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The World’s Worst Natural Disasters in History – Drought, Famine and Disease
Natural disaster is defined by Dictionary.com as “any event or force of nature that has catastrophic consequences, such as avalanche, earthquake, flood, forest fire, hurricane, lightning, tornado, tsunami, and volcanic eruption.”
Collins Dictionary also defines it as “a natural event which causes a lot of damage and kills a lot of people.”
As such, the world has never been spared of natural calamities that have not only claimed thousands to millions of lives; they have also caused extensive destruction of properties.
In recent times, natural disasters have been occuring at a high rate especially drought and famine. Human activities have been blamed for contributing
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It will be noted it is hard to term some natural disasters worse than others as it depends on several criteria. Some will label natural disasters in terms of lives claimed or killed while others the magnitude of damage to property or the cost of rebuilding. In cases like earthquake, it will depend on the magnitude of the earthquake.
Definition of Famine and Drought
Famine can be defined as “extreme and general scarcity of food, as in a country or a large geographical area,” or “any extreme and general scarcity,” or “extreme hunger; starvation,” according to Dictionary.com.
On the other hand, Drought is defined as “a period of dry weather, especially a long one that is injurious to crops,” or “an extended shortage,” or “thirst.”
The Black Death
Also known as ‘The Black Plague’ or ‘The Bubonic Plague,’ this plague was the worst epidemic ever to hit the European region and parts of the world.
The epidemic which swept through Europe from 1348 to 1351 killed an estimated of between 25-60% of Europeans. There are reports that put the percentage at 33% while some go as far as to estimate two-thirds of the population died from the plague epidemic. In figures, it would translate from between 75 to 200 million
What is the most devastating natural disaster known? Hurricanes are one of the most catastrophic and natural events to ever be experienced. They can be up to 600 miles across and have wind speed of 75 to 200 mph. Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina happened to be two of the most devastating hurricanes in history.
The Black Plague of 14th century Europe was one of the deadliest scourges in history. It struck in 1347 claiming millions of lives in a horrific kind of death, leaving destruction and devastation in its wake. No part of Europe was left untouched by this disease. No portion of society was spared in its horrific effects. Five years later, by 1353, the plague had run its course but it forever changed society as it had once existed in 14th century Europe.
The Bubonic Plague, or more commonly known as ‘The Black Death’ or ‘The Black Plague,’ was one of the most devastating and deadliest pandemics that humans have ever witnessed in the history of mankind. The disease spanned two continents in just a few years, marking every country between Western Europe all the way to China. During the reign of the plague, which is estimated to be the years between 1347-1352, it is estimated that “20 million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population” was killed off due to the plague. The Black Plague would change the course of European history since the plague knew no boundaries and inflicted its wrath upon the rich and the poor alike. As a result, not only did the plague have a devastating demographic impact which encountered a massive social disruption, but also, an economic and religious impact as well.
The Bubonic Plague or "Black Death" began in China but soon after spread to Europe during the 1330's. This was a very terrifying time for the Europeans mostly because they did not understand what was causing them to become sick. The plague caused many odd things to happen to the citizens infected, for example, it caused the groin area and the armpits to swell in both men and women.The body would then become covered in black spots on the arms, thighs, and other various parts of the body; this later would result into death. The thing about this disease that made everyone so fearful of being contaminated is the fact that there was no cure for the people affected by the Black Death, so they just withered away as the Plague took over their entire body (Document: 2).
The black plague was an extremely deadly disease that originally struck Europe in the fifteenth century. However, outbreaks continued to occur until the eighteenth century. The plague was spread through rats that were infected by disease carrying fleas. Once infected, a person would typically die within days. It is estimated that over 25 million people, or about 1/3 of western Europe’s population died. People had very mixed opinions of the plague and the effects it had on the continent.
The Black Death, or Bubonic Plague is a highly contagious disease that was spread by rats and other rodents that killed more than one third of the population in Europe. This disease is called the Black Plague because its symptoms produced black, skin around its swellings. This started in Europe in 1328 and lasted till 1351, although it still had prevalent outbreaks. Some of the symptoms are high fever, bleeding in the lungs, vomiting and painful swellings (buboes) of the lymph nodes. These would appear throughout would appear in various parts of the body. The colors of the buboes would start off red, and over time turn turn black. Victims in the Middle Ages and doctors had no idea what caused these disease. Doctors used various herbs to try to heal its victims, but sadly, there was no cure.
