Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 2.3
Northwestern Pakistan in August 2009 (
top
) and during the fl ooding in 2010 (
bottom
):
Very strong monsoon rains caused the Indus River to inundate large areas and affecting 15-20 mil-
lion people causing the worst fl ooding in a century. This extreme event caused signifi cant damage,
in particular to the agriculture sector as more than 6 million ha of agricultural land was inundated.
Moreover, the productivity of this submerged land could be severely affected or even lost, causing
a long-term impact on the environment and the society (UN
2010
) (Photo from UNEP
2010
)
world for weeks. These events had disastrous economic, environmental, and social
consequences. Hurricane Sandy resulted in $50 billion economic losses, more than
$25 billion insured losses, and led indirectly to power outages in 15 states (Munich
2013
). The fl ooding in Pakistan was considered the worst in a century - killed over
1,600 people and left two million homeless (UN
2010
).
But what is the difference between a natural hazard, an extreme event, and a
disaster? Is a landslide in a deserted mountainous region a disaster? Questions like
these require crystal-clear defi nitions of these terms.
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