Most important disaster that happened recently (2010-2011)

Introduction:

Haiti earthquake, heat wave in Russia, Pakistan floods, volcanic eruptions in Indonesia were the forces of nature have been particularly deadly in 2010. With 390,511 dead, the human toll of natural disasters for the past year was the highest since at least 1983. A total recorded 788 natural disasters happened in 2010, a figure well above the average of the last thirty years (630 disasters per year). They were almost 6 times more people than the average of disasters since 1980: over 390 000 deaths against 66 000 on average and were more costly (130 billion dollars in damages against an average of 95 billion).

The man often has a responsibility in the assessment of these tragedies, experts said. The earthquake of magnitude 7 has struck Haiti on Jan. 12, killing more than 316,000 dead and some two million homeless, is a perfect example. Ravaged by the earthquake, Port-au-Prince nearly three times the population and more than 25 years ago slums. If the same earthquake occurred in 1985, the total number of deaths was probably about 80 000.

On 27 February, a far more powerful earthquake , of magnitude 8.8, triggered a tsunami and the death of "only" 486 people in a less populated region of Chile, with less poor and buildings more resistant than Port-au- Prince. The year was also marked by two episodes of extreme weather. This summer, Russia has experienced a deadly heat wave during which a record temperature of 38.2 degrees Celsius was recorded in Moscow. The excess mortality due to this event was estimated at 55,000 dead by the Russian authorities. For its part, Pakistan has been hit by catastrophic floods that have submerged 160,000 square kilometers and is 2,600 dead (G, 10).

Discussion:

Extreme weather episodes occurred this year appears as symptoms of global warming caused by man. The researchers calculated that without global warming, the heat wave this summer in Russia would occur once every 100,000 years. Preliminary data show that 2010 was the warmest year ever recorded in 18 countries. And it could be the warmest year ever recorded on the planet or at least one of the three warmest, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (G, 10).

If the earthquake in Haiti was by far the deadliest disaster before the heat wave in Russia and floods in Pakistan and earthquake also killed people in Chile, Turkey, China and Indonesia. Seismic activity was intense in 2010. Between January and mid-December, 20 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or greater were counted, usually against a fortnight.

Natural disasters had been more deadly since 1983, a year marked by drought and famine in Ethiopia, according to WHO. Natural disasters have also caused $ 222 billion (169 billion Euros) in economic losses in 2010. It's more than average, but not a record. In Iceland, the volcano paralyzed traffic for days in Europe, with significant impact on economic activity of the continent (B, 20).

The floods killed 6,300 killed in 59 countries between January and September, according to ...