Defining Moments of the Decade: WTF, 2010s

2011: Natural Disasters

Video footage of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

Source: Rare Video: Japan Tsunami | National Geographic

The fourth-largest earthquake in the world struck Japan on March 11, 2011, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a tsunami with waves over 124 and a half feet in height and resulted in a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, says an NOAA summary report.

The event took 15,890 lives, injured 6,152, and 2,590 were still missing as of Feb. 2015.

Together, the earthquake and tsunami caused $220 billion worth of damage in Japan.

East Africa experienced severe, record-breaking droughts, causing a famine that left over 11.5 million people food insecure, NASA reported.

Meanwhile, the widespread rainfall over the Mindanao, Philipines caused floods that affected 120,038 families, according to Relief Web.

Thailand also experienced devasting floods that took over 884 lives and left millions homeless or displaced, says a report from Aon Benfield. 65 provinces in Thailand were affected, accounting for $45.7 billion (USD) in damages.

“The [Thailand] floods are one of the top five costliest natural disaster events in modern history.”

2011 Thailand Floods Event Recap Report | Aon Benfield

19 named storms and seven hurricanes hit the North Atlantic Basin, the NOAA reported. Three of the hurricanes were Category 3 (major hurricanes).

“Hurricane Irene was the first Hurricane since Ike in 2008 that made landfall in the [United States],” the NOAA said.

The 2011 Hurriance season in a four and a half minute timelapse

Source: The 2011 Hurricane Season in 4.5 minutes | NOAAVisualizations

The Mississippi River experienced historic flooding at levels that hadn’t been seen since the early 20th century, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

“The late winter and early spring of 2011 were filled with snowmelt and heavy rain events—including the Tornado Super Outbreak of 2011,” Encyclopedia Britannica says. “As a result, the tributaries of the Mississippi and, consequently, the river itself began to swell in April.”

Thousands of square miles of agricultural land and residential areas had been submerged, resulting in an economic loss of $800 million for Mississippi, the NOAA reported.

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