We can speculate about how things might have ended if some catastrophe had not occurred, but the variables are so small and there are so many of them that we will never know the right answer. Like a weather forecast (which, after all, looks into the future), we can only make a guess based on the information we receive, which is very limited. Let's take a look at 10 natural disasters from our past, and then imagine what the world would look like without them. You might be interested in the articles 10 Most Expensive Terrorist Attacks in Human History.

10. Lake Agassiz Outbreak, North America

Around 14,500 years ago, the planet's climate was beginning to emerge from the last Great Ice Age. And as the temperature began to rise, the array arctic ice, covering most of the Northern Hemisphere, began to melt. Fast forward 1,600 years to the center of northern North America (what is now parts of North Dakota, Minnesota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario), which was under a huge proglacial lake formed by meltwater that was blocked by a wall of ice or other natural dam. Approximate area of ​​273,000 sq. km, Lake Agassiz was larger than any lake currently existing in the world, approximately the size of the Black Sea.

Then, for some reason, the dam broke and all the fresh water from the lake rushed into the Arctic Ocean through the Mackenzie River valley. And even if the flood itself was not severe enough, its consequences likely killed off the megafauna of North America, as well as the people of the Clovis culture. The insane amount of fresh water flooding the Arctic Ocean has significantly weakened the Atlantic “conveyor” by 30% or more. Along this conveyor, warm water reaches the Arctic, where, cooling, it sinks to the bottom and returns south along the ocean floor. With a new influx of fresh water from Lake Agassiz, the cycle slowed and the Northern Hemisphere returned to near-icy temperatures for 1,200 years, in a period known as the Younger Dryas. The end of this period, about 11,500 years ago, was even more abrupt than its beginning, when temperatures in Greenland rose 18 degrees Fahrenheit in just 10 years.

9. Eruptions of the Siberian Traps, Central Russia

Approximately 252 million years ago, planet Earth looked very different compared to today. Life was as alien as it gets, and all the continents were pushed together to form a single super-continent known as Pangea. Evolution followed the usual path, with life flourishing on land and in the sea. Then, as if out of nowhere, everything changed in one geological instant.

In the far north of Pangea, where Siberia is now located, a super-volcano of biblical proportions began to erupt. The eruption was incredibly strong and destructive, covering an area of ​​almost 2.7 million square meters. km (roughly equal to the continental United States) and was covered with a layer of lava 1.5 km thick. Just over 800,000 sq. km of this layer can still be seen in a region called Siberian traps.

The eruption itself and the subsequent destructive lava flows became only the catalyst for an irreversible chain of events that destroyed 75% of all life on earth and more than 95% of all sea creatures. This apocalyptic event, known as the Great Dying, marked the transition between the Permian and Triassic periods. The immediate effect of the super-volcano completely devastated the Northern Hemisphere, turning the air into veritable acidity and throwing the entire food chain into complete chaos. The eruption was followed by a centuries-long volcanic winter, killing 10% of all species on earth. After the dust settled, the planet's climate immediately entered a phase of global warming, the overall temperature rose by 5 degrees Celsius, which led to the extinction of another 35% of all land creatures.

The oceans were nearby, the water absorbed a large amount carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, turning it into carbonic acid. As temperatures rose, oxygen-depleted water from the ocean floor began to expand and rise from the depths, leaving all marine life stranded. Huge amounts of methane hydrate, found even today on the ocean floor, rose to the surface due to warming waters, thereby increasing the planet's temperature by another 5 degrees Celsius. At that time, almost all marine species became extinct, and only the strongest living creatures managed to survive. This event is the largest mass extinction event on Earth. But by now our production is emitting four times more CO2 into the atmosphere than the supervolcano did many millions of years ago, and most of the above effects are already beginning to occur.

8. Sturegga landslide, Norwegian Sea

About 8,000 years ago, 100 km off the northern coast of modern Norway, a huge piece of land roughly the size of Iceland broke off from the European continental shelf and sank into the depths of the Norwegian Sea. This process was most likely caused by an earthquake, which destabilized methane hydrates located on the seabed, 1,350 cubic kilometers of sediment were distributed over 1,600 kilometers of the ocean floor, covering an area of ​​about 59,000 square kilometers. km. The ensuing tsunami caused a landslide that wreaked havoc on all nearby landmasses.

