The BP oil spill represents a catastrophic failure of many things. And risk management was certainly one of those failings — despite the off-base commentary to the contrary from one insurance executive.

But exactly how big of a failure was this catastrophe?

We won’t truly know the answer to that question for months — if not years — but this fantastic infographic timeline sent to me by Iglu Cruise helps put the whole thing in perspective. This mammoth research/design project is too large to adequately embed in full here so be sure to click through and see it in all it’s glory, but here are two of the most interesting elements.

The above article is reprinted from the Risk Management Monitor - the official blog of Risk Management magazine.