The world witnessed a series of natural disasters in 2020 leading to both material damage and human suffering.
The world witnessed a series of natural disasters in 2020 leading to both material damage and human suffering. | Photo Credit: PTI
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Locust attack damaged millions of acres of standing crops across the continents
- Cyclone Amphan wreaked widespread devastation in India and Bangladesh
- Taal Volcano caused tremors and resulted in a large amount of ash and dust storm
New Delhi: Many have termed 2020 as the year of tragedies that claimed thousands of lives be it in man-made or natural disasters. From COVID pandemic to locust attacks to floods, the year kept everyone on the edge.
With the rise in global temperatures and changing weather, the world witnessed a series of extreme events that caused both material damage and human suffering.
Here we list out five major natural disasters that took place in 2020
COVID pandemic: Though the coronavirus outbreak occurred in the last quarter of 2019, the pandemic played havoc across the world in the following year in 2020. Many countries and organisations blamed China for the existence of the virus, but nothing conclusive could be established over Beijing’s involvement in the pandemic. The virus was first discovered in China’s Wuhan and later gripped the world forcing the nation to impose strict lockdown to contain the virus. The COVID-19 is estimated to have claimed over 1.5 million lives globally.
Locust swarms: Another major natural catastrophe was locust attack that is said to have damaged millions of acres of standing crops across the continents in Asia and Africa. Locusts are said to be migratory pests and feed on crops. These locusts can destroy the crops within seconds. Changes in climate conditions and frequent cyclones in the Indian Ocean are said to produce perfect breeding grounds for locusts. Indian states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh among other witnessed locust attacks on the crop.
Cyclone Amphan: This cyclonic was classified as one of the most powerful and deadly tropical cyclones to have affected India and Bangladesh. Amphan was categorised as a type 5 hurricane. The cyclone wreaked widespread devastation in the two countries. A total of 84 people were killed over 85 people in India and Bangladesh and flattened thousands of homes. West Bengal in India bore the brunt of the cyclone’s fury. Many people were killed when they were crushed by falling trees and electrocuted by downed powerlines.
Indonesia Flash Floods: Nearly 66 people were killed when there was a heavy downpour in the early hours of January 1 in 2020 leading to subsequent flooding in the Indonesian capital Jakarta and its surrounding areas. The flash floods displaced four lakh people. There was widespread material destruction caused by landslides due to heavy rains and flooding.
Volcanic eruption in Philippines: The Taal Volcano that erupted on January 12, 2020 caused tremors and resulted in a large amount of ash and dust from it. The eruption caused teh death of at least 39 people. Reports suggested that a number of evacuees had died due to heart attack during the evacuation. The eruption also forced nearly 8,000 to evacuate from nearby areas and three lakh in total.
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