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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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October/November
2007
Volume 13 - Number
1/2 |
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Deaths and Injuries Due to Disasters in 2007
Amy Bergbreiter In 2007, the three leading causes of deaths and injuries
were transportation-related accidents, earthquakes, and flooding/severe storms.
Several major international aviation disasters occurred during 2007. On January 1st in Indonesia, a plane crashed during stormy weather killing all 102 people on board. On July 17, 2007, a plane skidded off the runway in Sao Paulo, Brazil, killing approximately 200 people. And on September 16th, a plane skidded off the runway in Bankok, Thailand killing 88 people. During 2007, four earthquakes occurred killing approximately 460 people. In Japan, an earthquake in Niigata on July 17, 2007, killed approximately 11 people and injured an estimate 900 people. On August 15th, an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 occurred in central Peru. The earthquake killed approximately 337 and injured hundreds more. This earthquake caused the largest number of deaths from a single event. Also earthquakes in Solomon Islands and Indonesia killed an estimate 100 people. Although the Peruvian earthquake had the highest single-event death-toll, severe storms and flooding resulted in the highest cumulative death-toll. From June to September, monsoon rains in West Bengal, India resulted in approximately 660 deaths. Although no injury numbers were available, it is estimated that the rains left millions homeless. Severe storms also caused a significant number of deaths in Karachi, Pakistan in late-July. It is estimated that most of the 200 deaths were due to structural issues such as flying debris and downed power lines. North Korea also experienced severe flooding during 2007. Although no official numbers are available, it is believed hundreds died during severe storms in August. A summary of some of the deaths in large-scale events during 2007 are listed below: Severe Storms/Flooding: 1,600 Transportation (not including small-scale traffic accidents): 640 deaths Earthquakes: 460 Coal Mine: 150 Fires: 120 Website Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:2007_disasters http://www.mapreport.com/years/2007/d.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0934966.html http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LRON-74HDUN?OpenDocument |