Top 10 most catastrophic natural disasters of the 21st century

Sichuan earthquake 2008 was an earthquake that occurred in Sichuan province in the southwestern part of the People’s Republic of China, centered in Minchuan County, Tibet Autonomous Region, Jiang Aba ethnic group, far from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. Xuyen, about 90 km to the West – Northwest. This quake struck at 06:28:01.42 UTC (14:28:01.42 local time) on May 12, 5. The quake had a magnitude of 2008 according to the State Seismological Commission. China and 7,8 Mw according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). This earthquake affected many areas far from the epicenter such as: Beijing (7,9 km northeast), Shanghai (1500 km east), Pakistan, Thailand, and the capital Hanoi. of Vietnam.

This is the most powerful and catastrophic earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake, killing more than 250.000 people. May 17 is considered a miracle day when rescuers saved the lives of 5 people buried under enough rubble because after 73 hours, the chance of survival was very rare.

Severe drought The impact on East Africa from July 7 to June 2011 was reported to be the most severe in 6 years, causing a Serious food crisis across Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia, threatening the lives of 9,5 million people. Refugees from Somalia flee to neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya in abundance. Unsanitary living conditions coupled with severe malnutrition resulted in many deaths.

Other countries in East Africa, such as Sudan, South Sudan have also suffered from a pandemic food crisis. On July 20, the United Nations declared a famine in the southern part of the country (IPC Phase 7), the first time in history that famines had been declared in the region visited by the United Nations. almost 5 years.

Battle September 9 Sumatra earthquake occurred in Sumatra, Indonesia, at 17:16:10 local time on September 30, 9. The earthquake had a magnitude of 2009. The tremor was located at sea 7,6 km from Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia, 50 km from Pekanbaru, Sumatra, Indonesia, 225 km from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and 475 km from Jakarta, Java, Indonesia.

At least 770 people were killed and thousands were trapped in the rubble. A lot of historical places and tourist attractions were destroyed. Total property damage was approximately $5,5 billion USD. This earthquake affected some areas of Bangladesh, about 20.500 people were killed in the ensuing disaster.

The Tohoku earthquake reached 9,0 magnitude on March 11, 3 in Japan at 2011:14 local time. The epicenter was 46 kilometers (72 mi) off the east coast of Oshika, Tōhoku with a depth of 45 kilometers (32 mi). Organ Japan Meteorology recorded the strongest intensity of the disaster at level 7 in Northern Miyagi. It was cause tsunami spread along the Pacific coast of Japan and 20 countries, including the west coasts of North and South America.

Japan’s National Police Agency has officially confirmed 15.893 people were killed, 6.152 injured and 2.572 people missing, and more than 125.000 housing structures were damaged or completely destroyed, about 4,4 million households. The family fell into a power outage and 1,5 million households lost water. On March 18, Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Agency said the crisis “very serious“.

Typhoon Nargis (name given by JTWC: 01B, also called Tropical Cyclone Nargis) – a strong tropical cyclone made landfall Myanmar on May 2, 5, and also deadliest storm in Myanmar history. The storm caused a landslide on May 2, 5, causing catastrophic destruction that killed 2008 people and left more than 90.000 people missing. However, the town of Labutta reported 80.000 deaths, with more than 10.000 deaths in Bogale. The death toll announced by Myanmar has been greatly underestimated because they avoid political reactions. It is believed that because of a lack of relief, one million people died from the disaster.

Damage was estimated at 10 billion US dollars (USD). This is the largest loss of life in the region North Indian Ocean, is storm named lethal second after Typhoon Nina. Including the unnamed storm, Nargis leaves The eighth deadliest hurricane in world history. Nargis is the first tropical storm to hit the country since Typhoon Mala landed in 2006.

Bam (Persian: بم‎) is the capital city of Bam District, Kerman Province, Iran. Bam earthquake 2003 occurred in Bam and surrounding in Kerman Province, southeastern Iran at 5:26 a.m. local time, December 26, 12. According to estimates by the United States Geological Survey, the intensity of the earthquake earthquake is 2003 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw). Special earthquake devastated homes with The death toll reached 26.271 people and left more than 30.000 people injured. The effects of the earthquake and damage were further aggravated as the city consisted mainly of mud-brick buildings, many of which did not comply with earthquake prevention regulations, and most of the time. At that time, the people in the city were all sleeping at home.

