Top 10 Worst Natural Disasters of 21st Century
10. 2001 Gujarat earthquake (Death toll: 19,727)
The 2001 Gujarat earthquake of a magnitude of between 7.6 and 7.7
occurred at almost an early morning of January 26, 2011 at 8:46 AM local
time and lasted for over two minutes. Almost around 19,727 people were
killed and 167,000 were injured. The destruction to homes and property
was huge with around 400,000 homes completely turned into rubble. Many
historic sites and tourist spots were also destroyed. The total property
damage was estimated to be around $5.5 billion. Around 600,000 people
became homeless in 21 districts which were affected due to the shock
waves that spread for about 700 km. The earthquake happened to have
struck on the 51st Republic Day of India.
9. 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami (Death toll: 18,400)
The recent 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan which literally means
“Northeast region Pacific Ocean offshore earthquake” measured around 9.0
magnitude and struck the coast of Japan at around 14:46 local time on
March 11, 2011, Friday. The epicenter is said to be about 72 km (41
miles) east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tohoku. The tsunami waves as high
as 23.6 m (77 ft) were triggered which touched Japan within minutes of
the earthquake. Tsunami warnings were issued for Japan and some 20 other
countries along the Pacific coast of North and South America. In some
countries, the smaller shockwaves reached several hours later. So far
around 18,400 deaths have been confirmed with 2,778 injured and around
17,339 people missing as reported by the Japanese National Police
Agency. There were tremendous property damages to roads, railways and a
dam which collapsed, besides three nuclear reactors had explosions due
to hydrogen building up within the outer containment buildings. It is
estimated to be the worst earthquake in the history of Japan and the
fifth worst according to modern records kept since 1900. The earth
itself shifted from its axis by about 10 cm (3.9 in). The losses are
approximated at around $14.5 to 34.6 billion, but according to the World
Bank, the estimates of the damages are placed around $122 billion and
$235 billion. The Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan declared the
disaster to be the worst since the end of the World War Two, with the
Japanese government estimating the cost to reach about $309 billion.
This makes it the world’s most expensive natural disaster on record.
8. 2003 European heat wave (Death toll: 40,000)
The 2003 European heat wave was one of the hottest summers in Europe,
especially in France in recorded history. There were a serious health
crises and droughts in many European countries with a death toll
reaching almost 40,000. In France almost 14,802 deaths happened because
of this heat wave according to the French National Institute of Health.
Extensive forest fires occurred in Portugal with almost five per cent of
the countryside and ten per cent of the forests being destroyed due to
temperatures reaching 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit). In
Netherlands, there were about 1,500 heat related deaths with temperature
reaching 37.8 degrees Celsius there. A couple of hundreds deaths were
reported both in Spain and Germany, where temperatures reached 45.1 and
41 degrees Celsius respectively. In Switzerland, many glaciers were
melted in the Alps causing avalanches and flash floods with a new
national record of temperature at 41.5 degrees Celsius (106.7 degrees
Fahrenheit) recorded in Grono, Graubunden. The United Kingdom’s highest
recorded temperature was on 10 August, 2003 with 38.5 degrees Celsius
(101.3 degrees Fahrenheit) in Kent and Scotland broke its record of the
highest temperature in Greycrook at 32.9 degrees Celsius (91.2 degrees
Fahrenheit). Thousands of people died all across the UK as reported by
the BBC. There occurred a crop shortfall in Southern Europe due to long
droughts with European Union’s total production reduced by 10 per cent.
But the heat wave won nine gold and silver medals for Hungarian
winemakers in Vinalies 2003 International wine contest as the grapes
ripened faster due to dehydration making concentrated juice and hence
increasing their alcoholic degree.
7. 2003 Iran earthquake (Death toll 43,000)
The 2003 Bam earthquake struck at early hours of 5:46 AM local time
on December 26, 2003, Friday in Bam and surrounding Kerman province of
southeastern Iran. The earthquake is estimated to be of 6.6 magnitude
according to the United States Geological Survey, causing 26,271 deaths
and some 30,000 injured. But some estimates also approximate the death
toll to be around 43,000. The devastation was heightened by the use of
mud brick as a standard medium of construction which did not comply with
the earthquake regulations set in 1989 in Iran. Around 44 countries
sent assistance and 60 made the offer. There was also a consideration to
change the capital from Tehran for the fear of an earthquake.
6. 2010 Russian heat wave (Death toll: 56,000)
The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer, also known as the 2010 Russian
heat wave, had an effect on most parts of the United States, Canada
Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Indochina, South Korea, Japan, China,
North Africa and generally the whole of the European continent in the
months from May till August with June being the fourth consecutive
warmest month on record globally. The whole period from April till June
was also recorded to be the warmest for land areas in the Northern
Hemisphere. This extreme weather caused forest fire in China with a
worst drought in 60 years in Yunnan province. Around 56,000 people died
all across the mentioned places because of this calamity. The biggest
ice shelf detachment in 48 years also took place in the Arctic Ocean
which connects Greenland and Nares Strait to the ocean. According to the
World Meteorological Organization, the heat waves, droughts and
floodings fall within the predictions based on global warming for the
21st century, but some climatologists disagree saying that such weathers
would not have occurred had the atmospheric carbon dioxide been kept at
pre-industrial levels.
