Where were you on December 9, 2020? Will you even remember? It could be a significant day in U.S. history. Until today. But for now, December 9 will go down as one of the deadliest days our nation has ever seen. The Wall Street Journal reports more than 3100 people lost their lives.
As of yesterday, five days from the last week rank in the top 10 deadliest days in history. Wednesday’s toll superseded the number of people killed on 9/11 and in the San Francisco earthquake:
- September 11, 2001: 2977 deaths
- April 18, 1906 – The San Francisco earthquake: 3000 deaths
- December 9, 2020: 3100+ deaths
While some other events (such as the Galveston hurricane of 1900) rank higher, it’s still striking when you put this in perspective with other deadly days.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), told CBS “as we get into January toward the peak, we’re going to see over 3,000 deaths per day, unfortunately, and maybe get close to 4,000 deaths per day. So this is going to get a lot worse before it starts to resolve.” If that’s the case the one-day death tolls could be higher than two of the deadliest days in the Civil War:
- Battle of Antietam: 3,675 deaths
- Battle of Gettysburg: 3,155 deaths
We actually could surpass the Battle of Gettysburg any day now.
Take a look at what MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow had to say about these disturbing numbers above and remember that each number isn’t just a statistic, it’s a life gone too soon.
