TopDisastersof2007fromTimeMagazine.docVIP

Top Disasters of 2007 from Time Magazine 1. Bangladesh Cyclones The sheer population density of Bangladesh — 2,639 people per square mile — guarantees that any natural disaster in that South Asian nation will take a severe human toll. When Cyclone Sidr struck southern Bangladesh on Nov. 15, it was no different. Packing winds of over 100 mph, the storm took out power lines and trees, and pulverized mud-and-thatch homes. The death toll was over 1,000, with more than half a million people forced to flee their homes. But by Bangladesh’s sad standards, Sidr was nothing — a cyclone in 1991 killed an astounding 140,000 people. #2. Southeast U.S. Droughts Water experts like to call drought the Rodney Dangerfield of natural disasters: It gets no respect. But the long dry that gripped much of the American Southeast this year is making everyone take notice. Normally verdant, Georgia and several neighboring states are suffering through their worst dry spell in recorded history. At one point the city of Atlanta, one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S., had just three months of water left. As the drought worsened, it triggered a nasty legal fight between Florida, Georgia and Alabama over declining water supplies. The chief legacy of the 2007 drought will be this: It could well be water, not energy or oil, which finally constrains American growth. ? ? ? #3. Mexico Floods A natural disaster in a rich country like the United States can be an inconvenience. In an impoverished nation like Mexico, it is a human catastrophe. Massive floods that struck the southern Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas in late October and November left vast stretches of land completely submerged — an estimated 80% of Tabasco was under water at one point, and as many as one million residents were affected by the floods. Mexican President Felipe Calderon put it simply: “This is one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the country.” ? #4. Hurricane Felix The U.S. got off lightl