Natural disasters and cataclysms March. Fires in California

Last winter in Moscow became one of the warmest in the history of meteorological observation. However, powerful cyclones periodically hit the capital, bringing huge amounts of snow to the city, as happened last night. Experts note that such behavior is not typical for this region.

But the difficult situation with the vagaries of the weather is not only in central district Russia. Just recently, a wave of powerful tornadoes swept across American Florida. Certainly, this phenomenon This is not new at all for the region, but, according to weather forecasters, they were alarmed by the timing of this all happening. The fact is that such hurricanes and tornadoes are recorded in the east of America only in the middle of spring, when the air warms up enough and all the necessary conditions for the occurrence of tornadoes and storms arise.

While the tornadoes tore down trees and homes in the South, many residents northern regions on the east coast were surprised by the weather anomalies. At first, Olympia delighted the Americans with snow. However, then the snow flakes gave way to freezing rains, and already in the middle of the week central cities America was drowned in water. The temperature difference in this short period of time reached 15 degrees. Townspeople swapped their fur coats for waterproof raincoats, risking breaking their legs sliding along the sidewalks. Looking at these weather anomalies, scientists are increasingly convinced that global climate change is occurring on Earth.

“Climate change was recognized as the main global threat in 2016, that is, it is an environmental threat, it comes out on top in the world. I believe that we can agree with this, because nothing now excites people’s minds, in general residents of probably all countries and the whole world, as climate change" , - said the head of the Department of Environmental Management and Protection environment city ​​of Moscow Anton Kulbachevsky.

This winter has presented surprises to residents of the United States not only in February. In January, a powerful snowstorm swept through east coast USA, bringing down huge amounts of snow on cities. According to weather forecasters, it was the strongest in the last 110 years. 85 million people in 11 states were at the epicenter of the disaster. Despite warnings from the authorities and measures taken precautions, over 40 people died in three days. People died in road accidents that occurred due to poor visibility on the roads and snow drifts. Many of them died from poisoning carbon monoxide, when they tried to warm their homes, which were de-energized due to the elements.

Residents of Oshima Island, located in Japan, were also unprepared for the surprises of this winter. For the first time in 115 years, snow fell here, and not only did it lightly dust the streets; utility services had to urgently remove the snowdrifts. Moreover, the temperature here dropped to a record minus five degrees by local subtropical standards. This may seem funny to Russians accustomed to cold weather, but in southern Japan such anomalies caused real panic.

“Climate changes over the past ten years have been observed in all parts and on all continents, and almost all countries are already subject to these changes.”, - noted Kulbachevsky.

But in England, snowdrifts were expected for Christmas, but what they got was torrential rain. Rivers in the center of the country overflowed their banks, and heavy rains turned London into a city on the water. Hundreds of thousands of people were caught in the flood zone in rural areas. To compensate for the losses of the victims, the government allocated fifty million pounds sterling.

Experts no longer hide the fact that the climate is changing at a rapid pace throughout the world. Scientists from the University of Kansas analyzed long-term observations of weather anomalies and found that their number has been growing exponentially over the past couple of years. And every time natural disasters are becoming more and more destructive. According to some experts, modern humanity I'm just not ready for this sudden changes climate. Sudden snowfalls knock out power stations, during terrible floods entire settlements disappear and thousands of people die. And scientists warn that this is just the beginning.

“There were a lot of different conditions on Earth: lack of oxygen, recovery processes, there was no oxygen at all, no water, and so on, and so on, and so on. Based on this, we can clearly say that such conditions will exist. Lack of water, climate change - all this can happen", - warns candidate of geological and mineralogical sciences Alexander Soleny.

Climate change is turning everything upside down. Pieces of ice the size of cherries fell into United Arab Emirates. Although weather forecasters predicted heavy rainfall here, the picture presented exceeded all expectations. Yellow desert dunes gave way to snow-covered slopes. For a region where daytime temperatures reach 50 degrees Celsius and instead of rain there are sandstorms, such natural anomalies are extremely rare.

Recently, scientists stated that such changes could lead to the fact that Siberia will also soon become very warm, so much so that deserts may appear here instead of taiga. Experts from the UK Met Office compiled special card, where they depicted how the climate on Earth will change by the end of the 21st century. If these forecasts are to be believed, then within half a century tropical fruits will be able to be grown in the center of Russia. But in the south of Siberia the land will turn into lifeless deserts.

“The fire danger of forests will increase sharply. The amount of precipitation falling per year will remain approximately the same, but the number of hot, dry periods, when the fire danger of forests is simply terrible, will be greater.”, - the head of the Climate and Energy program is convinced World Fund wildlife Alexey Kokorin.

Scientists claim that Siberia already has unusual areas with an abnormally warm climate. For example, Baksheevsky linden forests. This place has been preserved in Omsk region dating back to the pre-glacial period, and it is truly unique, since a whole linden grove grows here, absolutely uncharacteristic for Siberia. And this despite the fact that such trees are usually found in warm and humid climates. This oasis is located on an area of ​​125 hectares, that is, a country like Morocco can fit here. According to experts, this region, which is famous for its severe frosts, could turn into continuous Baksheevsky linden forests.

