Date | May - October 2020 |
---|---|
Location | Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka |
Cause | Heavy monsoon rains |
Deaths | 6,511 |
Property damage | $105 billion USD [1] [2] |
In 2020, floods severely affected South Asia due to heavy monsoon rains. The floods caused $105 billion USD of damage ($88.5 billion in India, [1] $15 billion in Sri Lanka, [2] and $1.5 billion in Pakistan [2] ), making them the costliest floods in modern history, and the ninth costliest disaster of all time. In addition there were 6,511 fatalities, the most reported in a flood since Cyclone Sidr in 2007. Floods continued in 2021 and 2022.
In April, floods killed at least 11 people and damaged around 700 houses. [3] Between July and August, floods had affected around half of Afghanistan, killing 190 people and damaged around 2,000 homes. [2] [4]
In May, Cyclone Amphan caused 20 deaths in Bangladesh. [5] In July, floods struck again, affecting 3.3 million people, and killing 260 more people. [2] [6] [7]
Cyclone Amphan killed at least 86 people in West Bengal, India. [8] From July to October, over 5,000 people died in flooding. [1] [2] [9]
From June to September, floods in Nepal killed at least 401 people. [2] The Kathmandu Post reported that the floods were some of the worst in the country’s history. [10]
At least 410 people died in floods in Pakistan. Over 310,000 homes were damaged by flood water, causing $1.5 billion USD of damage. [2]
At least 133 people have died when floods damaged 3 million homes and caused $15 billion USD in damages. [2]
Natural calamities in India, many of them related to the climate of India, cause massive losses of life and property. Droughts, flash floods, cyclones, avalanches, landslides brought by torrential rains, and snowstorms pose the greatest threats. A natural disaster might be caused by earthquakes, flooding, volcanic eruption, landslides, hurricanes etc. In order to be classified as a disaster, it will need to have a profound environmental effect and/or human loss and frequently incurs a financial loss. Other dangers include frequent summer dust storms, which usually track from north to south; they cause extensive property damage in North India and deposit large amounts of dust and dirt from arid regions. Hail is also common in parts of India, causing severe damage to standing crops such as rice and wheat and many more crops and effects many people.
2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2007th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 7th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 8th year of the 2000s decade.
The 1989 North Indian Ocean cyclone season was a below-average season in annual cycle of tropical cyclone formation. Despite this, the season had the second highest Accumulated Cyclone Energy in the basin on record behind only 2019 and 2023. The season has no official bounds but cyclones tend to form between April and December. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northern Indian Ocean. There are two main seas in the North Indian Ocean—the Bay of Bengal to the east of the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Sea to the west of India. The official Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre in this basin is the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) releases unofficial advisories. An average of five tropical cyclones form in the North Indian Ocean every season with peaks in May and November. Cyclones occurring between the meridians 45°E and 100°E are included in the season by the IMD.
Severe Cyclonic Storm Aila was the second named tropical cyclone of the 2009 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. Warned by both the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RMSC) and Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), Aila formed over a disturbance over the Bay of Bengal on May 23, 2009 and started to intensify and organize reaching sustained wind speeds of 110 kmh (70 mph). It was the worst natural disaster to affect Bangladesh since Cyclone Sidr in November 2007. A relatively strong tropical cyclone, it caused extensive damage in India and Bangladesh.
During 2007, tropical cyclones formed within seven different tropical cyclone basins, located within various parts of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. During the year, a total of 129 systems formed with 79 of these developing further and were named by the responsible warning centre. The strongest tropical cyclone of the year was Cyclone George, which was estimated to have a minimum barometric pressure of 902 hPa (26.64 inHg). The deadliest tropical cyclone of the year was Cyclone Sidr in the North Indian Ocean which killed 15,000 people in Bangladesh. The costliest tropical cyclone of the year was Cyclone Gonu in the North Indian Ocean, which caused more than $4.41 billion in damage after striking Oman, United Arab Emirates, Iran and Pakistan. The most active basin in the year was the Western Pacific, which documented 24 named systems. The North Atlantic had an above-average season with 15 named storms. The Eastern Pacific hurricane season experienced a below-average number of tropical storm intensity systems, numbering 11. Activity across the Southern Hemisphere's three basins – South-West Indian, Australian, and South Pacific – was fairly significant, with the regions recording 25 named storms altogether, with the most intense storm of the year coming from the Australian basin. Throughout 2007, twenty one major tropical cyclones formed, including five Category 5 tropical cyclones in the year. The accumulated cyclone energy (ACE) index for the 2007, as calculated by Colorado State University was 568.1 units.