Since the planet was just emerging from the previous Ice Age, sea levels were 14 meters lower than today. Even so, deposits left by the Sturegga landslide were found as far as 80 km inland in some places and 6 meters above today's high tide. The territories of modern Scotland, England, Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Orkney and Shetland Islands, Greenland, Ireland and the Netherlands were seriously damaged by waves 25 meters high.

The last piece of land that once connected the British Isles to mainland Europe, known as Doggerland, was completely submerged, creating the North Sea we know today. This was not the first or last time this happened; several other small landslides off the coast of modern Norway occurred between 50,000 and 6,000 years ago. Oil and gas companies take special precautions to avoid accidentally triggering such an event.

7.Eruption of Laki, Iceland

Iceland sits directly on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where two large tectonic plates are moving away from each other. This makes the island nation one of the most volcanically active regions in the world. In 1783, a 29-kilometer fissure on the island's surface, known as Laki's Fissure, was ripped open by an eruption. Along the entire length of the volcano, 130 craters were formed, which erupted 5.4 cubic meters. km of basalt lava for 8 months. Incomparable in size and destruction to what occurred in Siberia 252 million years ago, the Laki eruption had very similar features, and was the largest volcanic eruption in the last 500 years. Thanks to a network of underground tunnels known as lava tubes, molten rock spread hundreds of kilometers from the fault and wiped out 20 villages.

However, Lucky's most destructive effect was not the lava itself, but the toxic gases released into the atmosphere. About 8 million tons of hydrogen fluoride and 120 million tons of sulfur dioxide were released, poisoning the air and creating acid rain. As a result, three quarters of the sheep and more than half of all cattle in Iceland died. Due to famine and disease, more than 20% of Iceland's population died over the next few months. Additionally, sulfur dioxide spread across much of the Northern Hemisphere, blocking out the sun's rays and plunging the planet into a mini-volcanic winter. Europe suffered the most from this eruption, causing crop failures and famine, leading to the infamous French Revolution.

The rest of the world was also affected by the eruption. North America suffered its longest and harshest winter, one-sixth of Egypt's population perished from famine, and the monsoon season was disorganized, affecting even regions as far away as India and Southeast Asia.

6. Super tornado outbreak, 2011, central USA

In general, tornadoes have left few traces of their existence over a long period of time. Their effects can be devastating, but from an archaeological point of view, not much evidence of tornadoes can be found. However, the largest and most destructive tornado event in human history took place in 2011 at the area colloquially known as “ tornado alley” in the USA and Canada.

From April 25 to April 28, a total of 362 tornadoes were reported and confirmed by the National Weather Service in 15 States. Destructive tornadoes occurred every day, with the most active ones recorded since April 27, with 218 tornadoes recorded. Four of them were classified as EF5, the highest rating on the Fujita Tornado Scale. On average, one EF5 tornado is reported worldwide once a year or less.

A total of 348 people were killed in this outbreak, 324 of whom died directly from the tornado. The remaining 24 people were victims of flash floods, fist-sized hail or lightning strikes. Another 2,200 people were injured. The hardest hit state was Alabama, where 252 people died. The epicenter of the impact was the city of Tuscaloosa in Alabama, where an EF4 tornado with a diameter of almost 1.5 km and wind speeds of more than 200 km/h passed through residential areas of the city. Total property damage is estimated at about $11 billion, making the 2011 super tornado outbreak one of the costliest natural disasters to hit the United States.

5. Spanish flu, worldwide

At a time when the world was gripped by the horrors of the First World War, an even more merciless killer spread across the planet. The Spanish Flu or Spanish Flu has become the deadliest pandemic in modern history, 500 million people were infected worldwide - about a third of the population - and between 20 and 50 million people died in less than six months. Since at the end of 1918 the First world war was gradually coming to an end, the influenza virus was initially overlooked, especially on the battlefield, which quickly became an ideal breeding ground for airborne disease.

For many years, scientists believed that the origins of influenza began in the trenches of France, and intensive research was carried out on this type of influenza in neutral Spain, giving it its name. spanish flu" The harsh conditions of battle were ideal for such a disease, with large numbers of people living together in squalor and often in close proximity to animals such as pigs. Moreover, the array of deadly chemicals used during World War I provided ample opportunity for the virus to mutate.

However, ten years after the war, Kansas was seriously considered as another possible breeding ground for the H1N1 influenza virus when it was discovered that 48 infantrymen had died in military camps. Later figures indicate a group of 96,000 Chinese workers who were sent to work in exchange for British and french lines. Reports of a respiratory illness that struck northern China in November 1917 were identified a year later by Chinese health officials as identical to the Spanish flu. However, no direct connection has been found between the Chinese disease and the global Spanish flu epidemic.