"As for Central Siberia And Eastern Siberia, here we expect uniform climate warming. There will undoubtedly be some modification of the humidification regime and, of course, an impact on permafrost, that is, thawing will undoubtedly occur", says Alexander Kislov, head of the Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Faculty of Geography, Moscow State University.

Scientists have long said that the Earth's climate is undergoing global changes. Many of them associate this fact with global warming, which leads to warm winters, freezing rain and snow thunderstorms.

The abnormally warm December is associated with the El Niño current, which appears in Pacific Ocean at the end of December and stretches from the coast of Peru to Western America to Southeast Asia. In some places it can cause terrible floods, in others - transform fertile lands in the desert. Moreover, this element is capable of destroying entire civilizations. According to climatologists, El Niño will cause devastating floods and abnormal droughts this year. We will suffer in this case. The worst thing is that the conclusions of scientists are already beginning to come true.

For a whole month, the south and east of South America were flooded with large-scale downpours. Paraguay suffered the most. The level of the river of the same name exceeded the permissible norm by seven meters. Streams of water flooded cities and settlements. The number of victims of the tragedy was in the dozens. Big water left over 100 thousand people homeless. The amount of damage caused, only according to the most conservative estimates, amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars.

And in Ethiopia, due to El Niño, there has been an abnormal drought for several months now, which has destroyed several crops in a row and led to massive loss of livestock. As a result, entire areas of this African country suffer from hunger. The death toll is already in the thousands, over 10 million people are on the verge of starvation - they simply have nothing to eat. And this, according to climatologists, is far from the limit. Due to El Niño, the climate will change in the most dramatic way, bringing more and more destruction, sowing devastation and mass panic among people.

"If we take scientific articles"If we take scientific surveys, we will see that if such and such a phenomenon used to happen once, say, ten years, now it happens once a month.", - emphasizes Kokorin.

The Gulf Stream has a significant influence on the Earth's climate. This is the warmest and largest current in the world, originating in Gulf of Mexico and current towards Europe. But today experts are sounding the alarm: the Gulf Stream has deviated more than 800 kilometers towards Canada. If the deviation continues, the planet will face global catastrophe. Greenland's glaciers will melt, a huge mass cold water will overwhelm the continents. Canada and Great Britain will be wiped off the face of the earth. IN North America the safest and driest place will be only the Cordillera mountain range.

Ice scientists provide disappointing statistics regarding glaciers. The volume of ice in the Arctic has decreased threefold over 35 years and amounts to just over 5.5 million square kilometers. In neighboring Greenland, more than 80 glaciers are melting at a rapid pace. And Antarctica has lost over one hundred billion tons of ice in 10 years. If nothing changes, the ice cap will completely melt in the near future.

Melting glaciers will inevitably lead to rising sea levels. If it rises by just a few centimeters, our planet will be tormented by hurricanes and tropical storms destructive force. And if the water level rises by several tens of centimeters, then Marseille, Barcelona, ​​New York, Los Angeles and many other coastal cities will be flooded. Water will absorb continents, reducing the amount of fertile land. People will migrate en masse to safe areas. This will especially affect the inhabitants of Africa, who will flee en masse to Europe. And then the current migrant crisis will seem like a mere trifle to the Old World.

“Climate migration, of course, will occur - we are unlikely to be able to distinguish it from economic", Kokorin warns.

Scientists have recently discovered that one of the causes of climate change is the Moon. American astronomers tried to prove this hypothesis. John Wallace and Tsubasa Kihoyama, planetary scientists from the University of Washington in Seattle, found that the Earth's satellite actually increases the temperature of our planet's atmosphere. In addition, the amount of precipitation is also affected by the night light. In certain phases the Moon increases atmospheric pressure, literally pulling the Earth's atmosphere to the side. As a result, the air begins to warm up, rain clouds appear, and then precipitation falls.

However, there are also those who argue that global warming is just a fiction, and all natural disasters are our own doing. More precisely, those people who created the so-called climate weapons. This military innovation was first used in the middle of the last century by the American military. The operation launched in Vietnam was called "Popeye". For five years, during the rainy season, Americans sprayed reagents into the clouds, causing downpours. Heavy rainfall led to crop failure. There was famine in the country. Today, the use of climate weapons is prohibited according to the UN convention adopted in 1978. However, no specialist will be able to recognize the use of these weapons. And if abnormal rainfall hits any region or, conversely, drought occurs, no one can attribute these disasters to weapons mass destruction.

According to some reports, natural and man-made disasters during 2016 claimed the lives of more than ten thousand people and led to financial losses totaling $158 billion.

At least 120 people were killed and hundreds more were injured after a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck central Italy, southeast of the city of Perugia. The damage caused by the earthquake that occurred at the end of August in central Italy is estimated at approximately 3-4 billion euros.

