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Non-natural disasters

Aviation

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Event	Date	Country	Description
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752	8 January 2020	Iran	Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down shortly after take-off from Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport, Tehran, by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who claimed to have mistaken it for a cruise missile. All 176 people on board were killed.^[252]
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303	22 May 2020	Pakistan	Pakistan International Airlines Flight 8303 crashed into a neighborhood in Karachi while attempting to land, killing 97 of the 99 people on board plus 1 person on the ground.^[253]
Sriwijaya Air Flight 182	9 January 2021	Indonesia	Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Jakarta, killing all 62 people on board.^[254]^[255]
China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735	21 March 2022	China	China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashed into the ground near Wuzhou mid-flight, killing all 132 people on board.^[256]^[257]
Yeti Airlines Flight 691	15 January 2023	Nepal	Yeti Airlines Flight 691 crashed into a gorge while attempting to land in Pokhara, killing all 72 people on board.^[258]
Voepass Linhas Aéreas Flight 2283	9 August 2024	Brazil	Voepass Linhas Aéreas Flight 2283 crashed in a residential area near Vinhedo, São Paulo, killing all 62 people on board.^[259]

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General

More information Event, Date ...

Event	Date	Country	Description
2020 Beirut explosion	4 August 2020	Lebanon	A massive explosion occurred in the port of Beirut. The blast was so loud that it was even reported to be heard in Cyprus, which is approximately 240 km from the location of the explosion.^[260] The windows of major buildings in a 6-mile radius were shattered and roads were filled with debris. According to initial findings, it was estimated that a warehouse with 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded, which was confiscated by the Lebanese government from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus and then stored in the port without proper safety measures for six years.^[261] 220 deaths were confirmed, more than 110 people were missing and at least 7,000 were reported injured.^[262] Beirut governor Marwan Abboud estimated that up to 300,000 people were left homeless by the explosions and there was $10–15 billion USD in property damage.
Surfside condominium collapse	24 June 2021	United States	A 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, partially collapsed. As of 22 July 2021, a total of 98 people are confirmed to have died, while 11 were injured.^[263] One person was rescued from the rubble, and about 35 people were rescued on 24 June from the uncollapsed portion of the building, which was demolished 11 days later as a safety precaution due to the approach of Hurricane Elsa. On 7 July, authorities announced that the objective of the search was transitioning from rescue to recovery and that the missing victims are presumed dead.
2022 Yerevan explosion	14 August 2022	Armenia	A large explosion took place in the Surmalu shopping centre in the Armenian capital of Yerevan. It caused widespread destruction and fire, leaving dozens of dead and injured.^[264] The explosion killed 16 people and injured 63, with nine missing as of 20 August.^[265]^[266]
Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam	6 June 2023	Ukraine	Russian invasion of Ukraine: The Nova Kakhovka dam in the Russian-controlled region of Kherson is destroyed, threatening the region with devastating floodwaters.^[267]^[268]
Derna dam collapses	10 – 11 September 2023	Libya	The Derna dam collapses were the catastrophic failures of two dams in Derna, Libya on the night of 10–11 September 2023, in the aftermath of Storm Daniel. The dam collapses released an estimated 30 million m³ (39 million cu yd) of water, causing flooding downstream as the Wadi Derna overflowed its banks. The floods partially destroyed the city of Derna. Estimates for the number of casualties range from 5,300 to 20,000 people. The event was the second-deadliest dam failure in history, after the 1975 Banqiao Dam failure in China.^[269]^[270]^[271]^[272]

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Natural disasters

Earthquakes and tsunamis

Note: This table is a chronological list of earthquakes reported with 7.5M_w  or greater or that have reported at least 100 fatalities.

