Hazards being seen all over the world

Natural Hazards are always occurring. Most of them we never we hear about, earthquakes that are too minor to report, storms that don't quite make it hurricane status. This week has seen some serious incidents around the world.

1. The UK
Heavy rain has been seen all over the UK. Localised flooding has been experienced in many areas, causing disruption to traffic and people. Over a months worth of rain has fallen in 24 hours in some places. Devon has been worst hit. One man died after his car came off the wet road. Events such as motor car racing and music concerts have been cancelled (including the Godiva festival in Coventry)
Click here to read more about English floods

2. Russia
If you think our rain has been bad, they've had much worse in Russia. In one area at least 155 people have been killed after they experienced 5 times more rain than normal and severe floods occurred.
Click here to read more about Russian floods

3. India
In NE India, over 120 people have been confirmed killed after heavy Monsoon rains flooded towns and approximately 2000 villages. 2.2 million people have been displaced (made homeless).Hundreds of animals have also been killed.
Click here to read more about India floods

4. USA
It's not rain that is the problem (yet) in America, but the heat. A heat wave has killed 42 people across the East of the country. The temperatures should drop by Monday (9th July) but there could be thunderstorms and floods afterwards.
Click here to read more about USA heatwave

So, as we wonder if we're ever going to have some sun and a summer, be grateful were not experiencing the loss of life that some parts of the world, rich and poor, are experiencing.

Philippines Flood Death Toll Nears 1,000

2011 ends with yet another natural disaster. This one has claimed the lives of 1000 people in the Philippines. The flooding was caused by tropical storm Washi, which swept through the southern Philippines on Friday evening, dropping a month's worth of rain in 24 hours. About 143,000 people were affected in 13 southern and central states.

Conditions remain chaotic at the evacuation centres, mainly schools and gymnasiums, and with no running water fire trucks were being used to deliver supplies. Officials warned that the crowded conditions could lead to outbreaks of leptospirosis, diarrhoea, cholera, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, and dysentery, with children and pregnant women the most vulnerable. 

"The problem is we only have one or two toilets per school, and they have to cater to 3 000 or 4 000 users," said Iligan health officer Levy Villarin.

Click on the headline to read more on the story or click here to be taken to the recent Channel 4 documentary "The Year the Earth went wild"

Earthquake in Haiti

On Tuesday a big earthquake hit the poor Caribbean country of Haiti.

The extent of the devastation from the huge quake in Haiti is slowly emerging thousands of people feared dead.

Jordan, Brazil and China have all reported deaths, and France says it fears the Tunisian head of the UN mission in Haiti has been killed.

The 7.0-magnitude quake, Haiti's worst in two centuries, struck south of the capital, Port-au-Prince, on Tuesday.

The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected

The quake's epicentre was only 10 miles from the Capital city, Port-au-Prince, which has a population of about 1 million, and aftershocks as powerful as 5.9 rattled the city throughout the night and into today. Reports on casualties and damage were slow to get out of Haiti due to communication problems.

As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is ill-equipped to respond to such a disaster, lacking heavy equipment to move debris and a sufficient force of emergency personnel.


Click the headline to go to BBC reports about the disaster.