Photos of Amatrice before and after the earthquake:

Large fires in American state Tennessee turned the territory into a location for filming horror films:

It subsequently became known that ten people died as a result of the fires. Damage from natural fires in the US state of Tennessee alone amounted to $500 million.

Haitian authorities said Hurricane Matthew, which hit the south of the country in early October, caused the country $1.89 billion in damage and economic losses. The death toll from Hurricane Matthew in Haiti has reached at least 877 people.

Flooding in Louisiana damaged approximately 60,000 homes. About 5.5 thousand people were forced to leave their homes and move to shelters. Emergency services rescued over 7 thousand people from flooded houses and cars. Four people died.
State authorities announced the distribution of approximately $20 million to citizens.

Volcanic eruptions in Indonesia in August led to the closure of two airports. In September, at least 13 tourists, including foreign citizens, went missing after the eruption of Mount Barudjari.

The most powerful for last decade Typhoon Sarika, which hit several regions in southern China, forced local authorities to evacuate about 500 thousand residents. The typhoon caused direct economic damage to the country amounting to 5.49 billion yuan (about 813 million US dollars).

In April, a series of earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 7.3 on the Richter scale occurred on the Japanese island of Kyushu, causing massive destruction of houses and bridges, landslides and soil displacements with damage to cars and railways. In total, about 500 tremors were recorded. At least 10 people were killed and about 880 were injured.

Reimbursable losses from the May fires in western Canada's Alberta province amount to C$3.58 billion (about US$2.75 billion), making them the most expensive insured natural disaster throughout the history of the country. Over the course of a few days, the fire grew in size from 1,200 hectares to 220,000 hectares. The flames made a devastating path through the city of Fort McMurray, driving about one hundred thousand residents from their homes and leveling parts of the area.

In May, during the flood in German Bavaria Ten people died near the border with Austria. And damage from floods in the central French region of Ile-de-France cost insurance companies 600 million euros.

An earthquake of magnitude 7.9 occurred on November 14 in New Zealand. The area near the epicenter was completely cut off from the rest of the world, aftershocks also led to tsunamis, landslides and river floods. Authorities estimated damage from the earthquake at approximately 8 billion New Zealand dollars (about 5.8 billion US dollars).

In Israel, more than 60 thousand people were evacuated due to large-scale fires that engulfed the country at the end of November. In Haifa, the worst affected by the fires, about 1.8 thousand apartments were damaged, and private individuals suffered damage amounting to about 120 million euros. In addition, over five days of fires in Israel, more than 120 people were injured.

The radius of ash ejected from the eruption of the Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador over several days in February was more than 5 kilometers.

In early December, at least 65,000 people were forced to flee their homes due to a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck the western Indonesian province of Aceh. 100 people became victims of the disaster.

In Costa Rica, the Turrialba volcano awoke in September, as a result of which the operation of the capital's airport was suspended.

In July, due to heavy rains in China, about 150 million people were evacuated and 56 thousand houses were destroyed. Economic damage amounted to 450.9 billion yuan (approximately $7.5 billion). IN total the disaster affected 1,200 districts in 26 provinces.

The outgoing year 2016 brought not only good things, but also disasters, terrorist attacks, and cataclysms. Izvestia chose the most memorable and most shocking ones. In fact, there are many more of them, tens of times.

The biggest plane crashes

The beginning of the year was quite calm. There were no major plane crashes until the end of winter, until February 24 The Tara Airlines plane did not disappear from radar in the mountains of Nepal. Three crew members and 20 passengers, including two children, were killed.

March 19 There was a crash in Rostov-on-Don of a Boeing 737-800 airliner from FlyDubai, flying from Dubai (UAE). The plane crashed while landing in poor visibility conditions. 62 people died.

May 19 An EgyptAir passenger plane Airbus A320, flying from Paris to Cairo on flight MS804, disappeared from radar. The plane disappeared 20 minutes after entering Greek space and fell into the sea. There were 56 passengers on board (including three children) and 10 crew members.

July 1 near settlement Rybny Uyan in Irkutsk region The transport plane of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations Il-76, which was engaged in extinguishing forest fires, crashed. 10 crew members were killed.

October 21 Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, coming from Krasnoyarsk Territory to Urengoy. 19 people were killed, three were injured.

November 29 plane BAe 146 crashed in Colombia. There were 77 people on board - nine crew members and 68 passengers, including players and staff of the Brazilian football club Chapecoense flying to the first meeting of the Copa Sudamericana final. The cause of the plane crash was the plane's insufficient fuel supply. As a result of the accident, six people survived, 71 people died.

And then came the terrible December. December 3 A police plane crashed in Indonesia. There were 13 people on board, all of them died. An explosion was heard before the plane crashed.

December 7 An ATR 42 plane with 47 people on board crashed in Pakistan. The plane's pilot issued a distress signal shortly before the plane disappeared from air traffic controllers' radars.