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Event	Date	Country	Description
2020 Caribbean earthquake	28 January 2020	CARICOM, Cuba	A 7.7M_w  struck in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and Cuba at 14:10 local time on 28 January 2020. The earthquake was also felt in the United States, Mexico, Honduras, Dominican Republic, and the Cayman Islands. No damages were reported. A small (12.2 cm) tsunami was reported in the Cayman Islands.^[273]^[274]
2020 Aegean Sea earthquake	30 October 2020	Greece Turkey	A 7.0 M_w  earthquake occurred about 14 km (8.7 mi) northeast of the Greek island of Samos, causing 119 deaths.^[275]
2021 West Sulawesi earthquake	15 January 2021	Indonesia	A 6.2 M_w  earthquake struck the Indonesian province of West Sulawesi, killing a minimum of 105 people.^[276]
2021 Haiti earthquake	14 August 2021	Haiti	A 7.2 M_w  earthquake struck Haiti on 14 August 2021, resulting in at least 2,207 deaths.^[277]
June 2022 Afghanistan earthquake	22 June 2022	Afghanistan Pakistan	A 6.2 M_w  earthquake struck southeastern Afghanistan, killing at least 1,163 people, with 1,150 in Afghanistan and 13 in Pakistan. The earthquake was so deadly because it hit a densely populated area with buildings too weak to resist earthquakes.^[278]
2022 West Java earthquake	21 November 2022	Indonesia	A 5.6 M_w  earthquake struck Indonesia in West Java, near Cianjur, killing 335–635 people, despite its moderate magnitude.^[279]
2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake	6 February 2023	Turkey Syria	A 7.8 M_w  earthquake struck the Border Region of Turkey and Syria, killing more than 60,000 people and injuring more than 180,000 people.^[280]^[281] It is also one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in Turkey since the 1999 İzmit earthquake.^[282]
2023 Marrakesh-Safi earthquake	8 September 2023	Morocco	A 6.8 M_ww – 6.9 M_w  earthquake struck the Marrakesh-Safi region of Morocco. 2,960 people killed and 5,674 injured.^[283]
2023 Herat earthquakes	7–15 October 2023	Afghanistan	Four 6.3 M_ww earthquakes struck Herat Province in western Afghanistan between 7–15 October 2023, killing 1,489 people and injuring 1,853 others, while 485 remain missing.^[284]
2024 Noto earthquake	1 January 2024	Japan	A 7.5 M_w (7.6 M_JMA) earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula of Japan, killing at least 202 people and injuring at least 665 others.^[285]
2024 Hualien earthquake	3 April 2024	Taiwan	A 7.4 M_w earthquake struck 18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Hualien City, Taiwan, leaving 10 dead and 1,011 injured.^[286]

