La Paz, officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz, is one of the capitals of Bolivia and is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bolivia. Its metropolitan area, which is formed by La Paz, El Alto, Achocalla, Viacha, and Mecapaca makes up the second most populous urban area in Bolivia, with a population of 2.0 million, after Santa Cruz de la Sierra with a population of 2.3 million. It is also the capital of the La Paz Department.
A natural disaster is the highly harmful impact on a society or community following a natural hazard event. Some examples of natural hazard events include: flooding, drought, earthquake, tropical cyclone, lightning, tsunami, volcanic activity, wildfire. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves economic damage in its wake. The severity of the damage depends on the affected population's resilience and on the infrastructure available. Scholars have been saying that the term natural disaster is unsuitable and should be abandoned. Instead, the simpler term disaster could be used, while also specifying the category of hazard. A disaster is a result of a natural or human-made hazard impacting a vulnerable community. It is the combination of the hazard along with exposure of a vulnerable society that results in a disaster.
Severe storms in Australia refers to the storms, including cyclones, which have caused severe damage in Australia. For comparison, a comprehensive list of all damaging storms can be found on the Australian Bureau of Meteorology website.
A series of ten explosions took place on April 22, 1992, in the downtown district of Analco Colonia Atlas in Guadalajara city, Jalisco state, Mexico. Numerous gasoline explosions in the sewer system and fires over four hours destroyed 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) of streets. Gante Street was the most damaged.
El Alto is the second-largest city in Bolivia, located adjacent to La Paz in Pedro Domingo Murillo Province on the Altiplano highlands. El Alto is today one of Bolivia's fastest-growing urban centers, with an estimated population of 943,558 in 2020. It is also the highest major city in the world, with an average elevation of 4,000 m (13,123 ft).
In weather forecasting in the United States, "particularly dangerous situation" (PDS) is enhanced wording used by the National Weather Service to give a watch or warning special emphasis and urgency when there is a significant risk of life-threatening severe weather. A message is tagged with the phrase in the format "...This is a particularly dangerous situation..." at the discretion of the issuing forecaster, and is referred to as a PDS watch or PDS warning to highlight the elevated hazard.
The 1947 Sydney hailstorm was a natural disaster which struck Sydney, Australia, on 1 January 1947. The storm cell developed on the morning of New Year's Day, a public holiday in Australia, over the Blue Mountains, hitting the city and dissipating east of Bondi in the mid-afternoon. At the time, it was the most severe storm to strike the city since recorded observations began in 1792.
Bolivia has traditionally undertaken different water resources management approaches aimed at alleviating political and institutional instability in the water sector. The so-called water wars of 2000 and 2006 in Cochabamba and El Alto, respectively, added social unrest and conflict into the difficulties of managing water resources in Bolivia. Evo Morales’ administration is currently developing an institutional and legal framework aimed at increasing participation, especially for rural and indigenous communities, and separating the sector from previous privatization policies. In 2009, the new Environment and Water Resources Ministry was created absorbing the responsibilities previously under the Water Ministry. The Bolivian Government is in the process of creating a new Water Law – the current Water Law was created in 1906 – and increasing much needed investment on hydraulic infrastructure.
The 1995 Mayfest storm was a damaging hailstorm that struck parts of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex on May 5, 1995. It was the first singular thunderstorm with a damage toll exceeding $1 billion and at the time the costliest nontornadic thunderstorm in U.S. history. Hail up to 4.5 in (11.5 cm) in diameter fell across Parker and Tarrant counties, producing hail drifts as deep as 3 ft (0.91 m) and damaging numerous buildings. The storm also struck the Fort Worth Mayfest – a local outdoor festival – pelting the roughly 10,000 people in attendance with softball-sized hail and resulting in over 60 hospitalizations. Though there were no hail-related fatalities, the combination of the slow-moving supercell that produced the hail and a larger complex of storms led to deadly flash flooding that killed 17 people in the Dallas area. Overall, 20 people were killed by the storms.