December 25 two minutes after takeoff from Adler airport, a Tu-154 plane of the Russian Ministry of Defense, flying to Syria, crashed. There were 92 people on board. Everyone died. Among the victims of the disaster are the head of the Department of Culture of the Ministry of Defense Anton Gubankov and almost the entire composition of the legendary choir, part of the Alexandrov Ensemble, together with the head of the group Valery Khalilov, one of the most famous philanthropists in the country, Doctor Lisa - Elizaveta Glinka, members film crews Channel One, NTV and Zvezda.

President of the Partner Foundation civil aviation» Honored Pilot of the USSR Oleg Smirnov notes that in terms of flight safety, 2016 was no different from the previous two.

IN small aviation, especially for general purposes, there is poor dynamics - the number of disasters is increasing,” noted Oleg Smirnov. - 2016 will end with even worse results than 2015.

Terrorism has expanded its borders

January 7–8 The first terrorist attacks occurred in Libya and Egypt. In Libya, in the city of Zliten, a suicide bomber in a car attacked a training camp for cadets. More than 70 people were killed and about 200 were injured. This was followed by a car bombing in the city of Ras Lanuf. In this place, according to various sources, from seven to 10 people were killed and 40 were injured. The Islamic State organization (banned in Russia) took responsibility.

January 8 In the tourist city of Hurghada, Egypt, a hotel was attacked by two armed men. As a result, three tourists were injured: two Austrian citizens and one Swedish citizen.

January 15–16 In the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, a group of militants carried out terrorist attacks in a restaurant and two hotels. At least 28 people from 18 countries were killed and 33 were injured. During the operation to free the hostages from the hotel, three terrorists were killed and 126 hostages were freed. The terrorist group Al-Qaeda (banned in Russia) claimed responsibility for the attacks.

On the night of January 31 in the vicinity of the city of Maiduguri in Nigeria, at least 65 people became victims of militants from the Boko Haram group (banned in Russia).

On the same day, three explosions occurred in the Shiite quarter of Saida Zainab in the south of Damascus. The terrorists detonated one explosive device remotely - it was planted in one of the cars, while at the same time a suicide bomber blew himself up on a shuttle bus nearby. A few minutes later, another terrorist blew himself up. Dozens of cars and shops burned down. Nearby residential buildings were severely damaged. The triple explosion killed 76 people and injured 128 people.

February 2 On board the Daallo Airlines Airbus A321-211, flight D3 159 from Mogadishu to Djibouti, an explosive device was detonated by a suicide bomber who was a member of the Islamist group Harakat al-Shabab (banned in Russia). The explosion created a hole in the fuselage of the airliner and depressurization occurred. The pilots managed to land the plane at Mogadishu airport. Apart from the terrorist, none of those on board the plane (seven crew members and 74 passengers - 81 people) were killed, two passengers were injured.

February 9 In Nigeria, suicide bombers attacked a camp for displaced people in Bono State. As a result of a series of explosions, more than 60 people were killed. The radical Islamist group Boko Haram (banned in Russia) operates in northeastern Nigeria.

March 13 in the evening in the center of Istanbul in Turkey, at a bus stop during a large crowd of people, a car bomb exploded between two buses. 37 people were killed and 125 injured.

In the morning March 22 two explosions occurred in international airport Brussels. The third explosion occurred a little later in a metro car at the Maelbeek station. As a result of the terrorist attacks, 32 people were killed and more than 300 were injured of varying degrees of severity. The terrorist group “Islamic State” (banned in Russia) claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 27 In Lahore, at least 72 people were killed and more than a hundred were injured as a result of the terrorist attack. The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber who blew himself up at the main entrance to the Gulshan-e-Iqbal children's park. The victims of the terrorist attack were mainly women and children. The terrorist group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (banned in Russia) claimed responsibility for the explosion.

April 19 two explosions occurred in the center of Kabul (Afghanistan). The terrorist attacks killed 64 people and injured 347.

May 10 A truck bomb explosion in the Turkish province of Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey killed 16 people.

May 11 The Iraqi capital suffered a series of terrorist attacks that killed 94 people and injured 150.

June 12 happened in Orlando (Florida, USA) massacre. 29-year-old Omar Mateen opened fire from firearms at the gay nightclub Pulse and then took hostages. As a result of the shooting, 49 people were killed and 53 were injured. During the police operation, the attacker was shot dead.

June 28 Three explosions occurred in the international terminal of Istanbul Ataturk Airport (Türkiye). As a result of the terrorist attack, 44 people were killed, including 19 foreigners, and 239 people were injured.

July 1 Terrorists attacked a restaurant in the diplomatic quarter of Dhaka (Bangladesh). The next morning, the police carried out an assault and six militants were killed. During the operation, the police managed to free 13 people. 22 people became victims of the terrorist attack.