The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, or the Bubonic Plague killed one third of the population of Europe during its reign in the 13th and 14th centuries. The arrival of this plague set the scene for years of strife and heroism. Leaving the social and
The Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the Black Death, is a raging disease. Most people think of it as the physical Grim Reaper of their town or community. The disease lasted about six years, 1347 to 1352. The Bubonic Plague was a travesty that has traveled throughout Europe and has raged and decimated both large and small towns, putting Europe through a lot. The disease spreads through a bacteria called Yersinia Pestis.
“Every year many catastrophes happen around the world causing death and destruction. In New Orleans, a category 4 hurricane hit. Damaging winds and major flooding caused many people to lose their lives. Hurricane Katrina will be remembered by everybody in New Orleans and around the world” said Hurricane Katrina-FEMA (FEMA). According to History.com Staff, Hurricane Katrina was declared the costliest and most destructive natural disaster in history, because of the strong winds and storm causing destruction of many towns and communities for more than million people (History.com).
A change in global or regional climate patterns, a change which was noticed during the mid 20th century due to excessive use of fossil fuels.
The Black Plague (1348-1350), generated so many issues with the economy, social problems within society and a huge loss that triggered distress for many people. It is the most tragic disease that Europe has ever faced, it killed one point five million people out of four million in their society, and it affected all age groups (especially ones with a weak immune system). People all over Europe were torn apart by this dreadful disease and it provoked heartache, pain and sadness everywhere.
Drought is a multi-causal and complex environmental issue, and can have serious socioeconomic consequences. Recently, IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) in Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) concluded that South Asia and the Middle East would experience sever, prolonged droughts as a result of global climate changes, explicitly the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (IPCC, 2007). Drought is a weather-related natural disaster whose effect is aggravated by human activities. Sometime drought affects large regions and even several countries for a long period of time. Drought has a serious impact on food productivity of a land, and even on the life expectancy of inhabitants. The aftermath of drought involves in socioeconomic, ecological issues (WGA, 1996) (Jeyaseelan, 2005; Pongracza et al., 1996). Iran encompassing drylands has been periodically jeopardized by drought events, which have devastatingly affected society and environment (Shamsipour et al., 2008). Therefore, the study of drought needs several sources of datasets. In other words, the design of a planning project for a region for sustainable development, the acquisition of updated data is critical, particularly for countries with arid to semi-arid climates.
Natural Disasters can occur anywhere at anytime. Some are more predictable than others, but they all bring hardship to everyone’s life. Examples of natural disasters are Earthquakes (Haiti 2010), Tornadoes, Tsunami, Hurricanes, Wild Fires, Winter Storms, Heat waves, Mudslides and Floods. Regardless of what kind of disaster occurs, bottom line, everyone needs to be prepared mentally and physically to deal with the aftermath. Education is the first step to prepare you to deal with any major disaster. Three of the major disasters that can potentially disrupt normal day to day operations in our lives, are Hurricanes, Tsunamis and Tornadoes.
There are different types and causes of disasters: man-made, natural and a combination. Man-made disasters are caused by human error or human actions that cause harm to the environment, and people (Baack & Alfred, 2013). Natural disasters are caused by nature, a hurricane for example, and a combination of NA-TECH (natural-technological). Examples are earthquakes that cause structural damage such as a collapse of a bridge (Nies & McEwen, 2011). Communities must have effective emergency preparedness in place to reduce the casualties of a disaster.
The least violent type of natural disasters is the flood; it is one of the most frequent hazards. A flood can affect local areas or a very large area affecting entire river deltas. Not all foods are alike, some of them develop slowly over a period days and some of them occur in a matter of minutes. The floods that develop quickly are known as flash floods; flash floods have a dangerous wall of thunderous water that carries rocks, mud and other different debris. If you live in a low-lying area near water you more prone to flooding, the smallest streams, gullies, creeks, and streambeds can cause a flood. Floods are often not a common thought when you think of a natural disaster, but they can be fatal, destroy homes, businesses, and roads, happen when you least expect, and happen when you are not prepared (FEMA:Flood). An extreme example of this type of natural disaster is the flood in eastern Australia last month; the flood, which lasted for weeks, caused thirty dea...