50,000 deaths a year – drought, floods, typhoon: world out of balance

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Vibration in China, monsoon rains in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, drought and fires in Europe and the US: the effects of such natural disasters are usually felt for years. But in some places they have already become part of everyday life.

Climate-induced disasters have increased tenfold in recent decades, with some 50,000 people dying each year as a result of natural disasters – and that number is increasing every year. Others lose their homes to storms, landslides, or floods, or to heat, drought, or fires. Harvests are also increasingly becoming the victim of the climate crisis.

1. After weeks of record heat, with recurring power cuts and in the midst of another partial shutdown, a violent earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale has killed 66 people in Sichuan, China. 200 people were injured, 16 are missing. Austrian professional football player Richard Windbichler of FC Chengdu Rongcheng witnessed the earthquake: “We were just cycling to the corona test and saw people running into the street.”

It was worse in Luding, 200 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital of Chengdu. Several houses were destroyed here and landslides occurred. Many roads are blocked. In many places, power and water supplies as well as cell phone networks have collapsed.

2. Unusually heavy monsoon rains have flooded large parts of the southern Indian state of Bangalore. The elderly in particular were rescued from their flooded houses. But everyday life goes on. Many employees drove the tractor to work.

3. A powerful “heat dome” is responsible for the blistering heat wave currently scorching California. In Death Valley, one of the hottest regions in the world, the temperature even rose above 50 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. After the almost rainless summer, many areas are very dry and highly flammable.

More than 5,000 residents in Northern California have been asked to evacuate their homes threatened by wildfires. The flames have already destroyed more than 200 buildings.

4. The heat in Europe has also left its mark in Spain. The Coto de Doñana National Park in southern Spain has completely dried up. So far, the lagoon has only dried up twice: in 1995 and 1983, after years of drought. In 2004, 2,867 water points were mapped in the park. But now they’ve all dried up.

5. After heavy rainfall, the Stryama River has burst its banks in Slatina, Bulgaria. More than 600 soldiers are involved in clearing the affected area.

6. Typhoon Hinnamnor swept across South Korea on Tuesday evening. Three people were killed and at least two others are still missing. The full extent of the damage could not be fully estimated on Tuesday. 3,500 people were taken to safety earlier, South Korean broadcasters reported based on government information.

About 15,000 people in areas threatened by landslides and floods were advised to evacuate their homes. 20,000 people were temporarily without power.

Source: Krone

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