July 3, Iraq. A car bomb exploded in the center of Baghdad, where large number restaurants and retail space. The terrorist attack killed 292 people.

July 8, Iraq. On the night of July 8, a series of explosions occurred near a Shiite shrine in the city of Balad. 40 people were killed and 75 were injured.

July 14 There was a terrorist attack in Nice. 31-year-old Tunisian Mohamed Lauege-Boulel drove a 19-ton truck into a crowd of people watching fireworks on the Promenade des Anglais in honor of Bastille Day. 86 people were killed and 308 were injured. Among the dead is 20-year-old student from Moscow Victoria Savchenko. In total, five Russians were injured.

July 16 Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced an attempted military coup in the country. During the coup attempt and its suppression, 161 people were killed and 1,440 were injured. The number of those arrested exceeded 2.8 thousand. There was a wave of purges and layoffs.

July 23 A double terrorist attack occurred near Dehmazang Square in Kabul, Afghanistan. More than 80 people were killed and more than 200 were injured.

July 24 late in the evening in Bavarian Ansbach near the venue of a music festival, when the concert ended and about 2.5 thousand people began to go home, an incident occurred powerful explosion. The only person killed is the main suspect. He probably carried an explosive device in his backpack. 12 people were injured, three of them seriously.

July 25 In Japan, patients at the Tsukui Lily Garden nursing home, located 50 km from Tokyo, suffered at the hands of a maniac. A former employee, out of hostility toward disabled people, climbed through a window and attacked patients. 19 people were killed, 20 were seriously injured, and six were slightly injured. After the attack, 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu surrendered to police.

July 26 In Normandy, France, a terrorist attack took place in the Church of St. Stephen in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. In the morning, two ISIS militants armed with knives took five hostages during the morning service. Among them were one priest, two nuns and two parishioners. The attackers slit the throat of 85-year-old priest Jacques Hamel, and another of the hostages was seriously wounded. The attackers were shot dead by the police. The killing came days after a series of other terrorist attacks in Western Europe, including France and Germany.

​​​​​​​ December 10- explosions in the center Turkish Istanbul in the Besiktas area. 44 people were killed (including 36 police officers), 166 people were injured.

December 19 in the Center contemporary art In Ankara (in Turkey), at the opening of the photo exhibition “Russia through the eyes of a traveler: from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka,” Russian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Turkey Andrei Karlov was shot dead.

December 19 There was a terrorist attack at the Christmas market in Berlin. The truck entered the bazaar area filled with people. As a result of the collision under the wheels of the truck, 11 people died and about 50 more visitors were injured. In the abandoned truck, the body of the Pole driver was found in the passenger seat. The police have identified a suspect, 24-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri, who was killed on Friday, December 23, near Milan, Italy, during a shootout with local police. On December 24, three accomplices of the terrorist were arrested in Tunisia.

Vice-President of the International Association of Veterans of the Alpha Unit, Alexey Filatov, assessing the terrorist threat in Russia in 2016, told Izvestia that, despite some increase in statistics on the prevention of terrorist attacks, the situation remains under control.

Although the terrorist threat both in the world and in Russia is still quite high, thanks to the successful work security forces Tragedies like Budennovsk, Nord-Ost, and Beslan are not repeated in our country. Criminals cannot coordinate their work in such a way as to prepare a serious terrorist attack. We see only single attacks. Most often these are explosions in the North Caucasus region, attacks on security forces. As for the world, the main problem is Syria. As long as it bleeds, the threat to Europe and terrorist activity in Russia will remain, the expert noted.

According to the global terrorism index, which measures the level of terrorist activity within a country according to four main indicators - the number of terrorist incidents, the number of deaths, the number of casualties, the level of property damage - the first places in the ranking with the greatest danger of terrorism were taken by Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Syria. They accounted for 72% of all victims of terrorism. The total number of victims killed in 2016 at the hands of terrorists was 29,376 people. The danger of terrorism has increased significantly over the past year in countries such as France, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Tunisia and Burundi. Ukraine, being in 11th place, is now the most dangerous country in the CIS from the point of view of terrorism. Russia is in 30th place in the terrorism index, right behind France.

Natural disasters and man-made disasters

February 6 An earthquake occurred in Taiwan with a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale. 116 people were killed and 422 injured.

February 25 In Vorkuta, 30 miners were killed due to a methane explosion at the Severnaya coal mine. On the night of February 28 During search and rescue operations there was a second explosion. Another miner and five rescuers were killed.

April 14–17 An earthquake occurred in Japan in the Kumamoto province. The magnitude reached 7.3. 137 people were killed, 11 were missing, about 1.1 thousand people were injured. The first major earthquake in Japan, killing more than 30 people, since 2011.

April 16- an earthquake in Ecuador 27 km from the city of Muisne with a magnitude of 7.8. Was introduced state of emergency. Numerous destructions occurred. 660 people were killed, 32 were missing, and 51,376 were injured.

