Worst natural disasters in 2016
In 2016, three major earthquakes rocked the world by their deadly nature including 663 killed in Ecuador. Storms, floods, landslides and notorious disease Ebola also claimed human lives. Other than lives, natural and human resources were destroyed by the natural calamities.
Deadly earthquakes
- April 16 - 663 killed in Ecuador
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes coastal Ecuador, killing 663 people, the worst ever in decades, in April 16, 2016.
The quake struck off the Pacific coast and was felt around the Andean nation of 16 million people, causing panic as far away as the highland capital Quito and collapsing buildings and roads in a swath of western towns.
Several strong tremors and more than 700 aftershocks have continued to shake the country since the major quake, sparking momentary panic but little additional damage. Tremors are expected to continue for several weeks.
With close to 7,000 buildings destroyed, more than 25,000 people were living in shelters. Some 14,000 security personnel were keeping order in quake-hit areas, with only sporadic looting reported.
- August 24 - 290 killed in Italy
At least 290 people were killed in a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in central Italy on August 24, 2016.
Around 387 people have been hospitalised with injuries but no one has been pulled alive from the piles of collapsed masonry since the devastation.
Some 2,100 people who spent the night in hastily-erected tented villages were shaken by a 4.8 magnitude aftershock just after 6:00 am yesterday morning.
- December 7 – 100 killed in Aceh, Indonesia quake
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit the northern province of Aceh, killing 100 people and leaving thousands homeless on December 7, 2016.
The powerful earthquake toppled dozens of buildings and injured hundreds of people, was the worst disaster to hit the region since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Devastating storm
Hurricane Matthew
- October 8 – 842 killed in Haiti
Hurricane Matthew killed more than 800 people and left tens of thousands homeless in its rampage through Haiti earlier this week before it lashed Florida yesterday with howling winds and rolled northward up the US Atlantic coast.
The number of deaths in Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, surged to at least 842 yesterday as information trickled in from remote areas previously cut off by the storm, according to a Reuters tally of death tolls given by officials.
Damaging flood and landslide
Louisiana flood
- Aug 14 – 13 killed in Louisiana flooding
At least 13 people have died across five parishes in Louisiana flooding in the US in August, 2016.
The catastrophic flood devastating Louisiana is now the worst natural disaster to strike the United States since Hurricane Sandy four years ago, the Red Cross said.
"Thousands of people in Louisiana have lost everything they own and need our help now," said Brad Kieserman, the Red Cross' vice president of disaster services operations and logistics.
Sri Lanka landslide
- May 18 - 150 ‘buried’ in Sri Lanka landslide
Around 150 people are feared dead after more than three days of heavy rain triggered two landslides in central Sri Lanka.
Half a million people who have been driven from their homes across the South Asian country by heavy rains and landslides that have killed at least 71.
Return of Ebola
- Jan 21 – Ebola return feared in Sierra Leone
Fears of a fresh flare-up of Ebola were reported on January 21 just days after West Africa was declared officially free of the disease.
The World Health Organization had declared the West African region Ebola-free on January 15, but stressed the need for vigilance in the months to come. The two-year epidemic has killed more than 11,300 people across West Africa.