffocate. The accident was severe enough that it brought the governor's attention to the horrible conditions of Mines in alabama. My dad also tells me a lot about another mine disaster in Alabama that resulted in a flood that killed many, but I cant find anything on it nor can I remember the name.

[@suzannetitkemeyernlq]

Thank you for your correct pronunciation of the Lake. You might want to take a peek at the strange version of how corrupt the State of Louisiana is with any natural disaster. It's a horror show.

[@mrmohawkmansir]

Somewhere out in the internet there's video footage of one of the boaters narrowly escaping being sucked into the whirlpool as the lake was draining. Quite the harrowing scene!

[@oopscrycreations7197]

I live in new Iberia, if you go to the lake you can still see a brick chimney sticking out of the water to this day

[@butterbeanqueen8148]

I’d like to have you do a video on Bayou Corne in Louisiana. It’s another sinkhole of a salt dome disaster that created a massive whirlpool. The videos are crazy.

[@robertmartin1116]

The video starts at 3:51.

[@brianwise5850]

Been waiting for this one.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Bon appetite

[@jidu1959]

Gotta listen to this before I go to sleep, the title piqued my interest

[@PlainlyDifficult]

😬😬

[@tjzambonischwartz]

I remember learning about this one in school. Been waiting for this one!

[@shtehfaw]

"Aka the weight of donuts I'd like to eat in one go." Honestly, same.

[@Vok250]

Mad respect to the foremen who saves the lives of all workers that day!

[@poeticsilence047]

PIA was a very fitting sponsor for a video where no one lost their lives and their private information. Lol

[@thomasmeyer6407]

Good morning John! I hope you're having a lovely day!

[@MrSpartanicus]

Those damned Mercator coordinates will get you every time if you’re not careful! 😅

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Tricky bastards

[@garyphisher7375]

Jefferson Island Salt Mining Company - so the JISM Company! Salty indeed.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

🧂

[@jenniferbutcher8393]

This sure would make a cool movie.... Love your sense of humor, John!!

[@jrmckim]

At the beginning of this video, I was thinking about disasters in Louisiana. As someone from Louisiana, I couldn't think of anything big that's happened here besides off shore rigs. Next thing I hear is John saying "New Iberia". I am from south Louisiana and knew about the Lake but never imagined it was so famous to make it on PD. Maybe I think that cuz no one died 🤷🏻‍♀️ Super excited to watch this 😍

[@thejudgmentalcat]

I've seen vids on this before but no one mentioned the backflow from the sea. And you know it's a s%$tshow when John has an "Oh Balls" meter 👍

[@PlainlyDifficult]

😬

[@twocvbloke]

On the plus side, they could at least turn the mine into a brine source to turn back into salt through evaporating it off somewhere else, but yeah, a pretty big "oops" for Texaco there, talk about pulling the plug on an operation... :P

[@williamcreel1316]

The videos of the disaster show entire rows of trees going into the water. I think they interviewed the owner of the nursery. It's played just a little less often than the Tacoma Narrows Bridge disaster. I suspect that's because it's a spectacular disaster with no loss of life, caught on camera.

[@Maxo11x]

I remember this (from a case study, not irl dont worry) and a lot of inexperienced comentators keep saying "of course you dont drill into salt when its above water, this is just going to result in failure!" im glad you were talking about the mud not the lake water