Recent Natural Disasters | Calamities | Hazards

Tropical storm Jangmi (known locally as Seniang) in Mindanao, Philippines has claimed lives of at least three people and left one missing. Tropical storm Jangmi hit Surigao del Sur province on northern Mindanao in the early hours of Monday morning GMT.

Recent flooding in Sri Lanka has claimed lives of 24 people and left 8 others missing, Dailymirror has written quoting the National Disaster Management Centre. The floods have also destroyed 4,593 houses and damaged further 14,649 houses. According to the Daily News, eight bodies have been recovered in the Rilpola Haliela landslide affected area in Badulla and another seven persons are still missing.

The worst flooding in Malaysia in more than a decade has claimed lives of at least 10 people including five in the worst-hit state of Kelantan. The flood situation in Kelantan is still critical with 111,376 victims at the relief centres this afternoon, Bernama, The National News Agency of Malaysia reported.

M 4.6 moderate earthquake shakes Northern Algeria today, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported. According to the EMSC, the quake's epicenter was located 4 km S of Bouinan and 27 km S of Algiers, Algeria.

It's important to know how we can prepare for natural disasters with proper emergency preparedness plan for less natural disasters damage. A natural disaster is a catastrophic event that occurs as a result of natural processes of the Earth. These events can cause significant damage to the environment, property, and human life. Examples include earthquakes, tsunamis , hurricanes, floods, droughts , wildfires, and volcanic eruptions . We have developed several natural disasters early warning system which provides warnings of natural disasters before they impact people and property. However, in spite of all the capabilities for advance warnings, we are still quite poor at preparing for these natural disasters. By 2015, on average over 375 million people per year are likely to be affected by natural disasters. This is over 50% more than have been affected in an average year during the last decades,  a 2009 Oxfam report has mentioned forecasting the natural disasters 2015

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Christmas day launched a SMS-based weather alert system for general public for disseminating of natural disaster information . IMD will send weather alert SMS to individuals who register themselves at the weather forecaster's official website - www.imd.gov.in. According to NDTV, the system will provide alerts on cyclones, tsunami and other weather-related natural calamities.

North India cold wave claimed 12 more lives in the 24 hours leading to Wednesday evening, taking the death toll due to the extreme winter to 92 since December 1, The Times of India reported. The state government has sanctioned Rs 1.63 crore for 75 districts in UP, around Rs 3.45 lakh for each district for providing relief from the cold wave.

The Disaster-Report.Com team wishes all our readers Merry Christmas. Wishing you every happiness this Christmas season and throughout the coming year.

The floods ravaging five states in Malaysia have displaced 90,250 people. It is the biggest number of flood evacuees in the nation's history, National news agency of Malaysia, Bernama, reported. The highest number of flood evacuees are in Kelantan (32,343), followed by Terengganu (28,991), Pahang (24,316), Perak (4,335) and Perlis (265).

Floods in Indonesia's Aceh province in the northern tip of Sumatra Island have displaced more than 120,966 people. The waters submerged by up to 400 cm high in the districts of North Aceh and East Aceh, Xinhua has written quoting Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman of national disaster agency.

By 2015, on average over 375 million people per year are likely to be affected by natural disasters. This is over 50% more than have been affected in an average year during the last decade,  a 2009 Oxfam report had mentioned forecasting the natural disasters 2015 statistics.

It is important for countries to develop emergency preparedness to be much safer and sustain less damage during an emergency situation caused by natural disasters, The World Health Organization’s Southeast Asia Region Office (WHO SEARO) said Tuesday.

Tornadoes in Mississippi, the southeastern state of United States, have claimed lives of at least four people and injured 20 others, The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency confirmed. Two people died in Marion County, Mississippi, and two more in Jones County, state Emergency Management Agency spokesman Brett Carr confirmed to the Huffington Post.

A fake information saying NASA confirmed six days of “total blackout” in December has became viral. Another hoax claims about the blackout from the 21st to the 23rd of December.

Torrential rains and flashfloods in Sri Lanka have marooned more than 35,000 people, disaster management officials said on Sunday. According to the National Disaster Management Centre, around 30,000 people are from the worst hit Batticaloa district in eastern Sri Lanka. Nearly 14,000 people are having shelter in 107 welfare camps.

A state of emergency has been declared in San Mateo County after recent rain and windstorms caused an estimated $3.4 million damage. The emergency declaration could make state and federal aid available to pay for repairs and emergency measures related to the storm, CBS Local has mentioned. After submitting an estimate of damage to the Governor’s office, county should legally request to the Governor to proclaim a state of emergency and make state disaster relief funds available to the County.

The insured losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters totalled USD 34 billion in 2014, the preliminary estimation by Swiss Re’s sigma research unit has shown. According to the Swiss Re’s sigma estimation, total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters in 2014 were USD 113 billion, down from USD 135 billion in 2013. Out of the total economic losses, insurers covered USD 34 billion in 2014, down 24% from USD 45 billion in 2013.

A research article published in PLOS Currents Disasters has shown the emergency preparedness level of hospitals and educational elements of European Union countries to be at the lowest level in 2012. Study was done to evaluate health system preparedness for disasters in the 27 European Union member countries.

Mount Gamalama volcano eruption in Indonesia has injured four people and left one missing. Mount Gamalama on Ternate island in North Maluku province shot thick gray smoke up to 2,000 meters into the sky just before midnight Thursday, The New Zealand Herald has written quoting Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for Indonesia's Disaster Mitigation Agency.

Magnitude 5.9 earthquake happened at about 9:17 p.m. (Nepali time), and was centered about 21 km NW of Namche Bazar, the route to Mount Everest. Tremor was felt throughout Nepal including parts of India and Bhutan. Ashish Khanal and Bivek Bhattarai from Nepal contributed for this article.