What are Natural Disasters?

By definition, natural disasters describe calamitous events caused by sudden natural happenings. They are characterized by their devastating consequences, causing a considerable amount of both human and material losses. Natural disasters may strike a country or a region on a regular basis. For example, some countries are severely hit by cyclones every year.

Others are victims of recurrent tornadoes or flooding. When a violent earthquake hits a region, the death toll is often shocking. Let us find out more about the most destructive natural disasters in the world.

What are Natural Disasters?

Earthquakes

The deadliest earthquakes in human history happened in different parts of China. On January 23, 1556, a violent earthquake with a magnitude of about 8 ravaged the country, causing 830,000 fatalities. In addition to the human losses, the earthquake caused landslides, fissures, liquefaction and damages in the whole town.

Later, on July 27, 1976, another strong earthquake hit another part of China, more precisely in Tangshan. The quake reached a magnitude of 7.5, leading to an estimated 655,000 casualties.

Tsunami

In 2004, a tsunami hit many countries in the Indian Ocean. Big waves rose from the sea of Sumatra, Indonesia on December 26, 2004, wiping away towns and villages into the ocean, carrying uncountable victims away forever. A tsunami is caused by a deadly earthquake which springs from the deep inside the sea.

The natural disaster made almost 228,000 human losses from 14 coastal countries, from East Africa to Thailand. Other dangerous earthquakes happened in Haiti, on January 12, 2010, and in other parts of the world, leading to a considerable death toll.

Floods

Floods are other upsetting natural disasters, which usually happen after torrential rains. What makes it worse is that it takes many days after the rains have fallen that the water level retracts. The most catastrophic floods in the history of humanity happened in China. On 18 August 1931, torrential rains fell, filling the Yangtze River Basin and then overflowing the water to a large part of the country.

Half a million people had to be evacuated, since 500 square miles were covered with waters. Another deadly flood occurred in China on September 28, 1887. The waters from the Yellow River rose above sea level, causing more or less than 1,500,000 casualties.

Migratory locusts

Being the most pervasive locusts, they attack crops, harm agriculture and bring about bad harvest. In brief, migratory locusts are dangerous to humans because they devastate agriculture, leading to starvation and misery. They exist in many countries, causing great harm in farming especially in Africa.

Migratory locusts can eat many kinds of green leaves every day, and the amount of food they eat each day equals their own weight. In fact, large swarms of locusts can eat what 2,500 people eat on a single day. They can also feed on dry plant matter when green plants are unavailable.

Grasshoppers and locusts can live in the desert, that is why they can resist harsh climatic conditions. That is reminiscent of the best-seller by the ambassador of peace Prem Rawat. His book, “When the dessert blooms”, was written in Spanish. Prem Rawat is renowned for his teachings about peace education and inner strengths. It is an essential tool to read for those who are looking for happiness.

Learn more about Prem Rawat : https://www.wopg.org/prem-rawat/