Water is a powerful element and under unfortunate circumstances, it can cause death and destruction , sometimes without any warning. In this article, you will learn about out of control weather events that have included water, such as a typhoon or flood.
Typhoon Tip , 1979
The typhoons that occur in the Pacific are typically more powerful than hurricanes that attack the Atlantic because they have more water that helps the natural disaster gather more strength. History was set on October 12, 1979, when Typhoon Tip reached the lowest air pressure ever recorded at sea level on earth , at 870 mbars. The standard air pressure for sea level is 1013.25 mbars. When Hurricane Andrew made its appearance, it was only 922 mbars. Typhoon Tip took the lives of 99 people, as it held onto one-minute sustained winds of 190 mph. Amongst the dead, were 44 fishermen who when in the open Pacific during the time of the storm. In its path, Tip sank or grounded 8 ships, including a giant freighter that was broken in half.
The Flood in China , 1931
Those who lived in central China during the winter, spring and summer of 1931 would never forget one of the deadliest natural disasters ever on record. Three major rivers were draining into the region with drastic consequences. The Yangtze, the Yellow and the Huai were flooded at the same time because winter snowstorms were unseasonably heavy in the mountains around the river basics. When the warmth of springtime came, the snow started to melt and overflowed into the rivers. The spring season also brought its fair share of heavy rain, and when cyclone season hit , the number of storms that it caused had greatly increased. Instead of only two storms in the year, there were 10. Seven of the storms occurred in the month of July alone. The excess water only made matters worse and the three major rivers could not keep up with it. People that lived close to the Yellow River were especially hard-hit. The flat area of the region led to around 3.7 to 4 million people drowning or starving to death. The abundance of water was so great that Nanjing City (the capital of China at the time) became an island surrounded by more than 100,000 square kilometers of water , which is greater than the area of Indiana or Portugal.
Other water-related natural disasters that occurred in the world included:
Ӣ Some of the most destructive Atlantic hurricanes to take place during the 1980s include Hurricane Allen, Hurricane Alicia, Hurricane Gilbert, Hurricane Joan, and Hurricane Hugo.
Ӣ In 1927, the Great Mississippi Flood was one of the most destructive floods in United States history, which caused the establishment of many Flood Control Acts.
Ӣ In 1975, China experienced a tragic failure in the Banquio Dam, which happened due to Typhoon Nina. About 86,000 people died from flooding associated with the incident and the disease that followed claimed another 145,000 lives.