When Nature unleashes her fury, humanity can seem instantly frail
and subordinate. Cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanoes can kill
thousands in moments. Often the final death tolls are never truly known.
It is impossible to compare modern and historical disasters and
develop any objective list of the worst, yet a subjective list can
prove instructive. Here are the challenges:
Loss of life can be the most traumatic aspect of one
terrible event, such as the catastrophic Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar this
week, whereas financial cost and remarkable devastation can be the more
notable signatures left by another, as was the case with Hurricane
Andrew in 1992.
The world's population has increased dramatically in the past century and a far higher percentage of people live near dangerous coastlines, so coastal storms and tsunamis stand to kill more people nowadays than in the past.
Finally, records of events long ago are typically much less accurate.
clipped from: www.livescience.com