Eight Worst Natural Disasters in History
A list of the world’s worst natural calamities – from earthquakes to pandemics, from floods to tsunamis. Nature’s fury is unleashed upon man …
1970 Bhola Cyclone
The Bhola Cyclone hit the coasts of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1970. What was expected by local people as a small-scale storm, it turned out to be the deadliest tropical cyclone in living history. On November 8, the Cyclone formed over the Bay of Bengal and headed north. It intensified to such a degree that when it hit the coast on November 12, top winds were raging at a staggering 185 km/h. More than 500,000 people lost their lives and entire villages were wiped out. Hundreds and thousands of acres of crops were devastated. In the severely affected areas of Thana, more than 45% of the population was drowned. The impact on the victims intensified as the instability of the government caused delays in bringing swift relief and aid.
2005 Kashmir Earthquake
On October 8, 2005 at approximately 8:52, two tectonic plates collided. Pakistan being at the edge of these received a massive earthquake of reportedly 7.6 moment magnitude. The earthquake is regarded as one of the world natural calamities, causing the death of over 79,000 people, injuring over 106,000 and rendering almost 3.3 million people homeless. It directly effected more than 8 million people. To increase the difficulties, the harsh winter season of the highly mountainous areas set in, coupled by the religious fasting month. Landslides caused by the earthquake had blocked roads and people were rendered completely dependant on limited air supply for shelter, food and water. The Line of Control between Pakistan and India was then opened at five different sections to allow international aid to the victims. The Kashmir Earthquake caused over US $ 5 billion in property damage (almost 300 billion Pakistani Rupees). Entire villages were wiped out. Children who were in school (Saturday is a normal school day in Kashmir) were buried under the rubble. In the face of this disaster, swift international response was seen as all the countries donated generously to aid the victims.
1556 Shaanxi Earthquake
On January 23, 1556 the Shaanxi province of Ming Dynasty China suffered a catastrophic earthquake of 8.0 magnitude that annihilated almost 60% of the areas population. It is regarded as the deadliest earthquake of all time. Almost 830,000 people were killed. The high death toll can be attributed to the fact that most people at that time lived in caves inside Loess mountains, which collapsed during the quake crushing thousands of people. In some places 20 meter crevices opened up, in others landslides occurred. The aftershocks of the earthquake were felt for nearly a month after the actual quake. An entire inner region of China was destroyed making the Shaanxi earthquake one of the worst natural calamities of all time.
2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
At 00:58, on December 26 of 2004, a massive undersea earthquake occurred, reporting a stunning 9.1-9.3 on the seismograph, the second strongest quake ever recorded. The earthquake triggered a series of tsunamis along the coasts of nearby countries. The waves were almost a 100 feet high, wiping out entire cities and flooding the coasts, drowning people, animals and destroying infrastructure. 225,000 people were killed in the coastal communities of eleven countries, thousands were lost and more than a million people were displaced. The severely hit included Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. The quake caused the entire planet to vibrate about 1 cm and triggered a series of earthquakes all over the world, reaching to Alaska. International aides raised about $ 7 billion for the help of the victims.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina is regarded as the costliest hurricane in American history. The damages are estimated to be well worth US $ 89.6 billion. The hurricane was formed on August 23, 2005 over the Bahamas. It passed onto southern Florida and near the Gulf of Mexico began strengthening consistently, causing great damage from Florida to Texas. The most severely hit was New Orleans, Louisiana. In New Orleans, almost 80 % of the city was flooded, drowning hundreds of people and the neighboring parishes as well. It finally dissipated on 30th August. More than 1,836 people lost their lives and 705 were reported missing. Thousands were rendered helpless and homeless.
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On May 7, 2010 at 12:34 am
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On January 17, 2011 at 4:31 pm
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