Return to Dark Times The Meuse Valley’s Killer Fog Traditional Cache

The low-lying Meuse Valley in Belgium became the scene of tragedy when a strange “illness” struck residents on farms and villages within a 15-mile stretch from Huy to Liege. A perfect combination of factors came together in just the right way to create a modern era disaster—the first of its kind, but certainly not the last.Meuse Valley was the site of many factories including chemical plants, zinc smelters, and coke ovens, all of which belched a constant stream of pollutants into the air. On December 1, residents noticed a strange, dense, cold fog had settled over the valley (due to temperature inversion). Visibility was poor, barely a few feet. Residents continued their business as usual, although the fog irritated their eyes and made it difficult to breathe.By the second day, infants, and older and some middle-aged people showed signs of respiratory distress. Doctors couldn’t figure out the cause of the sudden “disease” manifesting in their patients—and then those patients began to die.A total of 30 people died on December 3rd alone. The death toll rose. Suspecting the cause due to chemical fumes from the factories—which continued operating despite the emergency—many residents tried sealing themselves into their houses, stopping up chinks with paper or rags to keep out the fog. To prevent their valuable cattle dying, some farmers drove their cows inside the kitchen.Although the term “smog” was coined by a British doctor in 1905 as a combination of smoke and fog, the phenomena was very little understood. Some residents believed the fog over the Meuse Valley had a supernatural origin. Others thought the deadly fumes came from caches of poison gas canisters secreted by the Germans during WWI. As news of the disaster was reported in newspapers worldwide, speculation ran rife. By the time the fog lifted five days after it began, between 60-75 people were dead. Thousands were ill or suffered permanent injury. Two years later, Belgian authorities investigating the mystery officially reported that the fog had been trapped over the valley due to freak weather conditions, and that toxic gasses from the factories caused the deaths. (Source: Wikipedia)