- 4003 - NATURAL DISASTERS - how bad can it get? Over the past decade, global natural disasters have accounted for 0.1% of total deaths. While the number of deaths from natural disasters has declined over the past century, these events continue to cause significant amounts of loss and damage.
-------------- 4003 - NATURAL DISASTERS - how bad can it get?
- Natural disasters are devastating events
that have the potential to cause huge amounts of damage and loss of life.
Globally, around 60,000 people die each year as a result of disasters such as
droughts, floods, earthquakes and tsunamis, and a further 150 million people
are impacted by these events.
-
- Here are just eight of some of the largest,
deadly and costly natural disasters throughout modern history.
-
- On Sept. 8, 1900, a storm swept through
Galveston, an island off the coast of Texas. At the time, Galveston was one of
Texas's biggest port cities, but a hurricane with 140 mph winds swept it off
the map. It's estimated that 3,600 houses and 600 businesses were reduced to
rubble across 1,900 acres.
-
- Although it remains unclear exactly how
many people perished during the hurricane, the final death toll was estimated
to be between 6,000 and 8,000 people ,one-sixth of the island's population.
-
- In 2008, a deadly 7.9-magnitude earthquake
hit several regions of south-central China. It caused multiple landslides and
building collapses that killed almost 70,000 people across Sichuan province.
-
–
The landslides
created at least 828 makeshift dams across rivers and streams in the region,
which caused widespread flooding. The situation was exacerbated by heavy
rainfall before military personnel removed these accidental dams.
–
–
Between 2019 and
2020, Australia experienced some of the deadliest wildfires in recent history.
The official death toll for the wildfires was 33, according to the Parliament
of Australia. A further 445 people died from conditions related to smoke
inhalation from the wildfires, and 4,000 people were admitted to hospital.
-
- Between September 2019 and March 2020, 46
million acres (19 million hectares) of forests in southeast Australia were
burnt. Generally, the majority of wildfires are believed to have been ignited by
lightning, however, the risk of intense
fire weather during the bushfire season in southeastern Australia has increased
by 30% since 1900 as a result of climate change.
-
- On Sept. 20, 2017, Puerto Rico was hit by
the deadliest U.S.-based natural disaster in the last 100 years. Hurricane
Maria had the highest average rainfall of all 129 storms that have hit Puerto
Rico in the past 60 years, according to the American Geophysical Union.
-
- The hurricane dropped around 41 inches of
rain onto the island, which caused devastating floods. The total death toll caused by Hurricane
Maria was more than 4,600. Hurricane Maria was also the third most costly
tropical cyclone in the U.S., causing around $98 billion worth of damage.
-
- When the Mount Tambora volcano in Indonesia
blew its top on April 10, 1815, it was the climax of the largest eruption in
recorded history. It's estimated that 36 cubic miles of exploded rock blasted
into the atmosphere and could be seen from as far as 808 miles.
-
–
The explosion
expelled so much volcanic ash into Earth's atmosphere that it reduced the amount of sunlight reaching Earth's
surface. As a result, the temperature in the Northern Hemisphere at the time,
fell by 1 degree Fahrenheit and 1816 became known as "the year without a
summer."
–
–
Records indicate
that the eruption caused 11,000 immediate deaths from pyroclastic flows
(fast-moving solid lava, hot gas and ash), and a further 100,00 people died
from food shortages over the preceding decade caused by the reduction in
sunlight.
–
-
- In 1986, lethal clouds of carbon dioxide
(CO2) bubbled up from the depths of Lake Nyos in northwest Cameroon and caused the deaths of almost 1,800 people and
3,000 livestock. Lake Nyos is sat on
top of a magma chamber, which leaks CO2 into the water above. In 1986, a sudden
eruption of 1.6 million tons of CO2 gas burst from the lake, in an event known
as a “limnic eruption”.
-
- The gas cloud rolled down the surrounding
hillsides and smothered neighboring villages, according to the University of
Wisconsin. Eight hundred and forty-five people survived the event but were
taken to hospital, 19% of whom were treated for lesions and bullae
(blister-like protrusions on the skin) caused by the CO2.
-
- On May 31, 1970, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake
caused one of Peru's deadliest landslides, according to the BBC. The quake
emanated around 22 miles from Mount Huascarán, Peru's highest mountain. The
force of the earthquake caused massive landslides that buried surrounding
towns, in particular Yungay and Ranrahirca.
-
- It's estimated that cascading mountain ice
and rocks sped down Huascarán at around 100 mph, including a 772-ton boulder
that crashed into Ranrahirca,. A total of 70,000 people lost their lives.
-
- On Oct. 8 ,2005, Kashmir in Pakistan was
hit by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake. Landslides caused by the earthquake buried
several towns and villages, including Balakot and Muzaffarabad.
-
- Around 90% of all buildings in Balakot were
demolished by the quake. In total, it's estimated that 3 million homes were
destroyed throughout Kashmir; more than 75,000 people were killed and a further
100,000 were injured. It's believed that the sudden and rapid release of
seismic stress between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates was the cause of
the earthquake.
-
May 14, 2023 NATURAL
DISASTERS - how bad can it get? 4003
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Comments appreciated and Pass it on to
whomever is interested. ---
--- Some reviews are at: -------------- http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----
-- email feedback, corrections, request for
copies or Index of all reviews
--- to:
------
jamesdetrick@comcast.net
------ “Jim Detrick” -----------
--------------------- --- Monday, May 15, 2023
---------------------------------
-
No comments:
Post a Comment