A blizzard with hurricane-force winds struck the Great Lakes between 7 and 10 November 1913, and it was at its worst on 9 November. Known as the Big Blow, the Freshwater Fury or the White Hurricane, it battered and overturned ships on four of the five lakes, especially Lake Huron. The storm destroyed 19 ships and 68,300 tons of cargo and killed more than 250 people, making it the deadliest storm ever recorded on the Great Lakes. It hit late in the shipping season, when freighters were rushing to move cargo before winter, and hit both the American Midwest and Southwestern Ontario. Waves on the lakes are short and steep, so big ships can be easily overwhelmed.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.