Recent Natural Disasters | Calamities | Hazards

Magnitude 7.0 powerful earthquake rocked Vanuatu at 06:33 am local time Friday morning on April 29, 2016 prompting tsunami warning in the area. The earthquake occured at 27.2 miles depth with epicenter located just 1 km SE of Norsup. The National Tsunami Warning Center (NTWC) warned that the earthquake generate tsunami waves of up to three metres (10 feet) on parts of the Vanuatu coast. 

Landslide triggered by heavy rainfall has claimed lives of two people and left 20 others missing in Guatemala's landfill Wednesday afternoon. Injured people are having treatment at San de Dios Hospital, EFE reported quoting Volunteer Firefighter spokesman Julio Sanchez.

Source: GeoNet An eruption occurred at White Island (Whaakari) volcano in New Zealand about 9:50 pm on 27 April 2016, GeoNet  volcanologist Agnes Mazot confirmed. GNS volcanologists found dark-green ash deposit from the eruption covering at least 80% of the floor of Main Crater, and up the sides of the crater wall on both the north and south sides.

Mount Karangetang volcano in North Sulawesi region of Indonesia erupted on Wednesday evening sending hot lava as far as 2 kilometers from its crater. Lava from Mt. Karangetang went toward the Kahetang River, around 2,000 meters from the crater, The Jakarta Post reported quoting Sitaro Disaster Mitigation Agency ( BPBD ) head Bob Chalton Wuaten.

Bangladesh is a sovereign South Asian country bordered by India and Myanmar. Bangladesh lies in top five countries with high natural disaster risk according to World Risk Report. Q: What is the most serious natural hazard in Bangladesh? A: Flood is the most serious natural hazard in Bangladesh as the country is situated on the Ganges Delta. Bangladesh is prone to flash floods in hilly regions, monsoon floods and coastal flooding. Other common natural disasters in Bangladesh include earthquake, landslides, tornadoes and tropical cyclones. Recommended Post: List of most recent natural hazards in Bangladesh

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake rocked La Rochelle, the southwestern city of France on Thursday morning at 08:46 am local time. According to the Central French Seismic Office, the earthquake occurred on April 28, 2016 with epicenter located 16 km SE of La Rochelle. 

Magnitude 4.0 light earthquake rattled Whakatane town of New Zealand at 02:25 pm Wednesday afternoon. According to GeoNet, the epicenter was located 10 km north-east of Opotiki. The earthquake occurred at 46 km depth.

Recent floods in Haiti caused by the torrential rainfall have claimed lives of at least four people including three children. Torrential rains have affected 112 families in Port-au-Prince, 2,500 in Cite Soleil and 1,800 in Cabaret, Haiti Libr e reported quoting a provisional assessment of the Directorate of Civil Protection.

Magnitude 4.3 light tremor has been felt around Gosainkunda Festival Spot of Rasuwa district. According to Nepal's National Seismological Center, the quake occurred at 03:18 pm Tuesday afternoon on April 26, 2016. This is the 450th aftershock of magnitude 4 and greater recorded since 2015 Gorkha earthquake , Seismological Center said.

Image Courtesy: pnsn.org The Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) has installed four earthquake early warning sensors in Kathmandu valley on the first anniversary of the Gorkha earthquake . These sensors can inform about the earthquakes 10-22 seconds in advance.  The NAST has installed the earthquake sirens at Khumaltar, Kirtipur, Godawari and Sinamangal areas which will send information of earthquake occurred within the 80 km of range of the installation.

A light earthquake of magnitude 4.2 rattled Vienna and Lower Austria at 12:28 pm Monday afternoon on April 25, 2016. According to the Austrian Central Institute for Meteorology and Geo dynamics, the quake's epicenter was located 18 km SW of Vienna.

Recent hailstorm in Myanmar has claimed lives of at least eight people and destroyed around 7,500 houses. Six people died in Yay Tha Yauk village in the central region of Mandalay, Phyu Lei Lei Tun, director of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, told AFP .

This is the list of earthquake recorded in India today, April 24, 2016. The earthquake information are extracted from official seismological site of India (IMD).

Today is the first anniversary of 2015 Gorkha earthquake according to Nepali calendar. Magnitude 7.9 earthquake on Baisakh 12, 2072 killed at least 8,778 people. Around 450 aftershocks of local magnitude 4 and greater have been recorded after Baisakh 2072 earthquake in Nepal. The aftershocks were mainly centered in Gorkha, Kathmandu valley, Ramechhap, Rasuwa, Dolakha and Sindhupalchowk. This is the list of earthquakes (or aftershocks) of magnitude 4 and greater recorded in Nepal today, 12 Baisakh 2073. Visit later for more updates.

A landslide at hotel construction site in the tourist town of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh of India has claimed lives of 16 construction workers. The massive landslide buried 16 people in the tin-shed house at around 3:30 am Friday morning, The Indian Express reported.

A landslide in Maimana, the capital of northwestern Faryab province of Afghanistan has claimed lives of two children and injured one other. The children aged between 10 and 15 died in the landslide disaster  in the Bibi Ayena area of the eighth police district,  Pajhwok Afghan News reported.

