2011 Most Devastating Natural Disasters Around The World

I know there are some more disasters happened at other country which is not in the list. But the point is in year 2011, why there are so many disasters happened? Is it something going to happen? Natural disasters have been hitting different parts of the globe. Japan, China, Australia, continuous floods and Brazil mudslides. Every flood came with loss of life rising to the hundreds, even in developed countries. The damages were accounted for billions.

1 ) Japan – Earthquake (8.9) and Tsunami – March 11 2011

The town is just one of many nearly erased from Japan’s northeastern coast, where water, electricity, and telecommunications are largely unavailable.  As of Monday an estimated 350,000 people are reportedly homeless in the wake of Friday’s magnitude 9 earthquake—Japan’s biggest on record. According to the police chief of hard-hit Miyagi Prefecture, at least 10,000 are dead, the Washington Post reported.

Meanwhile, Tuesday morning (local time) brought fresh cause for concern from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, where emergency efforts to use seawater to cool one of three malfunctioning nuclear reactors failed temporarily, the New York Times reported. As water levels dipped, fuel rods were likely exposed to air, increasing the chances of melting—and of a catastrophic meltdown.

2 ) New Zealand Christ Church – Earthquake – Feb 22 2011

New Zealand prime minister John Key has confirmed that at least 65 people are dead after a major earthquake devastated Christchurch on what he described as the country’s “darkest day”.  Thousands of shocked people are wandering the rubble-strewn city, many searching for loved ones and trying to reach trapped people.

Local television showed bodies being pulled out of rubble strewn around the city centre, while other footage showed onlookers clinging to each other and others bleeding and limping.  Screams rang out across the southern New Zealand city’s main square as parts of Christchurch Cathedral toppled to the ground.

3 ) China – Hailstorm – April 18 2011

Twelve people were killed and 27 others injured as hailstones, thundershower and gales pounded China’s southern Guangdong province Sunday, a media report said.  Cities such as Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan and Zhongshan were affected, China Daily reported quoting the civil affairs ministry.  Over 500 hectares of farmland were affected and direct economic losses were estimated at about 50 million yuan (about $7 million).

The Guangdong provincial government has dispatched a team of relief workers to the affected area. The injured were shifted to hospital.

4 ) Australia – Flood – Jan 10 2011

Officials in the Australian state of Queensland say at least 72 people are missing after flash floods which have already claimed eight lives.  A massive deluge overwhelmed Toowoomba, a city west of the state capital Brisbane, without warning.  Sandbags have been given out to residents of Brisbane, where the flooding may not peak until Wednesday.  State Premier Anna Bligh called the flash floods Queensland’s “darkest hour” since the flood crisis began.  At least two of the dead were children, Ms Bligh said, and she warned that the death toll was likely to rise.

“The event that started in Toowoomba can only be described as a complete freak of nature, an extraordinary deluge that almost came out of nowhere,” the Australian Broadcasting Corporation quoted Ms Bligh as saying.  “What we have here in Queensland tonight is a very grim and desperate situation.” Map  Helicopters have joined the rescue operation to reach those trapped in cars and on the roofs of buildings.

5 ) Brazil – Mudslide – Jan 17 2011

Rain began falling again Friday in this mountain town, hampering rescue efforts in the wake of deadly mudslides and flooding that has killed hundreds of people and left vast swaths of cities buried under layers of earth.  The death toll ticked up overnight to 479 killed in three cities north of Rio in what is one of Brazil’s deadliest natural disasters on record. Officials feared, however, that number could sharply rise, though they would not venture a guess of how many remain missing. Local reports put it in the hundreds.  Hundreds of rescuers were in the area and officials said lack of help was not a problem — rather it was trying to access remote areas isolated after roads were washed out.

Despite the new rains, no more mudslides have been reported.  For those who did survive remains the grim task of burying loved ones.  As night fell Thursday on Teresopolis, barefoot volunteers dragged a generator and stadium lights into a cemetery, where nearly 200 freshly dug graves lay open like wounds in the red clay soil, waiting for the dead.

6 ) Iowa – Tornadoes – April 9 2011

A large tornado flattened a grain elevator and destroyed homes and buildings on its weekend rampage through the small western Iowa town of Mapleton. Authorities reported no serious injuries. “It was huge, just huge,” said Thomas Mohrhauser, an attorney in the town of about 1,200 people. “It just kept getting bigger and bigger.” Mohrhauser said the tornado appeared to be about a quarter-mile wide when it cut a northwest path through town Saturday evening. Mayor Fred Standa said one side of town got hit worse than another, but overall he thought about 60 percent had been damaged. He estimated about 20 percent was “almost flat.

” Reports indicated the roof was blown off a high school, power lines were downed and several homes and buildings were destroyed. Authorities said three people were treated for minor injuries at Burgess Health Center in Onawa, about 20 miles from Mapleton. “We had a few people with cuts,” Standa said Sunday morning. “But nothing real bad, so we’re lucky there.”

So what’s going to happen next? Pray for our earth…