Top 10 Worst Things that Happened in 2019
Some years are a mixed bag. 2019 kicked that bag down the stairs.
This was a year that reminded you just how chaotic, cruel, and unpredictable the world can be. One month, you were watching history burn. The next, you were reading headlines that felt like scripts from a disaster movie nobody asked for. It was the kind of year that made you double-check whether "apocalyptic" was trending again, just to be sure.
This list is where you decide what stood out as the worst. The most heartbreaking. The most senseless. The things that left you speechless or just really, really angry.
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Sri Lanka church bombing
It was such a shame that a tragedy like this could take place in religious places like churches. This terrorism involves hate against Jesus Christ. Since it was hate against Christ, it was considered a hate crime against our powerful Lord and Savior. He was the one who walked on water, saved everyone, fasted for 40 days, and eventually made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us.
We need to show respect and peace to our world and, importantly, to the Lord. He made everyone and was the only man ever to walk on water. He is perfect, and no one else will ever be. Recently, the death toll of this attack was downgraded to 253 after searches and hospitalizations. It's still sad how this happened, and it was Sri Lanka's darkest day in 10 years. - JonBoi
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Notre Dame Cathedral fire
This was very shocking. The fire partially damaged so much of a building full of history. At least nobody got killed, unlike what happened in Christchurch and Sri Lanka. - JoeBoi
Fires like this are going to become more common due to climate change.
Claude Frollo would like to know your location.
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Christchurch mosque shooting
I don't live in Christchurch, but this was still a huge shock. I never thought something like this could happen in New Zealand. Previously, I had always thought of terrorism as something that happened in distant parts of the world, but not something my country would be concerned by.
I actually read about this and prayed for the people in Christchurch!
One of the worst mass shootings in recent years.
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Ethiopian plane crash
The plane was a Boeing 737 MAX. This crash resulted in the ongoing Boeing 737 MAX groundings.
All 157 onboard were killed.
No survivors.
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Kaduna State massacre in Nigeria
Yeah, worse than Notre Dame for sure.
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Cyclone Idai
I can't believe all the other events mentioned, but this is the deadliest event of the year. The exact number of people killed is still unknown, but it is no less than 1,300.
More than 1,300 died in this cyclone, making it the deadliest natural disaster and any kind of event in 2019.
Probably one of the greatest humanitarian crises of 2019, but ignored.
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Alabama tornado
Nothing like a natural disaster to shake things up.
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ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi releases new video, proving he's still alive
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Banff National Park avalanche
We need to stop causing global warming with pollution, as incidents like these and even extinctions are becoming more common.
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Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar refers to 9/11 as "some people doing something"
I'm Somali, and she's Somali, but after this, I am absolutely appalled by what she said. They took more than 2,000 lives, and she just says they did something! Is she going to say next that Kayla Mueller was an accident and they took the wrong person? I live in Atlanta, and my dad is in the Senate. Even he and my whole family now hate her. Sorry, I'm ranting.
So basically, she's making it seem like not a big deal when almost 3,000 Americans died. What's next? Saying the Sri Lanka bombings were an accident?
This is why politics is in my list of worst things about Minnesota.
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Death of Allee Willis
This was SUCH a huge loss. The woman who wrote I'll Be There for You by the Rembrandts (the theme song for Friends) and September by Earth, Wind & Fire, along with many others, just passed away at 72. She had a heart condition. R.I.P. Allee Willis.
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Death of Juice WRLD
Famous rapper & hip hop artist Juice WRLD died after getting a seizure at 21. He was known for his hit album Too Soon with songs Legends, All Girls Are The Same became popular when Lil Yachty was featured on the remix. He also had a feature on Travis Scott's album AstroWorld, singing No Bystanders. He was a great legend & sadly had a history of drug overdose over the years. He had a YouTube channel with ~3.71 million subscribers, which was more than half as many as Grandpa Kitchen & almost as much as Christina Grimmie, who was barely below 4M. He will never be forgotten. It was confirmed he underwent drug overdose. This was such a sad day for December, YouTube & music overall in 2019. Gone too soon. R.I.P. Juice WRLD 1998-2019.
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Houston police shooting
Even in 2020, this is still a tragedy.
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Cielo Vista Walmart shooting in El Paso, Texas
Another horrible shooting, this time at the Cielo Vista Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Twenty-three people were killed, and 22 were injured. What's even worse is that it was a hate crime and a terrorist attack.
Can't we just be nice and respect each other more? Ever since then, people have felt panic about going shopping, proving how terrorist attacks spread fear and live up to their name.
Texas really needs to get this under control.
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Death of Cameron Boyce
From Jessie, as well as Descendants, both on Disney Channel, one of the most shocking deaths of 2019. So young, at only 20. R.I.P.
It is so sad that he had to go at such a young age!
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Death of Ashley Massaro
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STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting
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Henry Pratt Company shooting in Aurora, Illinois
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Amazon rainforest wildfires
In today's world, money is worth more than oxygen.
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Hurricane Dorian
It grew from a tropical storm to a hurricane in days. Thankfully, it missed Puerto Rico. Otherwise, it would have done what Maria did. It eventually hit Category 5 status, with wind speeds peaking at 185 mph (10 mph faster than Katrina) and gusts hitting 220 mph. It hit the Bahamas with a glancing blow. Seventy people died, and it became the most powerful Atlantic hurricane since the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. It moved very slowly, with a minimum speed of only 1 mph, delivering powerful winds, torrential rains, and flooding.
After it left Florida and weakened, it eventually restrengthened into a Category 3 as it approached the Carolinas, wreaking havoc there. It hit Eastern Canada as a Category 1. The total cost in damage was about $7 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in Bahamian history.
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Star vs. the Forces of Evil ending
It was such a good show for teens and adults, and I was actually hooked on this show. Although I am happy that the show had a happy ending, I feel that the creator wanted us to think that there would be more episodes soon. I'm still upset that this amazing show was rushed in its final season and didn't really get a chance to explain everything. I definitely feel that this is going to cost Disney a couple of bucks and that it's going to affect them negatively. However, all good things must come to an end, unfortunately, and I am glad I live in an age where I can rewatch things. This show will always be in my heart.
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Arkansas tornado
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Death of Mean Gene Okerlund
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San Diego synagogue shooting
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Moscow plane crash landing
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UNC Charlotte shooting
The fact that I have to add this here now only breaks my heart even further, almost as if everyone just ignored and forgot about this tragedy within a few days after it happened. I don't care how common school shootings are. They're all tragic, they're all heartbreaking, and we should all never forget to care about these tragedies.
Because after what happened to me, from now on, I'll make sure to never forget to express my care and sorrow about these shootings. It's just unbelievable. I've seen shootings almost everywhere on the news in my adolescence up until now. Sandy Hook, Highlands Ranch, Parkland, and every other place I couldn't mention on here that's fallen victim to a shooting.
But as of now, my own school, UNC Charlotte, has been added to that list. Even though I wasn't on campus at the time of the shooting, words can't describe how devastated I was when I heard my own school had a tragic shooting occur on campus. In the aftermath of such a tragedy, I and the UNC Charlotte community knew that we must never forget this event and that on behalf of the victims of the tragedy, we will emerge unchanged, but stronger and more united than ever. We are Charlotte Strong.
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Virginia Beach courthouse shooting
The darkest day for Virginia Beach, killing 12.