▲The catastrophe happened in Gujarat, one of the states of India. The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.9 Mw and devastated the area.

▲Also known as the Bhuj earthquake, this natural disaster killed at least 20,000 people and injured more than 150,000 others.

▲A massive earthquake struck the center of Bam, in southeastern Iran, with a magnitude of 6.6 Mw.

▲More than 26,000 people were killed in the course of this disaster, and another 30,000 were injured.

▲Several houses were destroyed in what was the country's biggest natural disaster.

▲On December 26, 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

▲The earthquake formed a series of tsunamis that spread across the Indian Ocean and caused the loss of more than 250,000 lives across a dozen countries.

▲The most deadly tsunami since 1900, waves reaching a reported height of 30 ft (9 m) killed over 170,000 in Indonesia alone.

▲On August 29, 2005, one of the biggest tropical hurricanes of the last century hit the southeastern United States.

▲With winds in excess of 275 km (170 miles) per hour, the storm soon ranked as the worst natural disaster in US history, claiming over 1,800 lives.

▲The most affected areas were Florida, the Bahamas, and the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans, Louisiana, also suffered greatly, as the city was 80% underwater by August 30.

▲Also in 2005, the Pakistan-administered portion of the Kashmir region suffered an earthquake which reached a magnitude of 7.6 Mw and a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles).

▲The tremors were felt as far as India and Afghanistan, and wreaked havoc on people's homes and lives.

▲In total, around 80,000 people died in this catastrophe, and many others were injured.

▲In May 2008, an intense tropical cyclone caused the worst natural disaster in the history of Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia.

▲At least 138,000 people died, and whole cities and villages were devastated.

▲Haiti suffered from a large earthquake on January 12, 2010, with a magnitude of 7.0 Mw, and several following earthquakes between 5.5 and 5.9 Mw.

▲The earthquake caused massive long-term damage, with an estimated 250,000 homes devastated by the catastrophe.

▲As a result of this earthquake, over one million people were left homeless and without suitable living conditions.

▲Though the number is debated, the Haitian government estimated 316,000 people died in this catastrophe. An estimated three million people—nearly one-third of the country’s total population—were affected.

▲This massive earthquake occurred in northeastern Japan in March 2011. It had a magnitude of 9.0 Mw.

▲The earthquake initiated a series of large tsunami waves that devastated many coastal areas, leaving thousands of families homeless.

▲The catastrophe caused almost 16,000 deaths.

▲Hurricane Sandy was a tropical cyclone that affected Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and some states in the eastern US. It was unpredictable and devastating.

▲On November 7, 2013, an astonishingly fast typhoon of 315 km (196 miles) per hour struck the east coast of the Philippines.

▲Also known as Typhoon Haiyan, this was one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded.

▲Over one million homes were devastated, and over 14 million people across 44 provinces were affected by this Category 5 storm.

▲The typhoon is estimated to have killed more than 6,000 people, while also leaving about 1,800 missing.

▲Over four million people were displaced, forced to endure the long and difficult process of re-establishing routine life and rebuilding all their infrastructure.

▲It caused catastrophic damage in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, leaving more than 1,300 people dead and thousands more missing, along with serious outbreaks of cholera.

▲In early April 2019, Cyclone Idai became one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere.

▲In September 2017, Hurricane Maria materialized as a deadly Category 5 hurricane which devastated Puerto Rico, Dominica, and the US Virgin Islands.

▲The European heat wave was the deadliest heat wave of the last 500 years, with at least 30,000 deaths (more than 14,000 in France alone) reported.

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Twin wildfires burning through northern California became the state’s largest on record, scorching more than 290,000 acres and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

▲In September 2014, the Kashmir region suffered disastrous floods and landslides caused by torrential rainfall, reportedly killing nearly 1,300 people.

▲It damaged or destroyed nearly 900,000 buildings, created avalanches in the Himalayas, and was reportedly the nation's deadliest disaster on record.

▲The most talked-about natural disaster of 2016 hit the Caribbean hardest in terms of fatalities, particularly in Haiti. Reports listed death totals for the tiny island nation as anywhere from 500 to over 1,000.

▲It is regarded as the worst natural disaster on record to affect those islands.

▲A magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, killing more than 8,800 people.

▲The Category 4 hurricane reportedly had maximum sustained winds of 233 km (145 miles) per hour, and spread to the east coast of the US as well, leaving 48 dead.

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It destroyed or damaged more than a million buildings, including nearly all the villages of Gujarat.

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Cyclone Kenneth was the second powerful tropical storm to hit southeast Africa within a span of five weeks, devastating areas still reeling from Cyclone Idai.

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It was the strongest storm to hit the region since records began, destroying nearly 3,400 homes and displacing thousands more. It left 52 people dead and caused US$100 million in damage.

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On August 29, Hurricane Ida barreled through Louisiana as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. It's one of the strongest hurricanes on record to ever make landfall in Louisiana, ABC reports. The hurricane caused mass flooding and devastating damage throughout the state. The catastrophic hit on the 16-year anniversary of Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane that ravaged the Gulf Coast. Ida moved up the East Coast and has ravaged the states of New York and New Jersey. Dramatic videos showed terrifying waves of floodwater flowing down into the subway stations. Eight different tornados hit the North East region of the country, flattening homes in New Jersey and several other states. Flooding has destroyed countless homes, and killed many living in basements. CNN reports that 23 people have died in New Jersey alone. A death toll of over 100 is estimated.

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A massive bomb cyclone and atmospheric river has pounded into Northern California on October 24, causing flash floods, debris flows, power outages, and mudslides. A bomb cyclone occurs when a mid-latitude cyclone rapidly intensifies, and it's dumping huge amounts of water and whipping damaging winds across the West Coast. The atmospheric river is a a band carrying more water vapor than the surrounding air, and was elevated to a Category 5, the highest designation on the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Extreme Weather Lab scale, according to CBS.

Over 160,000 homes and businesses in California, more than 170,000 in Washington, and over 28,000 in Oregon were left without power due to the weather, and two people were killed by a fallen tree in the greater Seattle area.

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Torrential rains battered the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul from late April to May 2024, surpassing one-third of the annual average rainfall. This deluge resulted in 14.2 trillion liters of water flowing into the Guaíba River, which surrounds the state capital, Porto Alegre. A devastating flood affected 96% of the state, impacting approximately 2.3 million people and prompting the declaration of a state of public calamity by state leaders. As of June 2024, official figures reported 173 deaths, 38 missing persons, 806 injuries, 18,800 people in shelters, and 423,400 left homeless.

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A devastating, once-in-a-decade bomb cyclone swirled through the Northwestern United States and British Columbia in Canada, causing extensive damage and several fatalities.

▲On December 14, 2024, France's Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte suffered its worst cyclone in 90 years. Cyclone Chido ripped through the capital, Mamoudzo, at wind speeds of more than 225km/h (140mph), smashing cars and flattening houses, leaving 35 people dead.

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Cyclone Chido also hit Mozambique, where there has been widespread damage and 120 confirmed deaths.

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Nature's immense and overwhelming beauty is balanced only by its immense and overwhelming destruction, and the numerous natural disasters of this millennium are proof of that. With our increased global connection, and the added pressures of climate change, each new catastrophe is felt more closely throughout the world, and the consequent death, illness, and devastation are impossible to ignore.

Click through to see the incredible damage caused by the elements.