May 14–20 101 people were killed and more than a hundred are missing in Sri Lanka. Following the rains and floods came landslides. Hundreds of families disappeared without a trace from villages that found themselves in the path of the flow of eroded earth and stones. In total, about 450 thousand people were affected by the disaster. 4 thousand houses were damaged, 530 were destroyed.

June 18 in Karelia on Syamozero, a group of children rafting on boats, accompanied by instructors, got caught in a storm. 14 people died.

Mid June became catastrophic for southern China, where floods began following heavy rains. Populations near the Yellow and Yangtze rivers were particularly affected. As a result, 32 million people were affected and 186 people died.

June 23- flooding in the mountainous state of West Virginia (USA), which occurred after heavy rain. It led to widespread destruction and the death of at least 24 people. The downpour lasted for several hours and became the largest in a hundred years.

August 6–7- flooding due to heavy rains in the Republic of Macedonia. In the capital, Skopje, entire neighborhoods were under water. The rains washed away the area ring road around the capital, cars were thrown hundreds of meters. More than 20 people died, most of whom were unable to get out of their cars. Dozens of people were injured. Some areas of the country were cut off from the world by landslides.

August 24 An earthquake of magnitude 6.2 occurred in the central region of Italy. Its tremors were felt in Rome, Naples and Florence, among others. The earthquake killed 295 people. More than 3 thousand lost a roof over their heads. This is an earthquake - biggest disaster in the history of the country since 2009.

More than 10 thousand people died as a result of natural and man-made disasters in 2016. Financial losses amounted to $158 billion.

Payments from insurance companies in 2016 reached $49 billion, which is almost a third more than in 2015, but covered only a third of the losses caused by catastrophes.

The deadliest natural disaster in 2016 was Hurricane Matthew, which killed 733 people, mostly in Haiti.

The main cause of road accidents is violation of rules

​​​​​​​ According to experts, from January to September 2016, more than 130 thousand road accidents occurred in Russia. During this period, about 16 thousand people died on the roads.

Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, chairman of the public organization of motorists “Freedom of Choice” Vyacheslav Lysakov is confident that over the year the situation on the roads has not changed either for the worse or for the better.

According to statistics, 6–7% of accidents occur due to drunk drivers, 20% due to poor condition road surface. But two thirds of road accidents, most large number, occur due to indiscipline, personal behavior and violation of rules traffic, - said Lysakov.

One of the worst road accidents of the year was an accident December 4 in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug. A regular bus carrying a children's acrobatics team collided with a truck and cars. 10 children and two adults died in the accident. ​​​​

(lithospheric phenomena);

The main causes of natural disasters:

• release of energy in geological layers h eat(atmosphere, lithosphere, ionosphere, hydrosphere), associated with gravity, temperature changes or earth rotation;
• human impact on nature(world development, insufficient assessment of the results of intervention, poor forecast of the onset of emergency, insufficient actions to eliminate it);
• military, political and social conflicts.

Often one replaces the other. At devastating flood, the consequences can be expressed in the form of famine and epidemics, claiming thousands of lives.

Natural disasters in Ukraine and Russia

As statistics show natural disasters in Russia, annual losses from them reach 60 billion rubles. Floods account for up to 50% of all costs. 36% of total number Natural disasters include hurricanes and tornadoes. Over the decade, there is an increase in disasters by more than 6%. The main disaster areas are North Caucasus and Volgo-Vyatka. Additionally, Penza, Lipetsk, Sakhalin, Kemerovo, Ulyanovsk, Ivanovo, Belgorod and Kaliningrad regions are susceptible to the elements. The Republic of Tatarstan can be highlighted separately.

Statistics of natural disasters in Ukraine indicate mainly the presence of floods and mudflows. This is due to the large number (about 73 thousand) of rivers in the country. They also have a destructive effect strong winds, forest and steppe fires. From April 18 to April 20, 2017, a snow cyclone that passed through Ukraine from Kharkov to the Odessa region cut off power to 318 settlements.

Natural disasters of Old Testament times

Ancient sources testify to catastrophes that occurred everywhere in the world. Bible stories mention " global flood", the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius wiped out the city of Pompeii. Scientists who have studied Atlantis are inclined to believe that this island disappeared under water as a result of an earthquake.

In 1833, the Krakatoa volcano erupted. The accompanying earthquake generated a tidal wave that reached the islands of Java and Sumatra and killed about 300 thousand people. The flood on the Yangtze River in China in 1931 covered an area of ​​300 thousand square meters. km. The streets of Hankou were covered in water for 4 months.

Disaster Research at the Smithsonian Institution USA

Statistics of natural disasters in the world show the average annual number of victims - 50 thousand people.

Percentage of natural disasters occurring in the world:

Results latest research showed that natural disaster statistics are changing towards a rapid increase in natural disasters. In 2010, disasters killed 304 thousand people. This is the highest figure since 1976:

• January 2010 – earthquake in Haiti. The victims were 222 thousand people;
• summer 2010 – abnormal heat in Russia. 56 thousand people died;
• floods in China and Pakistan. More than 6 thousand people became victims.

