The Nation's Top 10 Natural Disasters

[raphrat]

this is ranked in terms of death toll, which - while morbid - is only a part of the story. it's interesting to note that until Katrina, this list hadn't changed in almost 70 years. considering the advances in technology, i think that says something about many of the social/governmental issues brought to the fore in the past 3 weeks...

The Nation's

Comments

[rapier1]

Infectious disease is still one fo the biggest killers worldwide.
For example, malaria kills around 1 million people a year. Enteric disease kills around 8 million. Since 2000 more people have been killed by bad water and a lack of mosquito control than during the spanish flu. The problem is that it happens off of our radar.

[inmostlight]

But eight people die of West Nile Virus and it's the next pandemic! It's even more dangerous than SHARKS!

[daft]

And all those Commies say it's Global Warming...

[psychopompous_9]

The Great Chupacabra Uprising of 1807! Well, that'd be North American...

[rapier1]

Well, there are a couple of reasons why its been so long since something like this has happened. Some of it has to do with social changes and ways in which government responses have changed. Most of it has to do with advances in technology though. Radar, satellites, the growth of modern highways, better warning systems, more advanced forecasting, and so forth. When Galveston got hit in 1900 they basically were relying on barometers and reports for ship captains for their warnings.

Of course, the problem is when technology fails everything falls down just a little harder. In the case of Katrina the main failing was a combination of technology and policy. The pumping system was simply put - idiotic. Pumps that fail when the power grid goes down? Pardon? A levee system where overtopping undercuts the soil around the levee base? Really poor implementation. etc etc etc...

[melete]

this list hadn't changed in almost 70 years

I think rapier1 gave a good reason for why the lack of change. We know a lot more much sooner than before. We also have relatively efficient ways of getting that information out. However, we probably rely a little to heavily on the tech. and often don't but enough planning for scenarios of when it fails us

[the_siobhan]

I found this blog entry about the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.

It doesn't mention the population of the city at the time.

[kest]

Google gives me SF population at the time at about 400,000. It gives me New Orleans population at about 500,000.