The effects of the pandemic can still be felt today, 100 years later, as related strains of the virus caused epidemics in 1957, 1968, and again in 2009 and 2010 during “ swine flu crisis" None of these cases were as deadly as those at the end of the First World War, when only the isolated island of Marajó in the Brazilian Amazon delta had no outbreak reported.

4. The last breakthrough of Lake Agassiz and the flood of the Black Sea, Eastern Europe

Once again Lake Agassiz makes the list, this time due to its final drainage, which occurred about 8,200 years ago. After the last flood of this large lake mentioned above, the ice sheet formed again due to cooling caused by the entry of fresh water into the Arctic Ocean. But after 1,200 years, the planet warmed up again and the lake overflowed again. But this time Agassiz merged with another equally large lake Ojibwe. The union, however, did not last long, and this time their waters rushed into Hudson Bay. As before, the planet plunged into another period of global cooling (6200 BC). However, this time the cooling was much shorter than the Younger Dryas, lasting about 150 years. However, the sudden influx of water into the oceans has led to a rise in sea levels by as much as 4 meters.

Major floods occurred in all corners of the world: from America, Europe, Africa, Arabia, South Asia and to the Pacific Islands. A large number of submerged settlements have been found throughout the world, which can probably date back to this period. Perhaps it was during this period that myths about global flood. But the biggest case of flooding occurred in Eastern Europe in the Black Sea region, which at that time was nothing more than a freshwater lake. Due to the rapid rise in sea level, the Bosphorus Strait was partially destroyed and water from Mediterranean Sea poured into the lake, which eventually turned into the Black Sea. The speed at which water entered the lake, as well as its quantity, remain a matter of debate to this day.

Some believe that more than 16 cubic kilometers of water passed through the strait in a flow 200 times greater than the flow of Niagara Falls. This continued for three centuries and 96,500 square meters were flooded. km of land, the water level rose by 15 cm per day. Others believe that the flooding was gradual and only 1,240 square meters were flooded. km.

3. Zanklinsky flood and the Mediterranean Sea

Just like the Black Sea mentioned above, the Mediterranean Sea was once a lake. As the African and Eurasian tectonic plates moved closer and closer together over many millions of years, they eventually collided. About 5.6 million years ago, their initial point of contact was between the Iberian Peninsula and the northern coast of West Africa. Isolated from the Atlantic Ocean, the modern Mediterranean lake began to evaporate due to arid conditions over several hundred thousand years. In most places, the seabed was covered with a layer of salt more than a kilometer thick. This salt was blown about by the winds, wreaking havoc on the surrounding landscape.

Fortunately, after 300,000 years, the Mediterranean Sea became full again. The likely cause is considered to be the ongoing shift of the earth's crustal plates, which in turn caused the subsidence of the land around the Strait of Gibraltar. Over the course of several thousand years, an instant in geological terms, the Atlantic Ocean dug its way through a 200-kilometer channel. The flow of water that reached the Mediterranean basin was slow at first, but even then it was three times the flow of the Amazon River today. However, it is believed that once the channel became wide enough, the flow of water became enormous, filling the remaining 90% of the Mediterranean basin in a period of several months to two years. The rise in water level could reach 10 meters per day. This event is known as the Zanklin Flood. And even today, more than 5 million years later, the Mediterranean Sea is much saltier than the ocean due to the narrow strait that connects the two.

2. Drought in northern China, 1876-79

Between 1876 and 1879, a severe drought occurred in China, killing approximately 13 million people out of a total population of 108 million. How the world emerged from its last cooling period known as the “small Ice age”, drought in the Yellow River basin began in early 1876, worsening the following year's harvest with almost no rain. It was the worst drought to hit the region in 300 years, and was likely to lead to the most a large number victims. Shanxi province suffered the most from the famine, killing approximately 5.5 million people out of a total population of 15 million.

This was not the first time China had faced a serious drought, and well into the 18th century the country invested heavily in storing and distributing grain to deal with such dire situations. In fact, the government has, on a number of occasions, taken effective measures to prevent severe droughts that could have led to widespread famine.

