Dead naturally!
In the last two decades, the number of persons affected by disasters increased at the rate of six per cent per year, which corresponds to three times the annual population growth. There were nearly 600 natural catastrophes in 1995 which claimed about 20,000 lives, displaced millions and resulted in total financial losses of around US $180 billion (the figures for 1994 were 580 disasters, 10,000 deaths and loss of $65 billion). Out of the $180 billion, the Kobe earthquake alone caused a loss of US $96 billion. At the beginning of the century, less than one in three large earthquakes caused casualties. This number has gradually risen throughout this century, and in the ’90s, two earthquakes in every three have been killers. With rapid growth of urban areas, it becomes necessary to ensure that urban communities suffer the least from the avoidable and unavoidable disasters that will strike them in the future.Making a green mark Although some areas are more vulnerable, no region on earth is hundred per cent safe from the threat of a sudden natural disaster. More attention is, therefore, needed for long-term planning to mitigate disasters.
| Temblor trauma |
| Off all natural disaster in 1995,the Kobe quake was the biggest killer |
| EARTHQUAKE IN 1995 |
| Place | Magnitude* | Date | Dead |
| Japan | 7.2 | January | 5,502 |
| Colombia | 6.5 | Febeuary | 34 |
| Colombia | 5.1 | March | 8 |
| Russian Fed | 7.5 | May | 1,825 |
| Greece | 6.1 | June | 26 |
| Chile | 7.8 | July | 3 |
| China | 6.4 | October | 20 |
| Turkey | 6.1 | October | 101 |
| Indonesia | 7 | October | 84 |
| Mexico | 6.8 | October | 40 |
| *On the Richter scaleOn the Richter scale |
| Gone with the wind |
The year 1995 was the second worst hurricane season ever recorded
|
| CYCLONES/HURRICANES/TYPHOONS IN 1995 |
| Place | Disaster | Date | Dead |
| Bahmas | Hurricane Erin | August | 0 |
| Cuba | Hurricane Erin | August | 0 |
| Caribbean | Hurricane Luis | September | 5 |
| Caribbean | Hurricane Marylin | September | 0 |
| Philippines | Storm Sybil | October | 35 |
| Philippines | Topical Storm Zack | October | 88 |
| Philippines | Typhoon Angela+floods | October | 722 |
| Philippines | Typhoon Zack | November | 253 |
| Bangladesh | Cyclone | November | 0 |
| Bangladesh | Cyclone | November | 0 |
| Watery graves |
| Among all the natural disasters,floods by far take the largest number of human lives |
| FLOODS/LANDSLIDES IN 1995 | FLOODS/LANDSLIDES IN 1995 |
| Place | Disaster | Date | Dead | Place | Disaster | Date | Dead |
| India | Avalanches | January | 63 | Pakistan | Monsoon rains | July | 451 |
| Botswana | Floods | March | 20 | Morocco | Floods | August | 230 |
| Afghanistan | Landslides | March | 350 | Korea North | Floods | August | 70 |
| Bangladesh | Storms | April | 119 | Korea South | Floods | August | 36 |
| Indonesia | Floods | May | 51 | Philippines | Floods | September | 48 |
| Ethiopia | Floods | May | 27 | Myanmar | Floods | September | 51 |
| Bangladesh | Floods | June | 66 | Vietnam | Floods | September | 85 |
| Nepal | Landslides | June | 85 | Thailand | Floods | October | 231 |
| China | Floods | July | 1,179 | Turkey | Floods | November | 62 |
| Ghana | Floods | July | 40 | South Africa | Floods | December | 161 |
