THE TEN WORST NATURAL DISASTERS
Scott Reeves, 08.29.05, 12:15 PM ET
Forbes
Aug 29 2005
NEW YORK – Forget annoying earthquakes like the 1906 temblor that
destroyed San Francisco, or events such as the 1980 eruption of Mount
St. Helens in Washington state, and even the 1994 Los Angeles shaker
that brought down sections of major freeways.
In terms of total destruction, these natural disasters are pikers by
world standards and serve only to remind us that extremes are the norm.
The National Hurricane Center pegs Hurricane Andrew, a category five
storm in 1992, as the most destructive to hit the United States. It
caused damage estimated at $26.5 billion.
To date, 2004 was the most destructive hurricane season with four
named storms slamming ashore: Charley, causing $15 billion in damage;
Ivan, $14.2 billion; Frances, $8.9 billion and Jeanne, $6.9 billion.
Total: $45 billion.
Hurricane Hugo is ranked as fifth most destructive storm, causing $7
billion in damage in 1989.
Hurricane Allison caused an estimated $5 billion in damage in 2001;
Floyd, $4.5 billion in 1999; Isabel, $3.4 billion in 2003; and Fran,
$3.2 billion in 1996.
New Orleans last took a direct hit from a hurricane in 1965 when
Betsy’s 8-to-10-foot storm surge flooded the city. The storm was
blamed for 74 deaths in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
Like Hurricane Katrina that slammed into Louisiana this morning with
145-mph winds, we’ll take a direct approach in ranking the world’s
ten worst natural disasters by emotional punch.
1. 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake: The undersea earthquake occurred on
Dec. 26, generating a tsunami that killed 170,000 to 250,000 people,
making it one of the deadliest disasters in modern history.
The earthquake originated in the Indian Ocean just off the western
coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, generating a tidal wave that
struck the shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India, Thailand and
other countries with waves up to 100 feet high. The tsunami caused
damage and death as far as the east coast of Africa, about 5,000
miles from the quake’s epicenter.
Estimates put the quake’s magnitude at 9.15. In May, scientists
said the earthquake lasted about 10 minutes–an eternity when most
last just a few seconds–and caused the entire planet to vibrate a
few centimeters.
2. Ancient (by news standards) History: 1201, Middle East: A
earthquake in Egypt and Syria killed an estimated 1.1 million people.
Building materials of the day contributed to death toll. It took the
1906 San Francisco earthquake to convince builders that rigid brick
and mortar construction is suicide in earthquake country. Modern
steel-framed buildings swayed in California’s 1989 Loma Prieta quake
that brought down a section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge,
but survived–often with little more damage than a cracked window.
3. Caribbean, 1780: What was then known as “The Great Hurricane”
slammed into the islands of Martinique, St. Eustatius and Barbados
in October, killing about 22,000 people.
4. China, 1959: Massive flooding killed an estimated 2 million
people. The magnitude of the disaster wasn’t new. In 1938 and 1939,
flooding killed an estimated one million people. In 1931, the Yangtze
River flooded, causing about 3 million deaths, including those who
starved. In 1887, an estimated 900,000 people died when the Yellow
River flooded.
5. Iran, 2003: An earthquake registering 6.3 on the Richter scale
flattened much of the city of Bam, killing at least 50,000 people. In
1990, a landslide triggered by an earthquake killed an estimated
50,000 in western Iran.
6. Central America, 1998: Hurricane Mitch slammed into Nicaragua and
Honduras, killing about 10,000 people and leaving more than 2 million
homeless. Mudslides wiped out entire villages.
7. Bangladesh, 1970: Storm-induced flooding killed about 300,000
people. Flooding killed about 130,000 in 1991.
8. Colombia, 1985: The Nevada del Ruiz Volcano erupted, setting off a
massive mudflow that inundated the city of Amero, killing an estimated
23,000 people.
9. Peru, 1970: A 7.8 earthquake on Mt. Huascaran set off an avalanche
that buried two towns, killing an estimated 20,000 people.
10. Armenia, 1988: An earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale
killed about 100,000 people.