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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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February
2008
Volume 14 -
Number 1 |
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Summary
of Disasters Worldwide – 2007
By Greg Carnevale A review of 2007 disasters uncovered a list of events
that were caused by man and nature leaving a catastrophic footprint on lives
and economics worldwide.
In 2007, Asia suffered the largest loss of lives with the total exceeding 16,500. Economically, an approximate $62.5 billion in damages was lost. Both deaths and dollars were reported by an un-named U.N. research group. This past year’s event with the single greatest loss of life was Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh claiming 4,234 victims. The Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters in Belgium also stated that 2007 was a year where 8 of the10 biggest disasters were due to flooding. Taking an alternative look at the impact of disasters in 2007, we can conclude that numerous small disasters (with an absence of a mega-catastrophe) brought a collective disaster of their own to the insurance industry. The most economically destructive event of the year was a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan's Niigata, causing $12.5 billion of damages. The most expensive event for the insurance industry was winter storm Kyrill, causing $10 billion worth of damage, $5.8 billion of which was insured. These numbers were reported by the Munich Re Group, one of the world's leading risk carrier and financial services provider. Comparatively speaking, 2007 was a fairly quiet year for global disasters. Though quiet, the disasters that were seen still had catastrophic impacts both socially, environmentally and economically. Below is a short review of notable events in 2007. This list is only a highlight and not meant to exhaustive. July 3 to August 15, 2007, flooding in South Asian (India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh) with losses estimated at nearly one billion dollars. Flooding was believed to be caused by abnormal monsoon patterns, landfall of Cyclone 03B (Pakistan), and melting snow from the Himalayan glaciers. By august 10, 30 million people had been affected by flooding with 3,200 believed to be dead – reported by Reuters on August 10, 2007. August 15, 2007, Living in Peru reported an 8.0 earthquake that hit the central coast of Peru on the same day and suggests it lasted for approximately 2 minutes, killing at least 540 people and leaving more than 1,000 injured. More than 176,000 people were homeless as a result. November 18, 2007. On November 30, 2007, the Korrespondent reported the 2007 Zasyadko mine disaster was a mining accident that happened on November 18, 2007 at the Zasyadko coal mine in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk. A total of 101 miners are dead, making this the worst accident in Ukraine’s history. On December 6, 2007, 2 vessels collided in the Port of Daesan on the Yellow Sea coast of Taean. The collision resulted in 2.8 million gallons of crude oil being spilled. Seven thousand people are trying to clean up 12 miles of oil-coated coast. The Korean Times quotes Government officials calling it South Korea's worst oil spill ever, surpassing a spill that took place in 1995. On November 2, 2007, Hurricane Noel became an extratropical cyclone. The fourteenth named storm and sixth hurricane of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season left 107 people dead with 27 missing and 6,300 homes are destroyed. Total estimated damages are set at $580 Million USD. October 20, 2007, eighteen wildfires devastated Southern California, destroying more than 1,500 homes and over 500,000 acres of land causing more than $1 billion in damage -- according to Associated Press, Seattle Times, October 2007. |