The biggest disasters of 2008
Disasters that hit world headlines in the year just ending: - Cyclone Nargis lashed Myanmar on May 2 and 3, leaving 138,000 people dead or missing, 2.4 million homeless and devastating rice paddies. In the weeks after the disaster the Myanmar authorities mired the aid effort in red tape, hampering humanitarian staff trying to reach the affected areas. The junta relented after a visit from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, leaving southeast Asian nations in charge of the aid effort to most of the 2.4 million survivors.
- An earthquake measuring eight on the Richter scale rocked the Chinese province of Sichuan on May 12, killing 88,000 people, leaving at least 375,000 injured, five million homeless and up to 1.5 million people displaced. It caused about 124 billion dollars in direct economic losses, while reconstruction costs could exceed 245 billion dollars and take many years, the government said.
- Four hurricanes or tropical storms — Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike - pounded Haiti one after the other in August and September killing more than 800, including more than half the population of the town of Gonaives. Around a million people were left homeless and some 100,000 homes were damaged in the Caribbean country, which is the poorest in the region.
- The Philippines ferry Princess of the Stars was caught in enormous waves caused by the typhoon Fengshen and sank off the island of Sibuyan on June 21, on its way from Manila to Cebu in the centre of the country, with 862 passengers on board. Only 57 survivors were found. Several days later the Philippine authorities suspended search and rescue operations after discovering that the ship was carrying large amounts of highly toxic pesticides.
- A mudslide swallowed Taoshi, a town of some one thousand inhabitants in China’s northern province of Shanxi of China on September 8, killing at least 262. The disaster occurred when a mining tailings pond burst, swamping the village in a torrent of mud and sludge.
- Spain experienced its worst air accident for 25 years on August 20 when a Spanair jet crashed moments after takeoff from Madrid for the Canary Islands.
Only 18 of the 172 people aboard survived. A report released into the crash said wingflaps were not properly extended on take-off and an alarm failed to alert the pilots to the problem.
- More than 90 students and teachers perished and 150 were injured on November 7 when their school collapsed in the impoverished Petion-ville district of Haiti. In the same country, another school collapse injured nine people several days later.
- An express train travelling from Beijing collided with another train near to the town of Zibo in the east of the country on April 28. At least 70 people were killed and more than 400 injured in the crash, which was one of China’s worst rail accidents for more than 10 years. An investigation found that high speed caused the accident.
- In the West African state of Burkina Faso some 69 people died on November 15 when an overloaded coach from Ivory Coast smashed into a lorry carrying sugar, which then caught fire. Most of the dead were citizens of Burkina Faso who were travelling to work on cocoa and coffee plantations in Ivory Coast.
- Deadly wildfires erupted to the north of Los Angeles in mid-October fanned by winds raging at more than 100 kilometres (70 miles) per hour, killing one person, forcing thousands to flee their homes and scorching more than 19,000 acres (7,689 hectares) in five days. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency. Then, on November 12, three fires destroyed more than 800 homes and some 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) of land in the region of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.
- An earthquake measuring eight on the Richter scale rocked the Chinese province of Sichuan on May 12, killing 88,000 people, leaving at least 375,000 injured, five million homeless and up to 1.5 million people displaced. It caused about 124 billion dollars in direct economic losses, while reconstruction costs could exceed 245 billion dollars and take many years, the government said.
- Four hurricanes or tropical storms — Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike - pounded Haiti one after the other in August and September killing more than 800, including more than half the population of the town of Gonaives. Around a million people were left homeless and some 100,000 homes were damaged in the Caribbean country, which is the poorest in the region.
- The Philippines ferry Princess of the Stars was caught in enormous waves caused by the typhoon Fengshen and sank off the island of Sibuyan on June 21, on its way from Manila to Cebu in the centre of the country, with 862 passengers on board. Only 57 survivors were found. Several days later the Philippine authorities suspended search and rescue operations after discovering that the ship was carrying large amounts of highly toxic pesticides.
- A mudslide swallowed Taoshi, a town of some one thousand inhabitants in China’s northern province of Shanxi of China on September 8, killing at least 262. The disaster occurred when a mining tailings pond burst, swamping the village in a torrent of mud and sludge.
- Spain experienced its worst air accident for 25 years on August 20 when a Spanair jet crashed moments after takeoff from Madrid for the Canary Islands.
Only 18 of the 172 people aboard survived. A report released into the crash said wingflaps were not properly extended on take-off and an alarm failed to alert the pilots to the problem.
- More than 90 students and teachers perished and 150 were injured on November 7 when their school collapsed in the impoverished Petion-ville district of Haiti. In the same country, another school collapse injured nine people several days later.
- An express train travelling from Beijing collided with another train near to the town of Zibo in the east of the country on April 28. At least 70 people were killed and more than 400 injured in the crash, which was one of China’s worst rail accidents for more than 10 years. An investigation found that high speed caused the accident.
- In the West African state of Burkina Faso some 69 people died on November 15 when an overloaded coach from Ivory Coast smashed into a lorry carrying sugar, which then caught fire. Most of the dead were citizens of Burkina Faso who were travelling to work on cocoa and coffee plantations in Ivory Coast.
- Deadly wildfires erupted to the north of Los Angeles in mid-October fanned by winds raging at more than 100 kilometres (70 miles) per hour, killing one person, forcing thousands to flee their homes and scorching more than 19,000 acres (7,689 hectares) in five days. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency. Then, on November 12, three fires destroyed more than 800 homes and some 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) of land in the region of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara.
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