The 2009 Messina floods and mudslides occurred in Sicily on the night of 1–2 October, mainly along the Ionian coast in the Province of Messina. They also affected other parts of northeastern Sicily and killed a total of at least 31 people, some of whom were swept out to sea. More than 400 people were left homeless, as many houses collapsed.
The 2010 Victorian storms were a series of storms that passed through much of the Australian state of Victoria on 6 and 7 March 2010. One of the most severe storms passed directly over Greater Melbourne, bringing lightning, flash flooding, very large hail and strong winds to the state's capital.
The Montreal flood of 1987 happened on July 14 of that year when a series of strong thunderstorms crossed the island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, between the noon hour and 2:30 p.m. Over 100 millimetres (3.9 in) of rain fell during this very short period of time. The sewer systems were overwhelmed by the deluge and the city was paralyzed by the flooded roads. Autoroute 15, a sunken highway also known as the Décarie Expressway, soon filled with water, trapping motorists. Some 350,000 houses lost electricity, and tens of thousands had flooded basements. Two people died, one in a submerged car and another who was electrocuted.
The 2012 Romanian floods were the result of an extreme weather event that struck Romania in late May 2012. Authorities reported four deaths throughout Romania. The south-east of the country, especially Vrancea County was most affected. Also affected were the provinces of Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad and Sofia in neighbouring Bulgaria.
On June 19, 2014, torrential rains caused severe flash flooding across northeastern Bulgaria leaving dozens of villages without electricity and submerging large parts of several cities in the region. At least 16 people were reported killed – 13 in the Asparuhovo district of Varna, one in Dobrich and two in the village of Tsani Ganchevo in Shumen Province.
In late May and early June 2016 flooding began after several days of heavy rain in Europe, mostly Germany and France, but also Austria, Belgium, Romania, Moldova, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Among others, the German states of Bavaria, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, and North Rhine-Westphalia were affected. Beginning at the river Neckar, the Danube, Rhine, Seine and their tributaries were highly affected by high water and flooding along their banks. At least 21 people died in the floods.
Severe storm events in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia are not uncommon and include hailstorms, wind storms, and flash flooding from rain caused by East coast lows, black nor'easters and/or tropical cyclone remnants. East coast lows are low pressure depressions or extratropical cyclones that can bring significant damage by heavy rain, cyclonic winds and huge swells. Sydney is rarely affected by cyclones, although remnants of cyclones do affect the city.
Tropical Storm Hernan was a small and disorganized tropical cyclone that brought widespread flooding and destructive mudslides to several states in southwest Mexico in late August 2020. Hernan was the thirteenth tropical cyclone and eighth named storm of the 2020 Pacific hurricane season. The system developed from a low-pressure area that was located southwest of Mexico on August 26, as a 40 mph (65 km/h) tropical storm. Moving generally northward and paralleling the west coast of Mexico, Hernan was hindered by a high wind shear environment and barely strengthened. The cyclone achieved peak intensity around 6:00 UTC on August 27 with 40 mph (65 km/h) winds and a minimum barometric pressure of 1,001 mbar (29.6 inHg). Passing just offshore the state of Jalisco, Hernan turned west and degenerated to a remnant low on August 28. The low moved near the Baja California Peninsula a couple hours later and dissipated shortly thereafter.
In July 2021, several European countries were affected by severe floods. Some were catastrophic, causing deaths and widespread damage. The floods started in the United Kingdom as flash floods causing some property damage and inconvenience. Later floods affected several river basins across Europe including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. At least 243 people died in the floods, including 196 in Germany, 43 in Belgium, two in Romania, one in Italy and one in Austria.
The 2003 La Paz riots, commonly referred to as Black February, was a period of civil unrest in La Paz, Bolivia, that took place between 12 and 13 February 2003. The riots were instigated by the imposition of a progressive salary tax—dubbed the impuestazo—aimed at meeting the International Monetary Fund's goal of reducing the country's fiscal deficit from 8.7% of GDP to 5.5%. The legislation mobilized a diverse array of groups against the proposal, including business sectors, trade unions, and university students.
