2024 Disasters in Numbers
<p>In 2024, the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) recorded 393 natural hazard-related disasters. These events caused 16,753 fatalities and affected 167.2 million people. Economic losses totaled US$241.95
Natural Disasters
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M6.7 quake hits Tokyo, Ibaraki, Saitama and Chiba; 6 hurt
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 hit extensive areas centering on the Kanto region including Tokyo in the early hours of Thursday injuring six people, with an early warning failing to be issued in time. The six people in Tokyo, Ibaraki, Saitama and Chiba prefectures sustained minor injuries due to the 1:45 a.m. quake, according to the government's Fire and Disaster Management Agency. Smaller quakes were observed before and after that quake.
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Myanmar needs help, now
It poses a real dilemma for humanitarian agencies about how far they should be prepared to accept restrictions of their operations in the interests of the people they are trying to help. But in the wake of the recent cyclone they must act fast to save lives. BROOKS NO DELAY: Residents of Yangon in search of water. International aid has barely begun to trickle into cyclone-stricken Myanmar.
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Burma had issued a warning
The World Meteorological Organisation said on Wednesday that Burma had issued warnings ahead of the devastating cyclone, but could not confirm whether they reached the population. The WMO also said it is unclear if Burma has contingency plans to deal with natural disasters, such as the one which has left 22,000 dead, and that it will send a team to help the country develop such emergency procedures.
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Junta faces political risks due to cyclone
The deadly cyclone that ripped into Burma over the weekend could shake the stranglehold on power of the country's ruling generals, becoming a force for change more powerful than massive pro-democracy demonstrations and international sanctions. Natural disasters by themselves are unlikely to trigger change, but instead tend to help undermine already corrupt or failing systems.
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Junta keeps world aid on hold
Visa denied to volunteers, Ban will
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95% of Bogalay city wiped out
Out Of 2 Lakh Population, 10,000 Killed Yangon: The cyclone that hit Myanmar at the weekend destroyed 95% of the homes in the city of Bogalay, where more than 10,000 people died, the minister for social welfare told reporters on Tuesday. Most of the 1,90,000 residents of Bogalay were homeless after the storm swept through the Irrawaddy river delta in the early hours of Saturday, Maung Maung Swe told a press conference.
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Burma media warns of disease risk
Burma's state media on Tuesday urged people to take precautions against disease in regions hit by tropical Cyclone Nargis. The cyclone tore through south-western Burma at the weekend, devastating the Irrawaddy Delta region and hammering the nation's main city of Rangoon. Many of the city's six million people were spending a fourth day on Tuesday without water or electricity, as trash and debris piled on the sidewalks. State radio urged people to safeguard their health and "to drink boiled water and keep pests out of food."
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Burma toll climbs to 22,500
Burma's military government raised its death toll from cyclone Nargis on Tuesday to nearly 22,500 with a further 41,000 missing, nearly all of them from a massive storm surge that swept into the Irrawaddy delta. The United Nations' World Food Programme began doling out emergency rice in Rangoon and the first batch of more than $10 million worth of foreign aid arrived from Thailand on Tuesday, but a lack of specialised equipment slowed distribution.
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India to fly in more aid for Myanmar
India is despatching more assistance to cyclonehit Myanmar in the form of two AN-32 aircraft carrying relief and medical supplies. India had earlier sent two ships carrying food and other relief items to Yangon on Monday. The ministry of external affairs said on Tuesday that all possible help has been offered to the country which was hit by cyclone