And this does not take into account smaller disasters that claimed lives. In March 2011, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of Honshu, which generated tsunami waves 10 m high. Flooding also caused accidents at nuclear power plants and spread. As a result, more than 30 thousand people in Japan were affected.

Hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and epidemics have affected 2.7 billion people in the world over the past 10 years. Of these, 622 thousand people died. The graph shows the dynamics of growth in the number of disasters in the world, with a slight downward trend over 5 years (from 2010 to 2015).

Natural disasters of 2016

In 2016, natural disaster statistics are as follows:

• February 6 – earthquake in Taiwan. 166 people were killed, 422 were injured;
• April 14–17 – earthquake in Kumamoto province (Japan). 148 victims, 1.1 thousand people injured;
• April 16 – earthquake in Ecuador. 692 victims, more than 50 thousand injured;
• May 14–20 in Sri Lanka: rains, floods, landslides. 200 dead and missing. In total, 450 thousand people were affected;
• June 18 – in Karelia, a group of children were going down the river and got caught in a storm. 14 people died;
• June – flood in China. 186 victims, 32 million people affected;
• June 23 – flood in the USA. 24 people died;
• August 6–7 – floods and landslides in Macedonia. 20 people were killed, dozens were injured;
• August 24 – earthquake in Italy. 295 people died.

Measures to protect the population in emergency situations

If the government takes adequate measures for the population, then the statistics of natural disasters show less negative consequences for residents of the country (region). This is especially true for places where negative natural phenomena periodically occur. Thus, coastal settlements are exposed to periodic river floods, and the risk of a tropical cyclone often arises in island states.

It is possible to predict a cyclone by receiving satellite images. You can determine the approximate place and time of the event. The time of tornado release can be determined 36 hours in advance. There are methods to reduce the strength of a hurricane using cloud seeding with silver iodide. The population is being warned ahead of the cyclone in the United States. People living in the risk zone seek to strengthen the coastal zone in advance with dams and tree plantings, and create shelters with food supplies.

During the construction of buildings, additional wind protection is provided, the buildings are isolated from the possibility of water getting inside. The possibility of an urgent evacuation is being developed.

If we consider the impact of natural disasters by region, we can see the following trend: more developed countries suffer, in percentage terms, more material losses than human losses. In economically poor countries the trend is the opposite.

Nations that have invested heavily in their facilities are seeking to protect them from natural disasters by using the latest technology to calculate the location, time and severity of the event.

Particularly indicative in this sense are the floods that carry away in underdeveloped countries. economically countries with thousands of lives. Fertile soils, fertilized by regular river floods, attract people to settle in coastal zone, as, for example, in densely populated India, and regular spills absorb the results of labor and the people themselves.

There have been many natural disasters over the past 3 years: houses were destroyed, people were injured. Often information about an upcoming natural phenomenon reaches the population promptly, but some are hoping for “maybe”, and some are trying to film the approaching tornado on a video camera. As a result, the notorious “human factor” plays a cruel joke and increases the number of victims.

At all times, people were divided into those who did not believe any predictions, believing that the future was not determined, and those who listened to the soothsayers. We will not adhere to the point of view of either one or the other, since the truth, as always, is ephemeral and elusive for human consciousness. Let's just get acquainted with the statements of prophets and astrologers about what awaits humanity in the coming 2016. In any case, it's interesting. (website)

There will be no apocalypse

I would immediately like to reassure our fatalist readers that not a single predictor promised an Apocalypse in the near future, so the coming year, apparently, will not be the end of the world. Nevertheless, we will have to endure serious cataclysms, both natural and human, in this short period.

The most serious threat is the possibility of a Third World War with the use of weapons of mass destruction, the center of which almost all prophets call the countries of the Middle East, where tension has already reached such a limit that it could soon result in a global geopolitical conflict. True, the seer Vanga once wrote that until Syria falls, there will be no war. But the great Michel Nostradamus predicted that in 2016 people on Earth will suffer en masse from destructive rays (quite similar to radiation from the use of atomic weapons).

True, almost all prophets great hope were placed on Russia and China, which in a fraternal alliance and with good will can completely change the course historical events and prevent world carnage. In this regard, the United States is no longer mentioned as a superpower, since 2016 will be fatal for them, when the country will find itself in a deep political and economic crisis, quickly losing its influence in the world.

In Western Europe, many soothsayers, psychics and even researchers, such as James Hensen, prophesy great natural and economic disasters, namely the flooding of a large part of the continent, as well as the collapse of the European Union.

Predictions for Russia for 2016

Future Russian Federation concerns not only the Russians themselves, today every earthling realizes that the world order on the entire planet depends on what Russia will become in the near future.

