Collections: Learning from past disasters

Tropical Cyclone (TC) Gita formed in early February 2018 and developed into a category 4 cyclone, affecting multiple countries in the Pacific region. Tonga was hardest-hit, incurring severe damage.

A massive landslide devastated the commu­nity of Barangay Guinsaugon, Municipality of St. Bernard, Southern Leyte Province, Philip­pines, at about 10:30 local time on 17 February 2006.

The Nevado del Ruiz Volcanic Eruption, also known as the Armero Tragedy, is considered as Colombia’s worst natural hazard-induced disaster which produced the deadliest lahar ever recorded. After 69 years of dormancy, the stratovolcano in Tolima, Colombia erupted in 13 November 1985 melting the mountain’s glaciers and sending lahars down its slopes at 60 kilometers per hour.

In September 2014, intense flooding in India's Jammu and Kashmir, as well as Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab in Pakistan, killed hundreds, caused tens of thousands of people to be evacuated, and affected over 2,000 villages.

A strong earthquake in Canterbury, New Zealand, triggered a series of aftershocks, including an earthquake that resulted in multiple deaths in Christchurch.

The 2015-16 El Niño was one of the strongest El Niño events since 1950, with wide-ranging effects felt around the world.

In January 2001, a strong earthquake impacted the Kutch District of Gujarat, killing thousands, injuring over 100,000, and destroying over 300,000 homes.

In July 2010, heavy monsoon rains affected millions of people by submerging approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's land area.