Turkiye quake and other major natural disasters this century

On Monday, two massive earthquakes, just hours apart, which devastated cities and towns across a huge swathe of southern Turkiye and north-west Syria, are rapidly becoming one of the worst disasters this century, with the death toll already more than 16,000.

Indian Ocean Tsunami 

A 9.15 magnitude earthquake off Sumatra on 26 December, 2004, triggered a tsunami that barrelled into Indonesia, Thailand, India Sri Lanka and many other countries in the region, killing at least 230,000 people, leaving 43,000 missing and devastating villages and tourist islands.

Haiti 2010 Earthquake 

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake on 13 January, 2010, devastated Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and killed about 316,000 people. The United Nations estimated 80,000 buildings in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas were destroyed.

Myanmar Cyclone 

Cyclone Nargis swept across the Irrawaddy Delta and southern Yangon, the former capital, on the evening of 2 May, 2008, with winds of 240 kph (150 mph). Nearly 140,000 people died and 2.4 million were severely affected.

China Quake 

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit China’s Sichuan province on 12 May, 2008, killing about 87,600 people.

Pakistan Quake 

A 7.6 magnitude quake that struck north-east of Islamabad on 8 October, 2005, killed at least 73,000 people. The quake also rocked Indian Kashmir, killing 1,244 there.

Iran Quake 

A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit Iran’s south-eastern Kerman province on 26 December, 2003, and flattened the city of Bam, killing 31,000 people.

READ: Shattered roads slow aid to quake-hit Syria

Japan Quake/Tsunami 

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck Japan’s north-east on 11 March, 2011, killing about 15,690 people. The earthquake also triggered the world’s biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

India Quake 

A 7.9 magnitude quake struck India’s industrial heartland of Gujarat on 26 January, 2001, killing at least 14,000 people, injuring over 150,000 and leaving millions of people homeless.

Nepal Quake 

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hammered Nepal on 25 April, 2015, killing nearly 9,000 people and disrupting the lives of more than eight million.

Indonesia Quake/Tsunami 

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi on 28 September, 2018, resulting in a 1.5 metre (4.9 ft)-high tsunami and killing more than 4,300 people.

Haiti 2021 Quake 

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck southern Haiti on 14 August, 2021, killing more than 2,200 people and destroying or damaging about 13,000 homes.

Hurricane Katrina 

Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans on 29 August, 2005, swamping floodwalls, putting much of the city under 15 feet (4.57 m) of water and killing about 1,800 people. Most victims were in Louisiana, but neighbouring Mississippi also was hard hit.

READ: 73-member Palestine team heads to Turkiye, Syria for quake relief