Flooding triggered by torrential downpours in Houston area has claimed lives of eight people and damaged some 1,150 homes this week. The catastrophic flooding has caused more than $5 billion in damage, CNN reported. The Houston-area community of Hockley got pummeled with 17 inches of rain in less than 24 hours.

At least 507 people have died after magnitude 7.8 earthquake rattled Ecuador on April 16, 2016. The earthquake occurred a depth of 11.9 miles approximately 27 km south-southeast of Muisne, in Esmeraldas province of Ecuador.

A series of earthquakes in Kumamoto city of Kumamoto Prefecture in Kyushu region of Japan have claimed lives of at least 44 people and injured about 3,000 people. On April 14, 2016, magnitude 6.2 foreshock rattled the region. Two days later, magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the Kumamoto City.

Recent flooding in central Bamyan province of Afghanistan has claimed lives of at least five people and damaged about 350 houses. According to Pajhwok Afghan News , fatalities are from Wars and Panjab districts. Natural disaster has destroyed 184 houses and partially damaged 166 others, head of the Afghanistan Natural Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) for Bamyan said.

An earthquake has been felt in parts of Bangladesh including capital Dhaka today. The tremor was the result of  magnitude 6.9 very strong earthquake with its epicenter in Myanmar. The earthquake occurred at 07:55 pm Wednesday evening on April 13, 2016. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter was located at an intermediate depth of 83.7 miles.

Stormy weather in Arkansas has claimed life of a woman early Monday in Crawford County, The Arkansas State Police said. According to Arkansas Online , fatality has been identified as Andrea D. Pense, a 22-year-old woman driving south on U.S. 71.

Magnitude 4.6 moderate earthquake rattled Imphal, the capital city of Manipur state on Wednesday morning, India Meteorological Department reported. According to Meteorological Department, the tremor was recorded at 09:26 am on April 13, 2016. The earthquake occurred at 60 km depth.

Magnitude 4.4 light earthquake has been recorded in Dolakha district of Nepal Tuesday night. According to Nepal Seismological Center, the epicenter was located near Hanwa along Tama Koshi River. The tremor was felt at 08:26 pm on April 12, 2016. No damage or injuries have been reported.

A tremor has been felt in New Delhi, the capital city of India at 03:58 pm Sunday afternoon on April 10, 2016. According to India Meteorological Department, the earthquake of magnitude 6.8 had its epicenter in Hindukush region of Afghanistan.

Magnitude 4.5 moderate tremor has been recorded in Bhaisepati area of Lalitpur, Nepal Seismological Center reported. The earthquake occurred at 07:05 pm on April 09, 2016. The epicenter was located near Pancha Kanya Temple along Nakkhu River. At least five people have been injured after they rushed out of the houses during the tremor. Injured people are from Bajrabarahi, Mangalbazar and Khokana, Ujyalo Online reported. Injured people are having treatment at Patan, B & B and Alka hospital.

Two people died after their vehicle was swept away by flood waters in Wadi Kabeel of Qurayat province of Oman on Friday. Three other Omanis were rescued in Wadi Bani Karoos in the Dhank province, Gulf News reported quoting the Public Authority for Civil Defense and Ambulance (PACDA).

Magnitude 3.5 light earthquake shakes Nagaur district of Rajasthan Friday, India Meteorological Department reported. According to the Meteorological Department, the earthquake occurred at a depth of 15 km. The quake was felt at 01:33 am on April 8, 2016.

Flooding in Pakistan (Fayaz Aziz/Reuters) Flash floods in northwest Pakistan have claimed lives of at least 63 people and injured 34 others.  Heavy rainfall caused havoc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province including the Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Aljazeera reported.

Magnitude 4.7 moderate aftershock shakes Dolakha district on April 4, 2016 at 10:16 am. According to Nepal Seismological Center, the epicenter was located near Sunkhani. The tremor was well felt in nearby Bhimeshwor Municipal areas. No damage or injuries have been reported. This is the second tremor in Nepal in less than two  hours. At 09:40 am, magnitude 4.3 fresh earthquake was recorded in Bajhang district . The quake's epicenter was located near Mount Saipal in northwestern region.

A fresh earthquake of magnitude 4.3 has been recorded in Bajhang district of Nepal on April 4, 2016 at 09:40 am. According to Nepal Seismological Center, the quake's epicenter was located near Mount Saipal in northwestern region. No damages are expected as the epicenter area is in remote mountainous region, far from the residential areas.

A research paper published on March 30, 2016 in the journal Nature has predicted that the global warming could melt the West Antarctic ice sheet within decades—far faster than previously predicted. The melting of ice sheet in the West Antarctic, combined with ice melting in other regions, could cause seas to rise up to six feet by 2100.

The death toll from last week's storm in Lake Albert in Buliisa District of Uganda has risen to 29. The storm has destroyed more than 600 houses.

Flyover collapse in Kolkata, India (PTI via India Today) People were panicked after a flyover collapsed in Indian central Kolkata's near the famous Ganesh Talkies with a loud boom. The eyewitnesses initially thought of a massive earthquake which shook the ground after the flyover collapsed Thursday afternoon. A flyover under construction since 2009 collapsed in Kolkata on 31st March 2016, killing at least 21 people. Surprisingly, builder company in a statement mentioned it as an "act of God".