In 2024, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) recorded 393 natural hazard-related disasters. These events caused 16,753 fatalities and affected 167.2 million people. Economic losses totaled US$241.95 billion. The year 2024 was marked by extreme temperature events in Asia that caused thousands of deaths, severe droughts in Africa affecting over 25 …
during the 1980s, cyclones ravaged Bangladesh, left millions of people homeless and devastated thousands of hectares of prime agricultural land. Remote sensing maps clearly indicated that wherever mangrove forests were destroyed, there were more damages. In India, too, the pressures of increasing population, food production and industrial and urban development …
it will take up to two centuries to restore France's forests, devastated by freak Christmas weekend storms which killed over 85 people, said the National Forestry Office ( onf ). The onf said gales blowing up to 200 kph uprooted or broke in half 270 million trees, the equivalent of …
Hurricanes, like Floyd, which lashed the eastern coast of USA in mid-September, may take a heavy toll on human settlements near the coasts, but there is good news for algae, going by the findings of Marilyn Fogel of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and her colleagues. The researchers discovered that …
A solar sail may soon shield the Earth against solar storms. The sail will be stationed between the Earth and the Sun and will give warnings of solar storms that cause serious damage to phone networks, satellites and power grids. The sail will be hoisted on a lightweight spacecraft to …
not since 1942 has Orissa witnessed a cyclone of this magnitude. On October 18, a devastating cyclone ripped through one of the state's largest cities, Berhampur in Ganjam district, and adjoining districts leaving a trail of destruction. At the last count around 100 people, including many children, had died and …
hurricane Floyd, which struck eastern North Carolina on September 17, has so far claimed more than 31 lives and rendered thousands homeless. Almost two-thirds of the state has been virtually paralysed and many towns have been completely submerged. A state of emergency has been declared in 28 counties. According to …
on may 12, 1999, a storm swept over Patiala, Punjab, uprooting most of the district's electric poles and trees along the banks of the Bhakra Main Line ( bml ) canal that supplies water to Rajasthan and Haryana from the Bhakra-Nangal dam. "A wall of water, laden with uprooted trees …
unpredictable stormy winters in northern Europe are known to put life out of gear. Now, their uncertainty may be a thing of the past because researchers in the uk have found a link between temperatures in the Atlantic and an atmospheric effect that influences European winters. Since the 1930s, climate …
Massive relief operations are underway to rescue tens of thousands of people who became victims of Hurricane Mitch, mostly in Nicaragua and Honduras. The death toll, which is estimated to be over 10,000 is expected to rise due to hunger and disease (Down To Eartk Vol 7, No 14). According …
APPLE crop in Kashmir was extensively damaged by massive windstorms. Apple is the primary fruit of Kashmir. Earlier, the state suffered from a prolonged dry spell, which also affected the production adversely. The Kerwas (highlands) where 30 per cent of the crop grows, were the worst-hit region. Fruit growers of …
THEY have been mistaken for extraterrestrial visitors, supernatural phenomenon and everything in between. And recently, the crew of an Air UK jet, which was struck by lightning, saw "fireballs in the cabin". Ball lightning is the term that is given to these mysterious balls of fire that usually appear during …
IN NOVEMBER, the Earth will run into the worst meteor storm in 32 years. It will be the first space hurricane of the modern satellite era. While it poses no danger to people because the meteoroids will burn up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere, it poses some threat to …
A portable pyramid capable of protecting people from being struck by lightning has recently been developed by researcher Mat Darvenzia of the University of Queensland, usa. Built of aluminium tubes, this curious device operates on the simple theory that when lightning strikes, the charge passes harmlessly through to the ground …
volcanic eruptions in the Caribbean island of Montserrat not only affect its surroundings, but poses a serious threat to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Scientists have found that whenever the disastrous tropical eruption takes place, Edinburgh suffers its worst winter storms. Alistair Dawson, an earth scientist at the Coventry University …
A tornado in Bangladesh killed at least 25 people and injured about 5,000 people on October 12. The tornado that lasted for about 30 minutes blew away tin roofs, trees and electricity poles near Tongi, an industrial town near the capital Dhaka. Most of the people died from being hit …
Fierce storms and rains have affected Guatemala's coffee cultivation. The vice-president of the National Coffee Association, William Strixrud said that two weeks of incessant rains had damaged about 200,000 bags of an estimated 3.3 million bags for the 1997-98 harvest. "The effects are irreversible. The rains have destroyed the mature …
do plants flourish after a storm or do they simply look fresher and greener because they have taken a shower? Since this look of plants cannot be achieved with a sprinkler, the implication is that something more dramatic happens during thunderstorms. Botanists now offer scientific evidence to support this assertion …
EL NINO, the reversal of ocean currents across the Pacific that periodically disrupts the world's weather, has won another round of its cat-and-mouse game with climate modellers by sneaking up largely unseen. In the past two months, waters in most of the tropical Pacific have warmed dramatically, by up to …
Bangladesh took another blow from its yearly tryst with storms when a devastating tornado ripped through its northern regions on May 14 killing around 1,000 people. The tornado, with a wind- speed of200 km per hour, lasted 20 minutes and left a trail of destruction in Tangail district. It blew …
For the Bangladeshis it was yet another stormy encounter with the rain gods in the last week of March. Rain storms With wind speeds of nearly 70 km an hour struck Dhaka and four other neighbouring districts, causing immense damage to houses and crops. In the calamity, four people also …