But this time the Qing state was significantly weakened by the middle of the century due to revolts and strong British imperialism, and was completely unprepared for a crisis of this magnitude. And although both international and local aid was provided, much of rural China was left depopulated by famine, disease and migration.

1. Collision between Earth and Theia

Although this list was not compiled in any particular order, we decided to end it with a huge cataclysmic event of astronomical proportions that made our planet what it is today. And even if scientists are not 100% sure that this happened, there is good reason to believe that this is exactly what happened. About 100 million years after the planet formed due to the gradual collection of asteroids and other space debris, the young planet Earth collided with the planet Theia, a hypothetical planet in our young solar system. This planet is believed to have been about the size of Mars, or slightly smaller, and which 4.31 billion years ago flew towards Earth and crashed into pieces.

The force of the collision brought the two planets together, forming the Earth we know and love today. The pieces ejected from the collision were captured by the planet's gravitational field and then formed the Moon. The large size of the natural satellite relative to Earth strengthens the collision hypothesis. In addition, scientists analyzed lunar rocks from the three Apollo missions and compared them with volcanic rocks found in Hawaii and Arizona and found no difference in oxygen isotopes. Further evidence of the collision is our planet's unusually large core and shell compared to other rocky worlds. solar system, like Theia's core and shell mixed with the Earth's shell.

Video about possible natural disasters in the future. Life in the 21st century seems comfortable and safe, but man can control the power of nature within very modest limits. Scientists make their predictions based on research.

The worship of the four natural elements can be traced in many philosophical and religious movements. Certainly, modern man, thinks it's funny. He, like the hero of Turgenev's novel, Evgeny Bazarov, considers nature not a temple, but rather a workshop. However, nature often reminds us of its omnipotence by throwing natural disasters at people. And then there is nothing left but to pray to the elements for mercy. Throughout its history, no matter what natural disasters have interfered with the life of mankind.

Element earth

The epicenter was in Shaanxi province. Today it is difficult to say what its magnitude was, but some scientists, based on geological data, call it 8 points. But the point is not so much in its power as in the number of victims - 830 thousand people. This number of victims is the highest among all earthquake cases.

2.2 billion cubic meters - such is the scale, or rather the volume, of the landslide; all this loose material slid from the slopes of the Muzkol ridge (height - 5 thousand m above sea level). The village of Usoy was completely overwhelmed, the flow of the Mugrab River stopped, a new lake Sarez appeared, which, growing, flooded several more villages.

Element water

The most destructive flood also occurred in China. The season was rainy, resulting in flooding of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. In total, about 40 million people were affected, 4 million people died. In some places, the water receded only after six months.

Although why look for natural disasters in Asian countries, when in 1824 a devastating flood occurred in. And today on the walls of some old houses you can see memorial markers that demonstrate the water level on the streets at that time. Fortunately, the death toll did not reach a thousand, but no one knows the exact number of victims; many are missing.

This year saw one of the worst tsunamis in Europe. It affected many coastal countries, but Portugal suffered the greatest damage. The capital Lisbon was practically wiped off the face of the earth. Over 100 thousand people died, cultural and historical monuments disappeared, for example, paintings by Rubens and Caravaggio.

Element air

Hurricane San Calixto II, which raged for a week in the Lesser Antilles Caribbean Sea, took with it over 27 thousand lives of innocent people. There is no exact data on its strength or trajectory; it is likely that its speed exceeded 320 km/h.

This powerful hurricane originated in the Atlantic Basin, its maximum speed reached 285 km/h. 11 thousand people died and approximately the same number disappeared without a trace.

8.

You and I became witnesses to this event. News footage showed the devastation of the hurricane, which killed 1,836 people and caused $125 billion in damage.

Element fire

That hot summer in Greece there were 3 thousand fires. Territories affected total area 2.7 thousand sq. km. These were agricultural lands, forests, olive groves. The fires claimed 79 lives.

Speaking of fire, how can we not mention fiery eruptions. The powerful eruption of Krakatoa that year destroyed the island itself, killing 2 thousand people. The explosion of the volcano caused a tsunami that hit neighboring islands, killing another 36 thousand people.

Every year, many disasters of various types occur in the world due to natural phenomena, technical problems, specialist errors and many other unfavorable factors. All of them often lead to tragic consequences.
They remain forever in the memory of those people who have lost relatives and friends. In memory of those who provided any assistance at the center of events, and all those who could not help, but were worried about the fate of people in trouble. This article lists the worst disasters that have ever happened in history: on water, in air, and on land.