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Tropical cyclones

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Event	Date	Country	Description
Cyclone Amphan	16–21 May 2020	Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar	128 people were killed and millions made homeless in the strongest storm in two decades. Damage was estimated at US$13.2 billion.^[287]
Hurricane Laura	20–29 August 2020	United States, CARICOM, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Guadeloupe, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten	Hurricane Laura was a deadly and destructive Category 4 hurricane that, along with 1856's Last Island and 2021's Ida, was the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana, based on maximum wind strength. "Laura" first hit the Lesser Antilles as a tropical storm, striking Puerto Rico, then moved across the island of Hispaniola, killing 31 people in Haiti and nine in the Dominican Republic. "Laura" caused widespread devastation along most of its track: Tropical-storm-force winds passed over nearly all of the Antilles islands; hurricane-force and tropical-storm-force winds struck parts of Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Arkansas; and much of the storm's track was affected by flooding rain and storm surge. Damage is estimated at more than $19.1 billion,^[288]^[289] and at least 81 people were killed, including 30 in Louisiana and 10 in Texas alone, making "Laura" the 16th costliest hurricane ever. With estimated agricultural losses of $1.6 billion, "Laura" caused more agricultural damage in Louisiana than Hurricanes Katrina and Rita combined.
Tropical Storm Linfa	6–12 October 2020	Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand	Tropical Storm Linfa was a weak, short-lived, but deadly and destructive tropical cyclone. It was the 12th wettest tropical cyclone on record and the second of nine consecutive tropical cyclones to strike Vietnam in 2020, barely a month after the less damaging Tropical Storm Noul. "Linfa" brought record-breaking rainfall totals to much of the Indochinese peninsula. 112 people died in Vietnam, and 24 are missing. Another 25 people died in Cambodia, and Laos had one death and three missing.
Typhoon Vamco (Ulysses)	8–15 November 2020	Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia	102 people were killed, and the typhoon contributed to the 2020 Central Vietnam Floods. Damages totaled up to US$440.8 million.
Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota	31 October – 18 November 2020	Nicaragua, Honduras	A total of 278+ people were killed during both Hurricane Eta and Hurricane Iota in Nicaragua and Honduras. Damages totaled up to US$9.3 billion from both hurricanes.
Cyclone Seroja	3–12 April 2021	Indonesia, East Timor, Australia	Severe tropical cyclone Seroja was the third deadliest tropical cyclone in the Australian region, after Cyclone Mahina in 1899 and the Flores Cyclone in 1973. Seroja caused flooding and landslides on a historic scale in parts of southern Indonesia and East Timor, and later made landfall in the Mid West region of Western Australia – the first cyclone to make landfall since Cyclone Elaine in 1999. At least 272 people were killed by the storm, including 183 in Indonesia, 42 in East Timor and one in Australia. At least 72 people from Indonesia and 30 from East Timor are missing.
Cyclone Tauktae	14–19 May 2021	India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives	This category-4 cyclone hit the western coast of India. 174 total fatalities recorded (all countries). Damages totaled up to US$2.12 billion. Other countries affected were Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
Hurricane Ida	26 August – 4 September 2021	United States, Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Canada	107 people were killed by "Ida", of which 87 people were killed in the United States and 20 people were killed in Venezuela. The damage amounted to up to $50 billion.
Typhoon Rai (Odette)	12–22 December 2021	Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Micronesia, Palau, Hong Kong, Macau, China, Taiwan	Typhoon Rai, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Odette, was the second most severe typhoon in Philippine history after Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Rai was a strong, rare tropical cyclone that struck the Philippines in December 2021. Rai was the first category 5 super typhoon since Nock-ten in 2016 to develop in December, and the third category 5 super typhoon recorded in the South China Sea, following Pamela in 1954 and Rammasun in 2014. Several southern provinces in the Philippines were inundated and devastated by the typhoon. A total of 410 people died + 80 missing, of which a full 409 died in the Philippines and only 1 died in Vietnam.The damage amounts to up to $720 million.^[290]
Tropical Storm Ana	20–25 January 2022	Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa Zambia, Zimbabwe	Moderate Tropical Storm Ana was a deadly tropical cyclone that struck the African nations of Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique + others and was the third deadliest tropical cyclone of 2022. It resulted in 142 deaths, with Madagascar being the hardest hit with 58 deaths due to flooding caused by "Ana", Malawi with 37 deaths + 22 missing, and Mozambique with 20 deaths.
Cyclone Batsirai	24 January – 11 February 2022	Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion	Intense Tropical Cyclone Batsirai was a deadly tropical cyclone that hit Madagascar hard in February 2022 and was the strongest tropical cyclone to hit Madagascar since Cyclone Enawo in 2017. It hit the country two weeks after Tropical Storm Ana brought deadly flooding to the island nation in late January. The storm also caused damage in Mauritius and Réunion, but the damage was relatively minor. 123 deaths – 121 in Madagascar and 2 in Mauritius – were reported as a result of Batsirai. Batsirai brought severe damage that significantly affected power supply and communications in the affected areas. Entire towns were devastated, and thousands of buildings were damaged or destroyed. At least 112,000 people were displaced and 124,000 homes damaged by Batsirai. The same areas were hit by an even stronger Cyclone Freddy less than a year later.
Tropical Storm Megi (Agaton)	8–12 April 2022	Philippines	Tropical Storm Megi, known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Agaton, was a weak but deadly tropical cyclone that struck the Philippines in April 2022. Heavy rains and storms led to the sinking of two ships. Large landslides pushed mud over villages in Leyte, burying about 210 homes. The Philippines' National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported 214 dead, 132 missing, and 8 injured.
Hurricane Ian	23 September – 2 October 2022	Cuba, United States	157 people killed with 16 unaccounted for across both the United States and Cuba. The entire nation of Cuba lost power and millions lost power in the United States. The NOAA estimated total damage to be US$113 billion.
Tropical Storm Nalgae (Paeng)	26 October – 3 November 2022	Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, China	Severe Tropical Storm Nalgae, known in the Philippines as Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, was a very large and deadly tropical cyclone that wreaked havoc in the Philippines and later hit Hong Kong and Macau. 160 people were killed, 141 others were wounded, and 29 people are still missing as a result of the landslides and flooding caused by Nalgae in the Philippines. Meanwhile, there was only 1 person injured in Hong Kong.
Cyclone Freddy	4 February – 15 March 2023	Eswatini, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe	Cyclone Freddy was the longest-lasting tropical cyclone in history, surpassing the previous record set by Hurricane John in 1994. In total, more than 1,434 people died + 556 went missing, with Malawi worst hit with 1,216 dead + 537 missing, followed by Mozambique with 198 dead, Madagascar with 17 dead + 3 missing, Zimbabwe with 2 dead, and Mauritius with 1 dead + 16 missing. Overall, "Freddy" was the second deadliest tropical cyclone in the southwestern Indian Ocean and third deadliest in the Southern Hemisphere.
Cyclone Mocha	9–15 May 2023	Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, China	Cyclone Mocha was a powerful and deadly tropical cyclone that caused between 152 and 463 deaths and widespread destruction, primarily in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Storm Daniel	4–12 September 2023	Libya, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt, Israel	Storm Daniel, also known as Cyclone Daniel, was the deadliest and costliest Mediterranean tropical-like cyclone in recorded history. "Storm Daniel" resulted in Thousands of Deaths, most notably in the Libyan city of Derna, where torrential rains caused two dams near the city of Derna to fail.
Hurricane Milton	5–12 October 2024	Mexico, Cuba, United States, The Bahamas	Hurricane Milton was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone which became the second-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded over the Gulf of Mexico, behind only Hurricane Rita in 2005.

