1998

1998 set a new record for economic losses from storms, floods, droughts, and fires, $89 billion, nearly a threefold increase over 1997's total. 1998's disasters killed approximately 32,000 people and drove an additional 300 million from their homes. The worst single weather calamity was Hurricane Mitch, which took about 11,000 lives and left a million people homeless when it barreled into Central America in November. The worst storm to hit the region in two centuries, Mitch also destroyed at least 100 bridges and more than half of all food crops. In Honduras alone, it caused damages estimated at $4 billion. Yet the year's costliest disaster took place in China: Flooding of the Yangtze River last summer will cost the nation an estimated $30 billion.
Natural disasters created more refugees than conflict, Nearly 96 percent of the fatalities caused by natural disasters occur in the developing world, where approximately one billion of the world's population are living in unplanned communities of poorly constructed and vulnerable homes. 40 out of the 50 most rapidly growing cities are in earthquake zones.

*THE HOTTEST YEAR IN MORE THAN 1200 YEARS.
*FOUR ATLANTIC HURRICANES AT ONCE -- the first time this has happened since 1893.(September)
*ONE OF THE DEADLIEST HURRICANE SEASONS IN MORE THAN 200 HUNDRED YEARS (10,000 people killed in eight countries)
(1995-1998 was the MOST ACTIVE FOUR CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF HURRICANE ACTIVITY ON RECORD. )
*THE MOST EXTENSIVE AND SEVERE BLEACHING AND SUBSEQUENT DEATH RATE OF CORAL REEFS AROUND THE WORLD IN MODERN HISTORY
*RUNS OF ENDANGERED COHO SALMON WERE THE SECOND LOWEST ON RECORD ALONG THE OREGON COAST
*RECORD WARM TEMPERATURES IN THE WORLD'S OCEANS
*WORLD'S LARGEST REPORTED ICEBERG IN MORE THAN A DECADE (Antarctica)
*RECORD NUMBER OF TORNADOES IN THE MID-SECTION OF THE U.S.
*ONE OF THE MOST DEVASTATING WILDFIRE SEASONS IN FLORIDA HISTORY
*THE WORLD IS LOSING SPECIES TO EXTINCTION FASTER THAN ANY TIME IN THE PAST 65 MILLION YEARS according to some biologists.
*HARVEST IN RUSSIA WAS THE WORST IN 40 YEARS BECAUSE OF DROUGHT
*BANGLADESH SUFFERED WORST FLOODING IN A CENTURY