In 1931, China experienced the largest flood in history. The Yangtze River ranks third among major rivers, with about 700 different rivers flowing into it. Every year during the rains it overflowed and caused damage.

In August 1931, the Yangtze River and the neighboring Yellow River overflowed their banks, merging into one powerful stream, and destroyed the dams. This led to a global flood. They, destroying everything in their path, flooded 16 Chinese provinces, which is about 300,000 thousand hectares of land.


More than 40 million people were affected, left without shelter, clothing or food. The water did not go away for about 4 months. As a result of prolonged famine and disease, the death toll exceeded 3.5 million people. To prevent such a tragedy, two protective dams were later built and two reservoirs were created.

Fertilizer plant

In 1984, the largest environmental disaster in history occurred in the Indian city of Bhopal. On the night of December 3, at a chemical plant producing fertilizers, one of the tanks containing the poisonous gas methyl isocyanate exploded. The volume of the tank was 40 tons.

Presumably, the cause of this accident was a violation of safety regulations. Heating occurred in the tank containing methyl isocyanate and reached a critical temperature. As a result, the emergency valve burst and gas escaped from the container.


Due to strong winds, the gas cloud quickly spread over 40 square kilometers. Unsuspecting, sleeping people had their eyes and lungs eaten away. In the first week, more than 3000 thousand people. In subsequent years, 15,000 thousand people died from disease. And about 100,000 thousand people needed treatment.
The uncleaned area of ​​the chemical plant is still infecting people. Thousands of people suffer from toxic contaminations, many children are born with disabilities.

Chernobyl tragedy

One of the worst nuclear accidents occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986. The accident was level 7 on the nuclear event scale.

The nuclear power plant was located near the city of Pripyat, which was built specifically for station workers. At that moment, more than 47,000 thousand people lived in it. In the early morning of April 26 there was powerful explosion nuclear reactor in the building of the fourth power unit.


This was led to by the ill-conceived and erroneous actions of the station engineers during testing of the turbogenerator. As a result of the accident, the nuclear reactor was completely destroyed, and a fire started in the power unit building, which was extinguished for more than a week. 600 firefighters died while extinguishing it, receiving the largest dose of radiation.

The consequences of the accident were terrifying; thousands of people lived their calm, measured lives just a few kilometers from the accident and did not know what had happened. Information about the accident was not disseminated for the first 24 hours, but when the release of radioactive substances reached a critical level, the evacuation of Pripyat and nearby settlements began.

About 800,000 thousand people participated in the liquidation of the accident. According to unofficial data, half of the liquidators received a lethal dose of radiation.

Boat trip

In 1987, the largest water disaster occurred. On December 20, the Philippine ferry Dona Paz, carrying passengers, collided with the tanker Vector, which was carrying more than 8,000 thousand barrels of oil.

As a result of the impact, the ferry was broken in half, and oil poured out of the holes in the tanker. Almost instantly a fire started, both ships and the surface of the water were burning. To escape, people jumped into the water, where fire and sharks awaited them.

Rescuers arrived only after 8 hours, only 26 people remained alive. The death toll has exceeded 4200 people. The exact cause of the accident has not been established.

Deadly tsunami

On December 26, 2004, the most powerful tsunami in history occurred in the Indian Ocean. Due to a strong underwater earthquake of magnitude 9, a rock shift occurred at a depth of 30 kilometers, which gave rise to this destructive tsunami. At that time, there was no system in the Indian Ocean that would detect a tsunami, so they could not prevent this tragedy.

Within a few hours, waves up to 20 meters high reached the coast, crushing everything in their path. Within hours, the waves caused incredible destruction in Thailand, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

In total, the tsunami reached the shores of 18 countries. It claimed the lives of more than 300,000 thousand people, 15,000 thousand people were missing and about 1.5 million people were left homeless. Restoration work lasted about five years, houses, schools and resort areas were rebuilt. After the tragedy, a system of evacuation of people was organized and a tsunami warning system was created.

Cyclone named after a flower

The devastating cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on May 3, 2008. The wind speed reached 240 km/h. The tropical cyclone destroyed many small settlements. And almost completely destroyed large city Yangon. The population was left without shelter and electricity.


As a result of the most terrible natural disaster, the death toll was 90,000 thousand people. More than 55,000 thousand people were never found. In total, more than 1.5 million people were affected. Many countries came to the rescue of Myanmar, providing material and humanitarian assistance.

