The 7.0 magnitude Taihiti earthquake in January killing 230,000 and affecting millions. There were another 53 earthquakes of various scales from 4.5 around the world in the first 6 months of 2010.
The Eyjafjallajökull's eruption on Mar 20, 2010 halted world air travel estimating loss of more than US$200mil by IATA. Flooding and Mudslides left up to 50 people dead in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state. Heavy storm killed many in Southern China.
Global warming causing climate change - melting of the iceberg and raising of sea level worldwide. China and Korea experienced record low temperature in 50 and 70 years respectively on Jan 1 & 2, 2010. Blizzards also hit Mongolia's Dundgobi province. More than 200 people died in northern India, mostly in Uttar Pradesh after a cold snap and accidents in heavy fog on Jan 2. Beijing was hit by a blizzard causing 70–80% of flights out of Beijing Capital International Airport cancelled. 25 Nepalese people, mostly children, died as a blizzard swept over most of Nepal on January 7. Temperatures hit −42°C in Norway and −37.1 °Cin Finland. Then there were many more such phenomenal around the world.
Thailand chaos ended with numerous fatalities and affecting millions of people in the country.
The reins of Bangkok (From top: Outside Siam BTS station, Front view of Centralworld, Missing roof due to explosion at Centralworld)
Greece's debt led to uncertainty in the global financial markets. The Greece financial crisis was the result of poor goverance and planning over period of times where government debts was worth more than the country's output. Speculators also bet on Greece defaulting on its debt and causing the Euro to depreciate. Spain, Portugal and Ireland are the other European States with spiralling debts. Thus, the handling of Greece's crisis became important in prevention of confidence erosion and dumping of Euros.
BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill stained the Gulf of Mexico and could potentially put many out of job. BP's share had depreciated significantly from $60 to $20 in Jun. BP faced huge bills and political pressure that could lead to bankrupcy. While the impact to the environment and its habitats were immensed, the financial impact to many commoners, especially in the UK and US where 40% and 39% shareholders were located respectively. The dividend payout form the basis of many pension schemes leading to a variation of many's retirement plan.
The World seems to be in a state of uncontrolled chaos and the little pickling among us seems so petty. While we cannot stop natural disasters and accidents, we should learn to live in peace and harmony.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:2010_natural_disasters
No comments:
Post a Comment