THE BIGGEST NATURAL DISASTERS IN HISTORY

It's hard to imagine several hundred thousand people losing their lives from a single tropical cyclone , but in November 1970, that is exactly what happened. The November 11, 1970 " BHOLA CYCLONE " moved into East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh , and produced devastating storm surge flooding.   As a result, at least 30.000 people   in the low-lying region near the Bangladesh coast were killed by massive flooding from the powerful cyclone .  The actual number of people killed varies by source and could be as high as 500,000 . Using either figure, this is the deadliest known tropical cyclone in history.

On April 6th 1986 the deadliest HAIL STORM on record hit GopalGanj Bangladesh . The hailstones produced by the storm were so big that they actually   destroyed  hundreds of fishing boats . 50 boatman went missing during the storm and another 100 boatman were severely injured. The storm also cut  telecommunication in remote areas and caused extensive damage to agriculture and crops. In fact so much damage was caused by the storm that relief efforts were called in to help those affected and along with hundreds of injured people. 92 people lost their lives during the storm making the BANGLADESH HAILSTORM the most destructive hail storm on record in regards to human fatality.

This tornado struck NATCHEZ , Mississippi , on May 7, 1840, and holds the record as the only massive tornado in the U.S. to have killed more people than it injured. The death toll was at least 317 , with the majority of casualties on flatboats sunk along the Mississippi River. The loss of life was likely greater because the deaths of enslaved people  would not have been counted in this era. "There is no telling how widespread has been the ruin," wrote the Free Trader across the river in Louisiana. "Reports have come in from plantations 20 miles distant in Louisiana, and the rage of the tempest was terrible. Hundreds of (slaves) killed, dwellings swept like chaff from their foundations, the forest uprooted , and the crops beaten down and destroyed."

HURRICANE KATRINA was a Category 5 major hurricane with winds exceeding 157 mph that caused  $300 billion of catastrophic damage, widespread flooding and the deaths of at least nearly 2000 people.   Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the United States on August 23, 2005 – August 31, 2005 and swept across 7 states leaving one million Americans homeless. The worst hit area was New Orleans , Louisiana because it is below sea level and protected by levees that were unable to cope with the strength of Hurricane Katrina . $50 billion was given in aid by the government but there was considerable criticism regarding the handling of the disaster.  Although many people were evacuated , it was a slow process and the poorest and most vulnerable people were left behind. Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters in the history of the UNITED STATES .