Nature's cruelty

A powerful earthquake destroyed part of the island of Haiti in 2010, the magnitude of which was 7.0. The first tremors were registered on January 12, 20 kilometers from the capital of Haiti. A number of the strongest tremors continued with tremors of magnitude 5.9.
After the terrible shaking, more than 3 million people were left homeless. 60% of residential buildings and many public buildings such as schools, hospitals, cathedrals were destroyed.


The number of deaths during the natural disaster and under the rubble was 222,570 thousand people, 311,000 thousand people were wounded, and about 1,000 people were never found.

Not a cheap flight

The crash of a Japanese Boeing 747 in 1985 is considered the worst air disaster. And it ranks second in terms of death toll. On August 12, due to a Japanese holiday, there were 524 people on board along with the crew.

The cause of the disaster was poor-quality repairs to the aircraft. 12 minutes into the flight, the plane’s keel comes off, the control system fails, and at an altitude of 1,500 meters the plane crashes into a mountain.


Due to a strong fire at the crash site, the rescue operation began only 14 hours later. Many of the wounded never received help. Rescuers found notes from passengers with appeals to their families. Dead 520 people, only 4 people survived.

This article describes only a small part of the disasters that have been recorded in world history. The most widespread and tragic of them are collected here. All of them claimed millions of lives of children, adults, and old people of different nationalities and religions. After all, trouble is indifferent to gender, age and race.

Today, the world's attention is drawn to Chile, where a large-scale eruption of the Calbuco volcano began. It's time to remember 7 biggest natural disasters recent years to know what the future may hold. Nature is attacking people, just as people used to attack nature.

Eruption of Calbuco volcano. Chile

Mount Calbuco in Chile is a fairly active volcano. However, its last eruption took place more than forty years ago - in 1972, and even then it lasted only one hour. But on April 22, 2015, everything changed for the worse. Calbuco literally exploded, releasing volcanic ash to a height of several kilometers.

You can find it on the Internet huge amount videos about this amazingly beautiful spectacle. However, it is pleasant to enjoy the view only through a computer, being thousands of kilometers away from the scene. In reality, being near Calbuco is scary and deadly.

The Chilean government decided to resettle all people within a radius of 20 kilometers from the volcano. And this is only the first measure. It is not yet known how long the eruption will last and what actual damage it will cause. But this will definitely be an amount of several billion dollars.

Earthquake in Haiti

On January 12, 2010, Haiti suffered a disaster of unprecedented scale. Several tremors occurred, the main one of magnitude 7. As a result, almost the entire country was in ruins. Even the presidential palace, one of the most majestic and capital buildings in Haiti, was destroyed.

According to official data, more than 222 thousand people died during and after the earthquake, and 311 thousand suffered varying degrees of damage. At the same time, millions of Haitians were left homeless.

This is not to say that magnitude 7 is something unprecedented in the history of seismic observations. The scale of destruction turned out to be so enormous due to the high deterioration of the infrastructure in Haiti, as well as due to the extremely low quality of absolutely all buildings. In addition, the local population itself was in no hurry to provide first aid to the victims, as well as to participate in clearing the rubble and restoring the country.

As a result, an international military contingent was sent to Haiti, which took over control of the state in the first time after the earthquake, when the traditional authorities were paralyzed and extremely corrupt.

Tsunami in the Pacific Ocean

Until December 26, 2004, the vast majority of the world's inhabitants knew about tsunamis exclusively from textbooks and disaster films. However, that day will forever remain in the memory of Mankind because of the huge wave that covered the coasts of dozens of states in the Indian Ocean.

It all started with a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.1-9.3 that happened just north of the island Sumatra. It caused a gigantic wave up to 15 meters high, which spread in all directions of the ocean and wiped out hundreds of settlements, as well as world-famous seaside resorts.

The tsunami covered coastal areas in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Myanmar, South Africa, Madagascar, Kenya, Maldives, Seychelles, Oman and other countries on the Indian Ocean. Statisticians counted more than 300 thousand dead in this disaster. At the same time, the bodies of many were never found - the wave carried them into the open ocean.

The consequences of this disaster are colossal. In many places, infrastructure was never fully rebuilt after the 2004 tsunami.

Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption

The unpronounceable Icelandic name Eyjafjallajökull became one of the most popular words in 2010. And all thanks to the eruption of a volcano in the mountain range with this name.

