Timeline of Homeland Security Events and Milestones

Entries on the HSDL Timeline of Homeland Security Events and Milestones are related to homeland security and emergency management. Each entry contains a brief description of the event, its significance, and a selection of related resources.

Criteria

Events included in the Timeline have been chosen for their significance in terms of:

  • located in United States or targeting U.S. citizens/property abroad
  • loss of life or injury
  • damage to environment or property
  • monetary loss or economic impact
  • legislative impact or government response
  • historical interest

Filters

The Timeline can be viewed as a whole, or can be filtered to view events in one of four main groupings:

Attacks – significant terrorist attacks, bombings, shootings, and other intentional acts
Natural Disasters – earthquakes, hurricanes, extreme weather, and other naturally occurring disasters
Man-made Disasters – non-intentional, human-influenced disasters and accidents
Milestones – legislation, government actions, and selected documents of particular significance

New events will be considered and added as appropriate.

1857
January 9 1857
Great Fort Tejon Earthquake
Great Fort Tejon Earthquake

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck on the San Andreas Fault from near Parkfield to approximately 300 km away near Wrightwood. The quake could be felt from Marysville to San Diego, and east to Las Vegas, with strong shaking lasting from one to three minutes.—(USGS) Date of event: January 9, 1857 Impact:…
More about the event

1811
December 15 1811
New Madrid, Missouri Earthquakes
New Madrid, Missouri Earthquakes

The 1811-1812 New Madrid Sequence consisted of three large earthquakes: A Magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck on December 15, 1811; a magnitude 7.3 that struck on January 23, 1812; and a magnitude 7.5 that struck on February 7, 1812. Following the earthquakes, hundreds of aftershocks were felt in 1813. There…
More about the event

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