5. 2008 Sichuan earthquake (Death toll: 69,197)
The 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which is also sometimes called Great
Sichuan Earthquake, measured at 8.0 magnitude and struck at 14:28 local
time on May 12, 2008 in Sichuan province of China that killed around
69,197 people according to the official figures. It left some 374,176
people injured, 18,222 were listed as missing, and some 4.8 million
people became homeless, where the numbers could even go as high as 11
million according to some reports. It is said to be the deadliest
earthquake for China since the 1976 Tanghan earthquake, where around
240,000 people died, and is said to be the 21 deadliest in world
recorded history. It had an epicenter at Wenchuan County in the province
and was felt in both Beijing and Shanghai as well as in the neighboring
counties with the buildings shaking with the tremor. Many new
causalities were caused even months after the initial earthquake due to
the aftershocks with magnitude of up to 6. The Chinese government
announced to spend around $146.5 billion over the next three years in
reconstruction and damage control measures.
4. 2005 Kashmir earthquake (Death toll: 86,000)
The 2005 Kashmir Earthquake struck in the morning at 8:52 local time
on October 8, 2005 in the Pakistan-administered Kashmir, commonly known
as Azad Kashmir, which affected the nearby area of Gilgit-Baltistan and
most parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It was similar in magnitude
to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the 1935 Quetta earthquake, and
the 2001 Gujarat earthquake at 7.8 according to the Japan Meteorological
Agency. According to the Pakistani government’s official death toll,
around 75,000 people died, but the international donors estimate the
deaths to be around 86,000. Various reports have suggested that complete
towns and villages were destroyed in Northern Pakistan with severe
damages to the surrounding areas. The tremors were also felt in the
nearby countries of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, western China, and also the
Indian-administered Kashmir, where around 1,400 people died. The city
of Karachi experienced a minor aftershock of magnitude 4.6, with a total
of 147 aftershocks registered all across Pakistan on the first day
after the initial quake hit. Almost 28 of these aftershocks occurred
with greater magnitudes than the original quake, with one of them being
of 6.2 magnitude. The earthquake was a consequence of the rising of the
Himalayas, with the measurements from satellites showing that mountain
parts directly above the epicenter have risen by a few meters and caused
around 978 aftershocks as of October 27 of that year. Around $6.2
billion were given in aid from all over the world, and five crossing
points on the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan were also
opened so that the humanitarian and medical relief can be supplied. But
still the affected areas have not been restored to their pre-earthquake
status in the region.
3. 2008 Cyclone Nargis (Death toll: 146,000)
Cyclone Nargis was a strong tropical cyclone that became the worst
natural disaster for Myanmar on May 2, 2008 which led to around 146,000
deaths and some 55,000 were reported missing. It is said that the death
toll must have been higher but it was not reported by the Burmese
government in fear of a political fallout. The damages were estimated to
have cost around $10 billion. It is the deadliest named cyclone in the
North Indian Ocean Basin and the second deadliest in recorded history
after the 1975 Typhoon Nina. The name of the cyclone “Nargis” is an Urdu
word with Persian roots which means daffodil. Not much aid has been
received to recover from the damages caused due to a resistance from the
Burmese military junta.
2. 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami (Death toll: 230,000)
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, scientifically known as
Sumatra-Adaman earthquake, occurred on December 26, 2004, Sunday at
00:58 UTC, which had an epicenter off the western cost of Sumatra,
Indonesia. The tsunami that took place has various names like 2004
Indian Ocean tsunami, South Asian Tsunami, Indonesian Tsunami, and
Boxing Day Tsunami. The earthquake triggered a number of tsunamis along
many coasts connected with the Indian Ocean. It killed almost 230,000
people in 14 countries, with the hardest hit country being Indonesia,
followed by Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand. The earthquake was felt at
the same time at places like Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Thailand, Singapore, and the Maldives, which was followed by the
tsunami. The energy which was released due to the earthquake and the
following tsunami was estimated to be equal to over 1502 times that of
Hiroshima atomic bombs, but less than that of Tsar Bomba, which is the
largest nuclear weapon ever to be detonated. It is said to be one of the
deadliest disasters in recorded history. It made waves as high as 30
meters (100 feet) and had a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3. It is the
third largest earthquake that was ever recorded on a seismograph and had
the longest duration of 8 to 10 minutes of faulting that was ever
observed. It caused the earth to vibrate as much as 1 centimeter (0.4
inches) and triggered earthquakes as far reaching as Alaska. Altogether,
the international community donated more than $14 billion for
humanitarian efforts.
1.2010 Haiti earthquake (Death toll: 316,000)
The 2010 Haiti earthquake struck on January 12, 2010 at 16:53 local
time with a magnitude of 7.0 and had an epicenter near the town of
Leogane, which is almost 25 km (16 miles) west of Haiti’s capital,
Port-au-Prince. Till January 24, there were almost 52 recorded
aftershocks which measured up to 4.5 magnitude and some were even
greater. According to estimates, some 3 million people were affected by
the disaster, with a death toll of around 316,000 people and 300,000
injured and 1,000,000 approximately became homeless. Around 30,000
commercial buildings are said to have been destroyed completely. The
disaster management became a serious problem during this natural crisis
as delays were caused in distributing aid and even violence is reported
to have been observed. The communication also became as problem since
Haitians only language is Haitian Creole, because of which a machine
translation program was quickly written to translate English and their
local language. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere
ranking at 149th out of 182 countries on the Human Development Index.
Haitian Minister of Education, Joel Jean-Pierre, reported that the
country’s whole education system has collapsed with almost 1,300 schools
and three main universities in Port-au-Prince destroyed. Some of the
aid and rescue workers also died. Almost above 90 per cent of rubble
remains uncleared till date. Around $1.1 billion were donated for the
relief efforts, but only two per cent of the money has been given so
far.
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