Paradoxically, not a single person died during this eruption. But this natural disaster seriously disrupted business life around the world, primarily in Europe. After all, a huge amount of volcanic ash thrown into the sky from the mouth of Eyjafjallajökull completely paralyzed air traffic in the Old World. The natural disaster destabilized the lives of millions of people in Europe itself, as well as in North America.

Thousands of flights, both passenger and cargo, were cancelled. Daily airline losses during that period amounted to more than $200 million.

Earthquake in China's Sichuan province

As in the case of the earthquake in Haiti, the huge number of victims after a similar disaster in the Chinese province of Sichuan, which occurred there on May 12, 2008, is due to the low level of capital buildings.

As a result of the main earthquake of magnitude 8, as well as subsequent smaller tremors, more than 69 thousand people died in Sichuan, 18 thousand were missing, and 288 thousand were injured.

At the same time, the government of the People's Republic of China greatly limited international assistance in the disaster zone; it tried to solve the problem with its own hands. According to experts, the Chinese thus wanted to hide the real scale of what happened.

For publishing real data about deaths and destruction, as well as for articles about corruption that led to such huge numbers of losses, the Chinese authorities even sent the most famous contemporary Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, to prison for several months.

Hurricane Katrina

However, the scale of the consequences of a natural disaster does not always directly depend on the quality of construction in a particular region, as well as on the presence or absence of corruption there. An example of this is Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Southeast coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico at the end of August 2005.

The main impact of Hurricane Katrina fell on the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. Rising water levels in several places broke the dam protecting New Orleans, and about 80 percent of the city was under water. At this moment, entire areas were destroyed, infrastructure facilities, transport interchanges and communications were destroyed.

The population that refused or did not have time to evacuate took refuge on the roofs of houses. The main gathering place for people was the famous Superdome stadium. But it also turned into a trap, because it was no longer possible to get out of it.

The hurricane killed 1,836 people and left more than a million homeless. Damage from this natural disaster is estimated at $125 billion. At the same time, New Orleans has not been able to return to a full-fledged normal life in ten years - the city's population is still about a third less than the 2005 level.

On March 11, 2011, tremors with a magnitude of 9-9.1 occurred in the Pacific Ocean east of the island of Honshu, which led to the appearance of a huge tsunami wave up to 7 meters high. It hit Japan, washing away many coastal objects and going tens of kilometers inland.

IN different parts After the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, fires started and infrastructure, including industrial, was destroyed. In total, almost 16 thousand people died as a result of this disaster, and economic losses amounted to about 309 billion dollars.

But this turned out to be not the worst thing. The world knows about the 2011 disaster in Japan, primarily because of the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant, which occurred as a result of a tsunami wave hitting it.

More than four years have passed since this accident, but the operation at the nuclear power plant is still ongoing. And the nearest settlements were resettled forever. This is how Japan got its own.

A large-scale natural disaster is one of the options for the death of our Civilization. We have collected.

October 13 marks the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction - which is no occasion to remember the most terrible and deadly natural disasters in the history of mankind.

Earthquake in Syria. 1202

The earthquake of 1202, the epicenter of which was in the Dead Sea, was not so powerful as it was long-lasting and large-scale - it was felt over a vast territory located between Syria and Armenia. The exact number of deaths is unknown - in the 13th century no one kept a population count, but even according to the most conservative estimates, the earthquake claimed the lives of more than a million people.

Earthquake in China. 1556

One of the most destructive earthquakes in human history - in China - occurred on January 23, 1556. Its epicenter was located in the area of ​​the right tributary of the Yellow River, Weihe, and it affected 97 districts in several Chinese provinces. The earthquake was accompanied by landslides, landslides and changes in river beds, which, in turn, led to floods, and the destruction of houses and temples led to severe fires. As a result of the disaster, the soil liquefied and pulled buildings and people underground; its impact was felt even at a distance of 500 kilometers from the epicenter. The earthquake killed 830 thousand people.

Earthquake and tsunami in Portugal. 1755

The infamous Lisbon earthquake began on November 1, 1755 at nine o'clock in the morning - only twenty minutes passed from the first tremors in the sea to the moment when a 15-meter tsunami covered the central embankment of the city. Most of its inhabitants were at church services - celebrating All Saints' Day, so they had no chance of salvation. Fires started in Lisbon and lasted for ten days. In addition to the capital, sixteen more Portuguese cities were damaged, and neighboring Setubal was almost completely washed away by the tsunami. The victims of the earthquake were from 40 to 60 thousand people. Architectural gems such as the Opera House and the Royal Palace, as well as the paintings of Caravaggio, Titian and Rubens, were lost.