India is a country in the north of Indian Ocean that is the most vulnerable to getting hit by tropical cyclones in the basin, from the east or from the west. On average, 2–3 tropical cyclones make landfall in India each year, with about one being a severe tropical cyclone or greater.
Widespread monsoon flooding occurred in the South Asian countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan from July through September 2017. More than 45 million people were affected by the floods, including 16 million children.
In mid-March 2019, monsoonal downpours caused widespread flooding and landslides across South Asia.
Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that caused widespread damage in Eastern India, specifically in West Bengal and Odisha, and in Bangladesh, in May 2020. It was the strongest tropical cyclone to strike the Ganges Delta. It was a rare cyclone that lashed northern Bangladesh from Rajshahi to Rangpur in the early hours of 21 May with strong winds. It was also the fourth super cyclone that hit West Bengal and Kolkata since 2015 as well as being one of the strongest storms to impact the area. Causing over US$13 billion of damage, Amphan is also the costliest cyclone ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean, surpassing the record held by Cyclone Nargis of 2008.
The following is a list of weather events that occurred on Earth in the year 2020.
Tropical cyclones regularly affect the coastlines of most of Earth's major bodies of water along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Also known as hurricanes, typhoons, or other names, tropical cyclones have caused significant destruction and loss of human life, resulting in about 2 million deaths since the 19th century. Powerful cyclones that make landfall – moving from the ocean to over land – are some of the most impactful, although that is not always the case. An average of 86 tropical cyclones of tropical storm intensity form annually worldwide, with 47 reaching hurricane/typhoon strength, and 20 becoming intense tropical cyclones, super typhoons, or major hurricanes.
The effects of the 2020 North Indian Ocean cyclone season in India was considered one of the worst in decades, largely due to Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan. Throughout most of the year, a series of cyclones impacted the country, with the worst damage occurring in May, from Cyclone Amphan. The season started with Super Cyclonic Storm Amphan, which affected East India with very severe damages. 98 total people died from the storm. Approximately 1,167 km (725 mi) of power lines of varying voltages, 126,540 transformers, and 448 electrical substations were affected, leaving 3.4 million without power. Damage to the power grid reached ₹3.2 billion. Four people died in Odisha, two from collapsed objects, one due to drowning, and one from head trauma. Across the ten affected districts in Odisha, 4.4 million people were impacted in some way by the cyclone. At least 500 homes were destroyed and a further 15,000 were damaged. Nearly 4,000 livestock, primarily poultry, died. The cyclone was strongest at its northeast section. The next storm was a depression that did not affect India. Then Severe Cyclonic Storm Nisarga hit Maharashtra, with high damages. Nisarga caused 6 deaths and 16 injuries in the state. Over 5,033 ha of land were damaged.
Cyclone Amphan was the costliest tropical cyclone ever recorded in India and the North Indian Ocean, and the strongest cyclone ever since the 1999 Odisha Cyclone. It was the first storm, and strongest of the historic 2020 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, the costliest recorded cyclone season. It made landfall in West Bengal with 100 mph winds. Within India, the storm killed 98 people, and caused $13.8 billion. Amphan produced extremely high winds that ripped roofs off houses and uprooted trees, and storm surges of 15 ft (4.6 m) in areas like Digha, West Bengal.
The following is a list of weather events in 2019.
The following is a list of weather events that occurred on Earth in the year 2014. There were several natural disasters around the world from various types of weather, including blizzards, cold waves, droughts, heat waves, tornadoes, and tropical cyclones. In September, floods in India and Pakistan killed 557 people. The costliest single event was Typhoon Rammasun, which killed 225 people and left over US$8 billion in damage when it moved through the Philippines, China, and Vietnam.
The following is a list of weather events that occurred on Earth in the year 2015. There were several natural disasters around the world from various types of weather, including blizzards, cold waves, droughts, heat waves, tornadoes, and tropical cyclones.
Throughout 2022, floods affected most of Africa, killing over 2,100 people. The worst affected country was Nigeria, with over 610 deaths.
From January to October 2022, excessive rainfall and widespread monsoon flooding occurred in the South Asian countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It has become the region's deadliest floods since 2020, with over 4,700 people dead.
After over 6,500 people died in flooding in 2020, monsoon floods hit South Asia again in 2021.