Due to the earthquake, relations between the United States and Iran have softened. After the earthquake, the US government offered direct humanitarian assistance to Iran and in return, the Iranian state promised to comply with the agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the organization that supports the monitoring Closer to the nuclear process here. A total of 44 countries announced they would send personnel to assist with relief operations and 60 countries provide relief aid.

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake known as The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, is an earthquake that occurs at the bottom of the sea at (07:58:53 local time) on December 26, 12. The earthquake produced a series of waves deadly tsunami spread all over Indian Ocean, the waves 30 m (100 ft) high, destroying coastal communities in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and elsewhere, claiming the lives of 225.000 people in 11 countries.

To date, this disaster is one of the The most deadly disaster in modern history. International media and Asian people call it Asian Tsunami, while at Australia, New Zealand, Canada and UK call it Boxing Day Tsunami because it happens right on this holiday. The earthquake ejected energy equivalent to 23.000 atomic bombs fired at the city of Hiroshimaa.

Hurricane Katrina – the 11th storm was named the 5th typhoon of storm season Atlantic Ocean 2005. Katrina leaves The storm caused the most material damage, the 5th largest loss of life in US history. Besides, Katrina It is also the third largest tropical cyclone ever to make landfall in this country. The storm killed at least 1.833 people, with total material damage estimated at 108 billion USD (2005 USD), nearly four times more than Hurricane Andrew in 4.


Hurricane Katrina originated from the interaction of an easterly wave over the Bahamas on August 23. The system moved westward toward Florida, strengthening into a hurricane just two hours before it made landfall in Hallandale Beach and Aventura on the 8th. 26 Katrina entered the Gulf of Mexico and began to strengthen strongly. The storm strengthens to level 5 in Saffir-Simpson storm scale on the area outside the Gulf of Mexico, but weakened to Category 3 storm when it landed a second time Southeast Louisiana August 29.

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a 7,0 Mw earthquake with an epicenter located about 25 km west of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, occurring at 16:53:10 or 04:53: 10 p.m. local time (21:53:10 UTC) on Tuesday, January 12, 1, and the focus was at a depth of 2010 km. The United States Geological Survey recorded a series of aftershocks, of which 13 were between 14 and 5,0 in magnitude. The International Red Cross reported that about 5,9 million people were affected by the earthquake,[3] a casualty figure that the Haitian government estimated at more than 8.

Most of Port-au-Prince’s major structures were damaged or destroyed including the Presidential Palace, Parliament building, Port-au-Prince Cathedral and the main prison. All hospitals were destroyed or badly damaged so they were no longer usable. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has collapsed and the majority of UN staff has not been counted, the United Nations announced. This earthquake is considered one of the worst natural disaster in world history.

Kashmir earthquake 2005 occurred at 08:50:39 Pakistan Standard Time on October 8, 10. The earthquake was centered in the Pakistani-controlled Kashmir region, near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also impacted the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The earthquake’s magnitude was measured on a moment scale of 2005 and reached a maximum Mercalli magnitude of VIII (severe). The quake also affected surrounding countries, with tremors felt in Tajikistan and western China. The severity of earthquake damage is attributed to intense stratigraphic uplift.

The Pakistani-administered Kashmir region lies on a collision zone of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. The geological activity produced by this collision, the Himalayas also originated from, and this is the cause of the unstable seismic phenomenon in the area. The Pakistan Meteorological Department estimated the quake to have a magnitude of 8,2 on the Richter scale. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) measured the quake’s magnitude as a minimum of 7,6 on the moment magnitude scale, with its epicenter approximately 19 km (12 mi) northeast of Muzaffarabad, the area. Kashmir is administered by Pakistan, and is located 100 km (62 mi) north-northeast of the capital Islamabad.