Great Hurricane. 1780

The Great Hurricane - or Hurricane San Calixto II - is the most powerful and deadliest tropical cyclone in human history. It originated in early October 1780 in the Cape Verde Islands and raged for a week. On October 10, at a speed of 320 kilometers per hour, San Calixto II struck Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia and St. Eustatius, leaving thousands of dead everywhere. The islands of Dominica, Guadeloupe, Antigua and St. Kitts were also affected. The great hurricane destroyed houses to the ground and tore ships from their anchors and smashed them against the rocks, and heavy cannons flew in the air like matches. As for human casualties, a total of 27 thousand people died during the rampage of San Calixto II.

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History knows several eruptions of the Krakatoa volcano, but the most destructive was the one that happened on August 27, 1883. Then, as a result of the most powerful explosion in the history of mankind, 20 cubic kilometers of stones and ash and a jet of steam 11 meters high literally tore apart a volcanic island in the Sunda Strait - between the islands of Java and Sumatra. The shock waves circled the globe seven times and formed a tsunami 36 meters high that hit the coast, killing 36 thousand people. In total, 200 thousand people died as a result of the Krakatoa eruption.

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Several floods in China, following one after another, claimed a total of 4 (!) million lives. Historians believe that this is the largest and most tragic natural disaster in human history. In August 1931, the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, overflowing their banks as a result of prolonged rains, destroyed the dams holding them back and began to flow, sweeping away everything in their path. The water completely destroyed agriculture in several dozen provinces, and the city of Gaoyu, located on the shore of the lake, was completely washed away. But the most terrible thing was the human sacrifice: those who did not die from the water died from devastation, hunger and epidemics.

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On May 31, 1970, due to an earthquake, the epicenter of which was in the Pacific Ocean, a rock-ice avalanche broke off from Mount Huascarana in Peru and, moving at a speed of a thousand kilometers per hour, covered the towns of Ranragirk and Yungay located in the valley of the Rio Santa River - all that was left of them was a cemetery with the figure of Christ hovering above it. In just a few minutes, the avalanche wiped them and several other small villages, including the ports of Kasma and Chimbote, off the face of the earth. The result of the cataclysm: 70 thousand dead, among whom were Czech climbers who were planning to conquer the Andes, and 150 thousand wounded. The memory of those whose lives were taken by the avalanche was honored in Peru with eight days of mourning.

Cyclone Bhola. 1970

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George Harrison at a charity concert in Bangladesh.

Tropical Cyclone Bhola is one of the worst natural disasters of the 20th century. On November 13, 1970, a wave 15 (!) meters high hit the islands and coast of East Pakistan, washing away entire settlements and agricultural land along its path. In a short time, 500 thousand people died - mostly elderly people and children. The disaster had political consequences: riots began, the participants of which accused the Pakistani government of inaction and slow elimination of the consequences. Started civil war between East Pakistan and the central government, which resulted in the declaration of independence of Bangladesh.

The whole world helped restore the affected areas. One of the most famous charity events was the concert organized by George Harrison: inviting many famous performers, he raised a quarter of a million dollars in one day.

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It's hot in Europe. 2003

The heat wave that swept across the continent in 2003—the hottest summer since the end of World War II—caught European health care systems by surprise, which were unprepared for the strain of not just tens, but hundreds and thousands of people needing medical care. Countries such as France, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Croatia and Bulgaria were particularly affected. Temperatures in some areas did not drop below +40°C. The first to be hit were the elderly, as well as allergy sufferers and those who suffered from cardiovascular diseases. In total, about 70 thousand people died on the European continent that summer.

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Tsunami in the Indian Ocean. 2004

Along with the European heatwave of 2003, many people also remember the tsunami in the Indian Ocean that happened a year and a half later - Ukrainian citizens were among the dead. The deadly wave was the result of the largest earthquake in the history of the Indian Ocean, which occurred on December 26, 2004. Its magnitude on the Richter scale was 9. As a result, a tsunami was formed, the height of which in the coastal zone was 15 meters, and in the splash zone - 30 meters. An hour and a half after the earthquake, it reached the shores of Thailand, two hours later - Sri Lanka and India, and claimed the lives of 250 thousand people.