Astrologer Pavel Globa, who won the trust of people by accurately predicting in 2011 civil war in Ukraine and the collapse of this country, predicts a rapid economic revival of the Russian Federation. And this will be, he says, all the more surprising because the world will be in rage in 2016 global crisis in economics. Against its background, Russia will strengthen and increase its global influence, significantly displacing the United States of America.

This will also be facilitated by the Eurasian Economic Union, which is destined to significantly strengthen and expand next year due to the entry into it European countries. This process will especially intensify after the collapse of the EU, when many Western European countries will want to join the union led by Russia.

The Bulgarian seer Vanga, who is also distinguished by the accuracy of her predictions, spoke a lot about the greatness and spiritual revival of Russia. In her opinion, next year the Russian Federation will not only get back on its feet economically, but will also begin to help other countries. But the main thing is that it will appear in Russia national idea, which will unite all the peoples of this great power, which will ultimately allow it to become the spiritual leader of the whole world. All these changes, Vanga clarifies, are associated with the ruler, who will be called the Great.

Nostradamus also wrote about the greatness of Russia, calling this country the world hegemon, which it will become after 2016. True, the medieval prophet warned that this could play a cruel joke on a great power, since it would lead to disagreements in society and even coups. In addition, nature will be unfavorable against Russia at this time, subjecting the eastern parts of the country to global flooding, and central part- massive forest fires. However, Russia will emerge from all these trials with honor!

Predictions of Pavel Globa for 2016

Russian astrologer Pavel Globa has been giving fairly accurate forecasts for the future for 30 years. In his opinion, 2016 is a landmark year for almost every country, although, as always, the world powers are primarily in view, since the fate of the planet depends on them.

So, next year, economic and political collapse awaits the United States and the European Union. The economic crisis will lead to devastation and political unrest in the United States, and the EU will simply begin to disintegrate. The crisis in the EU economy is already being felt, next year Portugal will declare itself a bankrupt country, after which the UK will finally decide to leave the EU. This will be the beginning of the collapse of this union, which will cease to exist by the end of 2016. Naturally, the Eurodollar will also die for a long time, countries will again return to their national currencies, and borders will be closed for visa-free travelers who are already accustomed to freely moving around Western Europe.

Russia, as we have already mentioned, will easily overcome the global economic crisis, strengthen its position thanks to the Eurasian Union, opposing NATO with a much more powerful alternative in force. The Eurasian Union itself will expand throughout 2016, it will include Gagauzia, Transnistria, and then Novorossiya - a union of regions that do not want to live in Ukraine.

In Ukraine itself, another revolution will take place in the spring, which will bring to power those who are ready to cooperate with Russia and the Eurasian Union. The pro-Western husk will simply fall off the Ukrainian leaders.

As for natural disasters, Pavel Globa pointed to the possible flooding of Western Europe, as heavy rains will cover the UK, Italy and the Balkan countries in 2016.

Predictions of Michel Nostradamus for 2016

The quatrain poems of the great Nostradamus have more than once opened pages of the future for humanity, which have come true with amazing accuracy. What did this prophet write about the events of 2016?

Global natural disasters and bloody wars in the Middle East, which Nostradamus mentions, will claim many lives. The confrontation between the two countries in this region, as well as the situation when people in turbans begin to literally cut each other, and the involvement of many other states in this quarrel, may, according to the prophet, very well result in the Third World War.

In addition, he writes, at the end of the year an event should occur that could agitate the entire Islamic world, after which the thirty years war between Christians and Islamists. As a result, there will be only one religion left on Earth. But Nostradamus didn’t specify which one...

In the quatrain poems of the medieval prophet, scientists also saw global natural disasters that await humanity in 2016. Europe will suffer the most, as it faces a great flood in the spring. next year. Heavy rain will occur in the UK, Italy, Hungary and the Czech Republic for several months.

But in America they will rage destructive tornadoes unprecedented power. Russia and Australia will also be seriously affected by nature; they will be the strongest in history. forest fires, and it will not be possible to extinguish them until the fall.

Vanga's predictions for 2016

Note that the blind Bulgarian seer almost never called exact dates, so she doesn’t have a specific prediction for 2016 either. But Vanga talked a lot about what awaits humanity at the turn of 2010-2018. Some of her prophecies have already come true, for example, the global economic crisis, which, in her opinion, will take place in three stages.

Since we have already experienced two of them, then, apparently, a third awaits us, which is designed to overthrow the regime of a unipolar world. Apparently, Vanga foresaw the collapse of the United States, after which this power would lose its world dominance, losing leadership to Russia and China. Germany's influence will increase in Europe. We have already mentioned that Russia will become a spiritual world leader in Vanga’s prophecies about the Russian Federation.

With the greatest concern, the blind seer spoke about the conflict in the Middle East, which could very well escalate into the Third World Massacre. Vanga even pointed out that the most serious threat in this regard comes from Afghanistan, Iraq and Turkey. These countries can start a war among themselves and use weapons of mass destruction. But this will happen only after. However, Vanga clarified, a global collapse will not happen; this will become possible thanks to the efforts of Russia and China.