The year 2005 will always be remembered as a year of natural disasters. Three deadly natural disasters affected the world’s economy and development. Five major natural disasters are:
- Tsunami waves in Asia: This disaster claimed more than 225,000 lives. It majorly affected the eleven countries bordering around the Indian Ocean. Destruction of entire cities, contamination of farmland and depletion of fish stock were the major losses from this disaster.
- Earthquake in Pakistan: This majorly striked the Pakistani controlled Kashmir region. About half of Muzaffarabad regions were destroyed. As per the survey 81,000 persons were killed and 3 million were left homeless.
- Hurricane Katrina disaster in the US gulf coast: It was the deadliest hurricane in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It started from Bahamas and ended in the Gulf coast with heavy destruction. This disaster killed 1,836 people and left as many homeless.
Other major disasters of 2005 were:
- Threat of flu pandemic
- Crops destruction by locusts in Niger