Nature is having a feast on humans since 2020 starting with the COVID 19 virus that has paralysed the world’s top countries and still going strong despite dozen vaccines.
The year 2020-2021 has seen its fair share of natural disasters with Cyclones, Hurricanes, Earthquakes, locust attacks and more, some of which have been listed down:
- Cyclone Yaas: Formed on 23rd May as a tropical disturbance in the Bay of Bengal, soon escalated into a very severe cyclonic storm. It hit the coastlines of West Bengal and Odisha on 25th May at the speed of 130 km per hour. The cyclone named by Oman has resulted in 11 casualties and $3.13 million.
- Cyclone Tauktae: On 14th May 2021, an extremely severe cyclonic storm formed in the Arabian sea headed towards the West Coast of India. The cyclone began with damaging coastal areas of Kerala, Karnataka and Goa before heading for Gujarat where it met its landfall. It struck at the wind speed of 140km/hr, which resulted in 82 casualties and over 81 people missing.
- Uttarakhand Flood 2021: On 7th February 2021, a glacier in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand broke, causing the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers to flood and submerge most of the district. The loss of life and property were reported with 72 deaths and 132 missing people. The search for missing workers is still on.
- Cyclone Nivar: On 23rd November 2020, a tropic cyclone hit the large portions of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Since it was a category 1 tropical cyclone with a speed of 130 km/hr, it caused $600 million of damage and 14 deaths.
- Hyderabad Floods 2020: On 11th October 2020, Hyderabad witnessed series of floods associated with the Deep Depression formed over the west-central Bay of Bengal. It struck at the wind speed of 55 km/hr, which resulted in the loss of life of 83 people and property damage of $681 million.
- Cyclone Amphan: On 16th May 2020, a super Cyclone considered to be the strongest storm ever to strike with a huge impact in West Bengal, Orissa and Bangladesh. It is the costliest cyclone to ever hit the North Indian Ocean with over $13 billion of damage and 128 deaths. It was a category 5 hurricane with a wind speed of 198 km/hr.
- Cyclone Nisarga: On 1st June 2020, a strong cyclone struck Maharashtra, which originated from the Arabian Sea. The cyclone resulted in heavy rainfall in the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Since it was a category 1 tropical cyclone with a speed of 140 km/hr, it caused $803 million of damage and 6 deaths.
Recently, the frequency of natural disasters happening in the world has increased, leading to loss of life and property. It is in conditions like these we need to understand the importance of Nature and help it heal.
It is time to stop Climate change and work as an Agent of Nature – Plant trees and Achieve Carbon Neutrality. As Mahatma Gandhi has beautifully said: Be the change you want to see in the world.