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Tornadoes

More information Event, Date ...

Event	Date	Country	Description
2021 South Moravia tornado	24 June 2021	Czech Republic	A small but significant tornado outbreak swept across the Czech Republic on 24 June, resulting in the strongest ever documented tornado in modern Czech history and the deadliest European tornado since 2001.^[291]^[292]
Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021	10—11 December 2021	United States	Tornado activity swept the southern and midwestern United States in the evening of 10 December through the following morning. Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky suffered extensive damage.^[293]

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Floods, avalanches, and mudslides

Note: This section reports only floods with 200 or more deaths and avalanches and landslides involving 30 or more deaths.

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Event	Date	Country	Description
2020 Neelum Valley avalanche	January 2020	Pakistan	At least 74 people were killed and several others injured in the Neelum Valley in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, after a series of avalanches triggered by heavy snowfall destroyed and buried 84 homes and 17 shops, while dozens of other buildings were damaged.
2020 Van avalanches	4–5 February 2020	Turkey	Two avalanches in Turkey's eastern Van Province resulted in 41 deaths and 84 injuries.
2020 East Africa floods	March – May 2020	Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Djibouti, Burundi, Tanzania	Severe flooding in 9 African countries caused more than 450 deaths and affected more than 700,000 people, mainly in Kenya and Rwanda.
2020 Nepal floods	June – September 2020	Nepal	The rainy season and associated flooding, which has killed more than 400 people, has been described by some in Nepal as the deadliest in recent memory.
2021 European floods	12–25 July 2021	Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland, United Kingdom	Heavy flooding, particularly in river basins of western and central Europe, killed some 243 people and left €10 billion in damage.
2021 Henan floods	17–31 July 2021	China	Following the highest-ever recorded rainfall in Zhengzhou, Henan Province in China, between 300 and 400 deaths along with over 800,000 people having to evacuate.
2021 Maharashtra floods	22 July 2021 – August 2021	India	Over 250 deaths were reported in the Indian state of Maharashtra after heavy rainfall in the area.
2022 Petrópolis floods	15 February 2022	Brazil	Intense rainfall led to mudslides and flooding on 15 February, that destroyed parts of the city of Petrópolis in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro and killed more than 230 people.
2022 KwaZulu-Natal floods	8–21 April 2022	South Africa	Flooding in the province of KwaZuku-Natal in South Africa leads to over 400 deaths.
2022 Afghanistan floods	5 May 2022 – August 2022	Afghanistan	Several provinces of Afghanistan were affected by severe flooding beginning in May, which claimed more than 600 lives.
2022 India-Bangladesh floods	23 May 2022 – present	India, Bangladesh	Deadly floods have been hitting northeastern India and Bangladesh since May 2022, killing more than 250 people and affecting 9 million people in both countries.
2022 Pakistan floods	14 June 2022 – October 2022	Pakistan	Floods in Pakistan have killed more than 1,000 people since June.
2022 Nigeria floods	May – October 2022	Nigeria	With more than 600 dead, the 2022 floods were the worst in the country since the floods in 2012.
2023 Africa floods	March 2023 – present	Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda	Since March, more than 776 people have died in severe floods in several African countries. The worst hit were the Democratic Republic of Congo, with over 440 dead + over 2,500 missing, and Rwanda, with at least 135 dead.
2024 Spanish floods	29 October – 3 November 2024	Spain	A cold drop causes torrential rains in eastern Spain, causing flooding in the Valencian Community, Castilla-La Mancha, and Andalusia. Over a year of precipitation amounts was dropped over Spain, causing 219 deaths with 93 people still missing and widespread substantial damage to buildings and streets.

