Top 10 Natural Calamities in news in 2021
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Top 10 Natural Calamities in news in 2021
The year 2021 witnessed some of the most unfortunate natural calamities, from earthquakes to flash floods to sandstorms. However, despite the tragedies, the human spirit rose above these setbacks and as a human race, we helped and did whatever we could for one another to sail through the natural calamities.
United States of America (USA)
Powerful tornadoes affect states in the US
Some of the states in the United States (US) were greatly impacted by tornadoes. The places impacted include Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. The US President described this event to be the largest storm break in the history of the US.
Hurricane Ida hit the southern US state of Louisiana. The storm has knocked out power in the entire city of New Orleans. New Orleans is a famous city renowned for its music, food, language and its annual festivals, the most famous being Mardi Gras.
Ida made landfall as a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with winds of 150 miles per hour. It got downgraded down later to a Category 2 storm,
Russia & USA
The Bootleg Fire in Oregon burned almost 400,000 acres of forests. It became the largest wildfire in the United States. More than 2000 people were moved to safety. Officials banned campfires in state parks and state-managed forests in the area. Firefighters fought 79 large fires burning across 13 states. Winds carried the smoke from the wildfires even to New York City, which recorded its worst air quality day in over a decade.
Siberia in Russia is known for its severe cold temperatures. But people experienced one of their worst wildfire seasons. The wildfires in the Yakutia region of Siberia consumed more than 6.5 million acres since the beginning of the year. Its capital Yakutsk is known as the world’s coldest city. But even this city was affected by smoke from the wildfires nearby.
Europe
Heavy rains led to severe floods across countries in central and western Europe. They include Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Slovakia. Floods also affected the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
Extreme heavy rains led rivers to overflow, breaking their banks. This is especially the case for the Danube and Elbe rivers.
The floods damaged houses, bridges and washed away cars. Authorities have made moved people away for safety. The floods led to the deaths of over 120 people. Germany seems to have been the most severely affected.
China
A huge sandstorm hit a city called Dunhuang in China. The storm swallowed up big buildings and covered everything in sand and dust. All the sand made it very difficult for people and cars to see the road. Police had to stop cars from moving about.
Heavy rains have led to roads and metro stations being flooded in Henan, a province in central China. They affected many cities including the capital, Zhengzhou. Zhengzhou received a year’s worth of rainfall in just three days.
South-East Asia
A powerful earthquake in Indonesia
On 14 December 2021, there was a powerful earthquake in Indonesia. It struck off the coast of South Sulawesi province. The earthquake was of 7.3 magnitudes. Indonesia has been home to many natural calamities like earthquakes., tsunamis and floods.
Fortunately, the locals did not report any damages or destruction. However, the people experienced trembling and shaking of the ground.
Typhoon Rai hits the Philippines
Typhoon Rai hit the Philippines as tens of thousands left their homes. Around 190,000 people were evacuated (moved) from the cities, towns and villages in the path of the typhoon. Several cities and low-lying areas experienced floods and landslides.
India
Heavy rainfall and Floods
The heavy rains of the monsoon affected different parts of the country. Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Mumbai were especially affected by floods.
Madhya Pradesh experienced heavy rainfall in the Gwalior-Chambal regions, especially the Shivpuri and Sheopur districts. These cities experienced excessive rainfall of 800 mm in the last 24 hours. Authorities rescued about 1600 people from the flooded areas.
Uttar Pradesh (UP) experienced heavy rainfall. It affected 21 districts of UP including Hamirpur, Bundelkhand and Jalaun districts. Authorities said that over 357 villages in Uttar Pradesh were affected by floods.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Assam faced devastating floods due to heavy rains too. About 3.63 lakh people across 21 districts have been affected.
Heavy rainfall affected several parts of Kerala. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had put six districts on red alert. The Army and Air Force along with the NDRF were involved in rescue operations. PM Modi also had a meeting with the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to discuss the situation.
Heavy rainfall and landslides in Uttarakhand led to blocked roads. Ranikhet and Almora had been cut off from the plains.
Chennai in Tamil Nadu received record rainfall. It is the heaviest the city has received since 2015. This led to floods and waterlogging in the city. As such schools and colleges in Chennai were closed. Relief teams also carried out rescue operations across the city. 22 other districts in Tamil Nadu also experienced heavy rains.
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