The beauty of these countries is deceptive. Behind the beautiful facade lies a mortal danger ...
Our selection includes countries that are constantly under threat of various natural disasters: earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic eruptions ...
Philippines
The Philippines is recognized as one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Earthquakes, hurricanes and typhoons are falling on this paradise with frightening regularity.
Here is not a complete list of natural disasters that have occurred here in the last 10 years:
- November 2013 - the strongest typhoon "Hayyan" claimed the lives of more than 6000 people.
- October 2013 - an earthquake on the island of Bohol, which resulted in the death of 222 people and 976 injured.
- December 2012 - more than 600 people became victims of the typhoon "Bofa".
- December 2011 - as a result of the tropical storm "Your" killed 1080 people.
- June 2008 - typhoon "Fengshen" caused the death of 557 people.
Indonesia
Indonesia, like the Philippines, is part of the so-called Pacific Fire Ring - the zone in which most of the active volcanoes of the planet are concentrated and a record number of earthquakes occur.
Every year in Indonesia, seismologists register about 7,000 earthquakes with an amplitude of more than 4.0. The most powerful of them occurred on December 26, 2004. The epicenter of the tremors was in the Indian Ocean, near the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The earthquake caused a giant tsunami that hit a dozen countries. Indonesia suffered the most: the number of victims in the country reached 150,000 people ...
In addition, Indonesia ranks first in the list of countries at risk due to the activities of volcanoes. So, in 2010 350 people died as a result of the eruption of the Merapi volcano.
Japan
Japan is one of the countries most prone to earthquakes. The most powerful of them, with a magnitude of 9.1, occurred on March 11, 2011 and caused a huge tsunami with waves up to 4 meters high. As a result of this monstrous revelry of the elements, 15,892 people were killed, and more than two thousand are still missing.
The potential danger is borne by Japanese volcanoes. September 27, 2014 unexpectedly began the eruption of the volcano Ontake. It was a popular tourist destination, so at the time of the eruption several hundred people were on its slopes, 57 of them were killed.
Colombia
The country periodically suffers from earthquakes, floods and landslides.
In 1985, as a result of the eruption of the Ruiz volcano, powerful mud flows almost completely destroyed the small town of Armero. Of the 28 thousand people inhabiting the city, only about 3 thousand remained alive ...
In 1999, an earthquake occurred in central Colombia, which killed more than a thousand people.
And more recently, in April 2017, more than 250 people died as a result of the collapse of the powerful mudflow to the city of Mokoa.
Vanuatu
Each third of the population of the island state of Vanuatu suffers from natural disasters. Only in 2015, within just a few weeks, the earthquake, volcanic eruption and cyclone Pam fell on the country. As a result of these cataclysms, 80% of houses in the capital were destroyed.
Meanwhile, according to research, the inhabitants of Vanuatu occupy the first place in the ranking of the happiest countries. And no typhoons and tsunamis can destroy their happiness!
Chile
Chile is a volcanic and seismically active region. It was in this country on May 22, 1960, that the strongest earthquake was recorded in the entire history of observations.
A powerful earthquake in 2010 almost completely destroyed several coastal cities. More than 800 people were killed, about the fate of another 1200 in general nothing is known. More than two million Chileans were left without housing.
China
In 1931, China experienced the most terrible natural disaster in the history of mankind. The Yangtze, Huaihe and Yellow River rivers have come out of the shores, almost completely destroyed the capital of China and claimed the lives of 4 million people. Some of them drowned, the rest died of infections and hunger, which became a direct consequence of the flood.
Floods are not uncommon in the Middle Kingdom and in our day. In the summer of 2016 in southern China, water killed 186 people. More than 30 million Chinese people suffered more or less severely from the unrest of the elements.
There are also seismically dangerous zones in China: Sichuan and Yunnan.
Haiti
In Haiti, hurricanes and floods often hit, and in 2010 a catastrophic earthquake occurred, which almost completely destroyed the state capital, Port-au-Prince, and killed some 230,000 people. The Haitians' suffering did not end there: in the same year a terrible epidemic of cholera erupted in the country, and at last Haiti was visited by an uninvited visitor - Hurricane Thomas, which caused several severe floods.