Deadly mudslides

At least 400 people have been killed by the mudslide that swept through Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, on Monday morning. Another 600 are still missing, as rescue workers desperately hunt for survivors.

Freetown is an overcrowded city of more than a million, many living in makeshift settlements which are easily washed away in frequent heavy rains and floods. A key objective at the moment is to avoid the disaster being made worse by water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea.

Probably the deadliest mudslide ever was the one that hit Venezuela in the dying days of the last millennium in December 1999. It effortlessly swept away the shanty towns precariously perched on ridges around the capital Caracas.

But smart apartment blocks also found themselves buried under the mud. Most estimates put the number killed at around 30,000, with 140,000 left homeless, and more than 20,000 homes destroyed. For the story, see A Disastrous History of the World.

See also my post of 21 February 2010.

Brexitwatch: the 8th possibility

On October 9, I tried to work out why Theresa May (or Theresa Mayhem as she is increasingly called) had morphed from (allegedly) anti-Brexit during the referendum campaign to fanatically pro the most extreme form of Brexit just a few weeks later. I offered seven possible explanations - http://disasterhistorian.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/brexitwatch-what-is-theresa-may-up-to.html

An 8th has now occurred to me. Perhaps she is following the orders that Rupert Murdoch gave her during their secretive meeting in New York in September.

*A mention for my book Historia mundial de los desastres (A Disastrous History of the World) in one of Venezuela's leading periodicals - http://www.el-nacional.com/opinion/piedra-catastrofe_0_930507047.html

Haiti three years on

It is three years since Haiti was devastated by the earthquake that killed up to 300,000 people on January 12, 2010.  Today more than 350,000 Haitians are still living in tents.

Most of the rubble has now been cleared from the streets, but around 3 million Haitians are without formal jobs.     Over the last two and a half years, more than 7,500 people have died from cholera, which becomes more dangerous every time a tropical storm strikes.

Last year one of those storms inflicted a further blow when it caused huge damage to crops, sending the cost of living spiralling upwards, and now many of the donor programmes set up after the quake have come to an end.

Billions of dollars in aid were promised in the wake of the disaster, but according to the UN Special Envoy, many pledges have not been fulfilled, and now the organisation is launching a new appeal.     One donor who has come up with the goods is President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who provides subsidised oil worth about $400m a year.

Landslides more deadly than realised

According to a study by Durham University in the UK, landslides kill up to ten times as many people as we thought.    Its authors said the worldwide death toll from 2004 to 2010 was 32,300, compared with earlier estimates of between 3,000 and 7,000.

The main author, David Petley, said most data tended to record only landslides in which ten or more people are killed, when many victims perish in much smaller events. 

The study identified the most vulnerable regions as being countries along the Himalayan Arc - India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh - plus China, and Central and South America.  It suggested that better management of forests and discouraging people from living in vulnerable areas were the best way of reducing the danger.

Perhaps the world’s deadliest landslide was the one that hit coastal areas of Venezuela after torrential rain in the last few days of the twentieth century.   Estimates of the number killed range as high as 30,000.   For the full story see A Disastrous History of the World.

Brazil's worst ever natural disaster?

More than 800 people are known to have died in the floods and landslides that have been afflicting the south-east of Brazil, and 400 more are missing after torrential rain washed whole hillsides away. It is being described as the country’s worst ever natural disaster.

The worst hit town is Nova Friburgo, where more than 320 have been killed. According to one analysis of the figures, about a third of the victims are children and adolescents. Many communities can now be reached only by helicopter.

As with so many disasters, there are now fears that disease may follow in the wake of the initial catastrophe. A number of people are known to have contracted leptospirosis, an illness spread by water contaminated with rats’ urine.

The deadliest mudslide ever was probably the one that hit Venezuela’s coastal strip in December 1999, after 36 inches of rain fell in just a few days. An estimated 30,000 people died. (See also my blogs of April 17, Oct 10, Nov 12 and 19, 2009 and Feb 21 and Aug 12, 2010).

China's landslide

Heavy rain is continuing to disrupt rescue efforts after Sunday’s landslide in north-west China. Mudslides have blocked a road and river used for bringing in supplies, while emergency shelters have been flooded, and more downpours are forecast.

At least 1,117 people have been killed, and another 600 are still missing. Zhouqu county, where the disaster has happened, has suffered ten major landslides over the last two centuries, but there are complaints that the authorities’ cavalier attitude to the environment in recent times has made things worse.

More than 120,000 hectares of forest were felled between 1952 and 1990, and mining and the building of dams in the steep valleys is said to have made things worse. A report in 2006 by the University of Lanzhou – the provincial capital - had drawn attention to the dangers.

The deadliest landslide in history was probably the one that devastated Venezuela’s coastal region in December 1999. Thirty-six inches of rain fell in just a few days, and flash floods and mudslides are reckoned to have killed up to 30,000 people. (See also my blogs of 17 April, 12 and 19 November, 2009.)

Mudslides

Last week it was an avalanche in Pakistan, the week before another in Afghanistan (see my blog of Feb 18). Now heavy rains have brought floods and mudslides to the delightful holiday island of Madeira.

At least 40 people have been killed as tons of mud and stone were washed into the capital Funchal and other towns. The rescue effort has been hampered by the number of roads that have been blocked.

The deadliest mudslide ever was probably the one that hit Venezuela’s coastal strip in December 1999, after 36 inches of rain fell in just a few days. An estimated 30,000 people died – many of them inhabitants of the shanty towns that clung precariously to the ridges around the capital Caracas. (see also my blog of Oct 10, 2009).

Belated thanks to the Bernstein Crisis Management Blog for its welcome to my (then) new blog almost one year ago! http://bernsteincrisismanagement.blogspot.com/2009/01/dont-let-your-crisis-become-disaster.html

Thanks also to the Jersey Journal for its article on Disaster! – my new US book:-
http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2010/02/hoboken_docks_fire_of_1900_fea.html

Landslides - Africa, India, South America

Heavy rain has brought deadly landslides in Africa and India. At least 38 people have been killed in the Nilgiri Hills in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Continuing monsoon rains are hampering the rescue effort, and it’s feared the death toll may rise.

While in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro province, four days of rain brought part of a mountain crashing down on the village of Goha, killing at least 20. Ironically, the area has been suffering from severe drought for the past two years.

The deadliest landslide in history was probably the one that devastated Venezuela’s coastal region in December 1999. Thirty-six inches of rain fell in just a few days, and flash floods and mudslides engulfed high rise buildings and effortlessly ripped away shanty towns perched precariously on ridges around the capital Caracas.

More than 20,000 homes were destroyed, and an estimated 140,000 people made homeless. The death toll has been estimated at anything up to 30,000. For more, see A Disastrous History of the World. (see also my blog of April 17)

Landslides

Sixteen people – including nine children - have been killed by a landslide in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan. It struck a village in the south of the country after heavy rains, though overgrazing of mountain slopes is also thought to have contributed to the disaster.

Probably the deadliest landslide in history was the one that struck Venezuela’s coastal areas in December 1999. Torrential rain caused flash floods and mudslides, and the shanty towns that clung to the steep escarpments around the capital Caracas were simply washed away. More than 20,000 homes were destroyed, and 140,000 people made homeless, as President Chavez used his own residence to house children who had lost their parents. The death toll was estimated at about 30,000.

Another dreadful landslide struck the Khait area of another Central Asian country, Tajikistan in 1949. Details are sparse, but there are claims that 33 villages were destroyed and up to 28,000 people killed.