Top 10 natural disasters in 2010

1. Pakistan Floods
Pakistan floods began in July 2010 following heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin. Floods have submerged 17 million acres of Pakistan's most fertile crop land, have killed 200,000 herd of livestock and have washed away massive amounts of grain. The power infrastructure of Pakistan also took a severe blow from the floods. Floods have damaged an estimated 2,433 miles of highway and 3,508 miles of railway. The number of individuals affected by the flooding exceeds the combined total of individuals affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Enough said.


2. Haiti Earthquake
Haiti earthquake was a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, Haiti. The Haitian government reported that an estimated 230,000 people had died, 300,000 had been injured and 1,000,000 made homeless. They also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings had collapsed or were severely damaged. Many countries responded to appeals for humanitarian aid, pledging funds and dispatching rescue and medical teams, engineers and support personnel.



3. Russian Wildfires
Russian wildfires were several hundred wildfires that broke out across Russia, primarily in the west, starting in late July 2010, due to record temperatures and drought in the region. Deaths in Moscow were averaging 700 people a day. An estimated 56,000 people in all died from the effects of the smog and heat wave.



4. Sumatra Earthquake & Tsunami
Sumatra earthquake was a magnitude 7.7 earthquake, which occurred on October, 2010 off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake's worst effects were felt on the remote Mentawai Islands. Many villages on the islands were affected by the tsunami, which reached a height of 9 ft and swept as far as 1800 ft inland. Unlike in 2004, the tsunami caused by the October 2010 earthquake did not propagate westwards and other Indian Ocean nations were unaffected.


5. Gansu Mudslide
Gansu mudslide was a deadly mudslide in Zhugqu, China on 8 August 2010. It was caused by heavy rainfall and flooding in Gansu Province. The mudslides killed more than 1,471 people and 294 remain missing. An estimated 1.8 million cubic meters of mud and debris flattened three villages in Zhouqu. Torrential flows of mud and rocks destroyed roads and power lines and left almost 300 houses leveled and about 700 seriously damaged.


6. Leh Floods
Floods occurred on August 6, 2010 in Leh in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. At least 190 people were killed and many more are missing after flash floods hit Leh in Ladakh. Massive rescue operations were underway involving the state police, paramilitary forces and the army in Leh town. The cloudbursts left a trail of death and destruction. The district hospital was flooded, bus stands flattened and vehicles were seen floating in the town.



7. Kohistan Avalanche
Avalanche occurred in the Kohistan District, North West Frontier Province, Pakistan on February 17, 2010, striking the village of Bagaro Serai and killing up to 102 people, including 52 children, were killed and 45 are still buried in the 15-feet snow. Policemen and volunteers had to hike through the night to reach the scene of the avalanche and the police faced communication problems as radio reception was hampered by the mountainous terrain.



8. Chile Earthquake
On February 27th, a devastating magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile, one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. According to Chilean authorities, over 520 people awere killed. The earthquake also triggered a Tsunami in the Pacific. People were found dead after the earthquake struck , mostly under buildings and inside cars. Many people were also seriously injured. Most injuries were reported in Santiago and Maule. Nearly half the places in the country were declared "catastrophe zones", and curfews were imposed in some areas of looting and public disorder.



9. Ugandan Landslide
At least 70 people were dead and hundreds are still missing after a landslide swept through a mountainous region in eastern Uganda. The landslide happened in the Budada region, about 275 kilometres east of the capital Kampala. The landslides moved through three villages overnight, swamping houses, stores and at least one school.


10. Eyjafjallajökull Eruption
Iceland had a volcano eruption near the Eyjafjallajokull glacier for the first time since 1820. The Iceland volcano eruption took place under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier, forcing the evacuation of 450 people. Eyjafjallajökull is among the largest volcanoes in Iceland and one of few that can be categorized as a stratovolcano, which is common in many other countries around the world. Airports in the UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Finland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania were closed or canceled many of their scheduled flights. The ash was so dangerous to planes because the small particles can get into the plane’s engines and shut them down.