Fog has been responsible for some of the world's worst transport disasters. One of the worst fog caused disasters occurred on 29 May 1914 in the St Lawrence Seaway, Canada. In the early hours of the morning, in thick fog, the Norwegian Steamer Storstad, rammed the Canadian Passenger Steamship, Empress of Ireland, travelling from Quebec to Liverpool. The Empress was ripped apart in the collision and sank within minutes. At the time of the collision there were 1,367 passengers aboard the Empress, only 325 survived.
Fog has also played a major role in some of aviation's worst accidents, including the world's worst air crash at Tenerife airport in the Canary Islands. At 5pm on 27 March 1977, a KLM 747 was taking off in thick fog when it collided with a PanAm 747 that was taxiing along the same runway. The collision claimed the lives of all 583 passengers aboard both planes.
Thankfully there have been no such disasters here in Australia, but fog is common in the south of the continent, especially during the colder months in the eastern uplands. Areas of the eastern coasts are also fairly fog prone. Fog can cause havoc on the Nation's roads and often delays flights out of its major airports, most notably Melbourne and Canberra airports. Canberra airport receives an average of 47 fogs each year, 29 of these between May and August.
If you have any comments or questions on this article please e-mail me at Gungahlin Weather Centre.
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