Today In History: October 17 | How iconic sport finals saved hundreds from earthquake disaster
October 17
On October 17, 1989, an earthquake measuring 6.9 in magnitude struck northern California, killing 63 people and causing up to $US10 billion worth of damage.
More than 3500 people were injured and 100,000 buildings damaged during the disaster.
It also left more than 12,000 people homeless.
The final death toll was well below the 300 expected deaths, thanks to the scheduling of the World Series Baseball finals games.
Many people had left work early to watch the games being shown on television, thus avoiding the carnage on major roads and public transport.
The infamous Thai-Burma Railway built by thousands of Allied prisoners of war in World War II was completed on October 17, 1943.
The 420km-long railway – known as the 'Death Railway' - was designed by the all-conquering Japanese military in 1942.
Captured Australian, British, Indian and Dutch troops together with enslaved Thai people were forced to work on it in horrendous conditions under their brutal Japanese captors.
Pop superstar Madonna and her film director husband Guy Ritchie announced they were splitting on October 17, 2008.
The celebrity couple who lived in Ritchie's native England had been married for more than seven years.
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