The disasters no one ever mentions or knows about. 'indie' disasters if you like...

LAKE PEIGNEUR

a Texaco oil rig was drilling down from the surface of the lake searching for petroleum. Due to a miscalculation, the drilling bit entered an underground salt mine, starting a remarkable chain of events, turning an almost 10 foot deep lake into the deepest lake in Louisiana, and changing it from fresh to salt water.

The sucking force was so strong that it reversed the flow of a 12-mile-long canal which led out to the Gulf of Mexico, and dragged 11 barges from that canal into the swirling vortex, where they disappeared into the flooded mines below. It also overtook a manned tug on the canal, which struggled against the current for as long as possible before the crew had to leap off onto the canal bank and watch as the lake consumed their boat.

The event permanently affected the ecosystem of the lake by greatly increasing the depth of the lake from 10 feet to 1300 feet at its greatest depth, and changing the lake from freshwater to saltwater.

http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=6

Anyone know of any other lesser known disasters?