There is something mysterious with the number 26. There are many natural disasters in this world which occurred on the date 26. A natural disaster is the consequence of a natural hazard (e.g. volcanic eruption, earthquake, landslide) which moves from potential in to an active phase, and as a result affects human activities. In some cases these disasters have lead to the loss of millions of lives.
Here is a list of the top 10 worst natural disasters:
10. Mendoza earthquake (26 January 1985)
The 1985 Mendoza earthquake was a medium-intensity seismic movement in the province of Mendoza, Argentina. It took place 7 minutes after midnight on 26 January 1985, and had a magnitude of 6.2 in the Richter scale. Its epicenter was located about 45 km southwest of Mendoza, the provincial capital, at the southern end of the region’s pre-Andes range, and at a depth of 15 km. It was felt as grade VIII in the Mercalli intensity scale.
The earthquake caused 6 deaths and about 100 injuries. In the affected Greater Mendoza area, where most of the provincial population is concentrated, one third of the buildings were built of adobe. Some 23,000 homes were destroyed or condemned, though the actual number might have been larger. Estimates vary between 50,000 and 100,000 people left homeless.
9. Earthquake in Westmorland, USA (26 April 1981)
The maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of the April 26, 1981 earthquake located 5 km northwest of Westmorland, California is VII. Twelve buildings in Westmorland were severely damaged with an additional 30 sustaining minor damage. Two brick parapets fell in Calipatria, 14 km northeast of Westmorland and 10 km from the earthquake epicenter. Significant damage in rural areas was restricted to unreinforced, concrete-lined irrigation canals.
Liquefaction effects and ground slumping were widespread in rural areas and were the primary causes of road cracking. Preliminary local government estimates of property loss range from one to three million dollars (Imperial Valley Press, 1981). The earthquake was felt over an area of approximately 160,000 km2; about the same felt area of the October 15, 1979 (Reagor and others, 1980), and May 18, 1940 (Ulrich, 1941) Imperial Valley earthquakes.
8. The Rhodes earthquake (26 June 1926)
The earthquake was felt over a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region and caused sporadic damage, and in places destruction, over a large area in Rhodes, southwestern Anatolia, eastern Crete and in the Nile Delta. Despite its size, there has been uncertainty as to its position, depth and magnitude. The earthquake was well recorded instrumentally and we have relocated it using the readings listed in the International Seismological Summary and the present location procedure of the International Seismological Centre.
According to report they find the intermediate depth of the event to be well established at about 115 km, with a formal error of about 10 km and supported by depth phases. There is evidence of complexity in the source, with a secondary release of energy from the same focus after about six seconds.
7. Skopje earthquake (26 July 1963)
The 1963 Skopje earthquake (Macedonian: Скопски земјотрес 1963, transliterated Skopski zemjotres 1963) was a 6.1 moment magnitude earthquake which occurred in Skopje, SR Macedonia (present-day Republic of Macedonia) then part of the SFR Yugoslavia, on July 26, 1963 which killed over 1,070 people, injured between 3,000 and 4,000 and left more than 200,000 people homeless. About 80 percent of the city was destroyed.
6. Nepal Earthquake (26 April 2015)
The April 2015 Nepal earthquake killed more than 8,000 people and injured more than 21,000. It occurred at 11:56 Nepal Standard Time on 25 April, with a magnitude of 7.8Mw or 8.1Ms and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of IX (Violent). Its epicenter was east of Gorkha District at Barpak, Gorkha, and its hypocenter was at a depth of approximately 8.2 km (5.1 mi).
It was the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal since the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake. The ground motion recorded in Kathmandu valley was of long period that cause the limited human and property loss in kathmandu valley.
5. Gujarat earthquake (26 January 2001)
The 2001 Gujarat earthquake also known as Bhuj earthquake occurred on 26 January, India’s 52nd Republic Day, at 08:46 AM IST and lasted for over 2 minutes. The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District of Gujarat, India. The intraplate earthquake reached 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum felt intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The earthquake killed between 13,805 and 20,023 people (including 18 in southeastern Pakistan), injured another 167,000 and destroyed nearly 400,000 homes.
4. Earthquake Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (26 October 2015)
The October 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake was a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that struck South Asia on 26 October 2015 at a depth of approximately 212.5 km. More than 260 people have died, mostly in Pakistan, after a magnitude-7.5 earthquake hit north-eastern Afghanistan.
The most affected areas from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa include Shangla, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Swat and Chitral. The Karakoram Highway was closed. In India, 4 people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir. In Tajikistan, 14 children suffered injuries in Yovon district when stairs at a local school collapsed.
3. Taiwan earthquake (26 April 2010)
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake has struck off the southeastcoast of Taiwan earlier today, the US Geological Survey reports. The quake’s depth was at ten kilometres (6.2 miles), which is considered relatively shallow. The epicentre was 269 kilometres (167 miles) east of T’ai-tung, Taiwan. It struck at 10:59:50 local time, or 02:59:50 UTC.
The Taiwanese Central Weather Bureau said no tsunami warning was issued over the temblor; the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center also said there is no threat of a Pacific-wide tsunami. According to the Associated Press, some buildings in the capital Taipei swayed for about twenty seconds, although there were no any immediate reports of damage, injuries, or deaths.
2. Yogyakarta earthquake (26 May 2006)
The 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake (also known as the Bantul earthquake) occurred at 05:54 local time on 27 May with a moment magnitude of 6.4 and a maximum intensity of IX (Destructive) on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale. The shock occurred on the southern coast of Java near the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, and caused a disproportionate number of casualties, with more than 5,700 deaths and 37,000 injuries.
The eruption of Mount Merapi, a stratovolcano that was entering a period of unrest, was originally thought to have a connection with the earthquake. With a lack of instruments in the area, the shock was initially attributed with the Opak Fault that lies to the east of the affected areas, but later InSAR analysis revealed that another previously unknown fracture was responsible for the sequence of shocks.
1. Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami (26 December 2004)
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake, was an undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The earthquake triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coasts of most landmasses bordering the Indian Ocean, killing large numbers of people and inundating coastal communities.
The magnitude of the earthquake was originally recorded as 9.0, but has been increased to between 9.1 and 9.3. At this magnitude, it is the second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph. It was large enough that it caused the entire planet to vibrate as much as half an inch, or over a centimetre. The Indian Ocean earthquake and its resulting tsunami killed an estimated 225,000 to 230,210 people.
Top 10 Biggest Natural Disasters on Date of 26th
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