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CNS video report of the floods depicting Henan Province, China

Volcanic eruptions

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Event	Date	Country	Description
2020–2022 Taal Volcano eruptions	January 2020; July 2021; November 2021; March 2022	Philippines	On 12 January the Taal Volcano in the Philippines erupted at VEI 4 intensity, bringing intense ashfall to the surrounding areas and killing at least 3 people.^{[citation needed]}
2021 Cumbre Vieja volcanic eruption	19 September 2021 – 13 December 2021	Spain	On 19 September the Cumbre Vieja volcano located in the La Palma island erupted.^[294]
2021 Semeru eruption	4 December 2021	Indonesia	The collapse of an unstable lava dome on the summit of Semeru due to heavy rainfall triggered large pyroclastic flows, killing 48, injuring over 100 and leaving 23 missing.^[295]
2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai eruption and tsunami	15 January 2022	Tonga	The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcano in the South Pacific erupted violently on 15 January, causing tsunamis to hit Hawaii, Japan and Tonga's largest island, Tongatapu, and sent waves flooding into Nukuʻalofa. Tonga finally disqualified in the FIFA World Cup.It was the largest volcanic eruption of the 21st century.^[296]

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Droughts, heat waves, and wildfires

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Event	Date	Region	Description
2018–2021 Southern African drought	October 2018 – October 2021	South Africa	An ongoing period of drought began in the country of South Africa in late October 2018 and continued into early 2021, negatively affecting food security in the region.
2019–20 Australian bushfire season	June 2019 – May 2020	Australia	Unusually intense bushfires in Australia continued into 2020, having started in September 2019.^[297]
2020 Western U.S. Wildfires	March – December 2020	United States	Record-breaking wildfires began in several Western American states.
2020 Argentine wildfires (Delta del Paraná)	July 2020 – October 2020	Argentina	Sudden wildfires started in Córdoba and extended into several Northern provinces.
2021 Russian heatwave	May – June 2021	Russia	Parts of Russia and eastern Europe were hit by a record-breaking heat wave in May and June 2021, with temperatures in the Arctic Circle above 30 °C and the highest temperatures recorded in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
2021 Western North America heat wave	June – July 2021	Canada, United States	Extreme temperatures caused by a prolonged heat dome over western Canada and the western United States killed over 613 people including over 480 people in British Columbia alone. The village of Lytton, British Columbia, which recorded the highest temperatures in Canada, was destroyed by a large wildfire as over 200 other ones devastated wide areas of the province. Wildfires in parts of the western coastal states of the US such as Washington, Oregon and California were also greatly worsened by the heatwave.
2021 Turkey wildfires	July – August 2021	Turkey	Over a hundred wildfires began in the Mediterranean Region of the forest in Turkey, the worst in the country for at least a decade. The wildfires started in Manavgat, Antalya on 28 July 2021, with the temperature around 37 °C (99 °F).
2020–2023 North American drought	August 2020 – Ongoing	United States, Canada, Mexico	Drought developed in the Western, Midwestern and Northeastern United States in the summer of 2020. Over the course of 2021, conditions improved in the Northeast but worsened in the Western US. As of June 2021, 97% of the region was facing abnormally dry conditions. By August 2021, parts of the upper Midwestern US were experiencing some of the worst drought spells since the 1980s. Drought also affected a wide area of Mexico as of 2021, as well as the prairies of Canada.
2022 European heat waves	June – September 2022	European Union, United Kingdom, Andorra, Norway, Switzerland	From mid-June through most of the summer, heat waves affected most of Europe, with western and central Europe the worst hit. Temperatures in excess of 40 °C (104 °F) were recorded in places, breaking records. Over 24,000 deaths were attributed to the event, most in France, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Portugal. The heat waves contributed to wildfires and drought also seen in Europe.^[298]
2022 European and Mediterranean wildfires	May – September 2022	European Union, Albania, Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom	Wildfires across Europe, North Africa and the Mediterranean region.^[299]
2022 European drought	July – September 2022	European Union, Serbia, United Kingdom	Europe's worst drought year in 500 years.^[300] A report from the Global Drought Observatory confirmed this.^[301]
2023 Canadian wildfires	1 March 2023 – November 2023	Canada	The 2023 wildfire season is the worst wildfire season in Canada's modern history
2023 Hawaii wildfires	8 – 11 August 2023	United States	Wind-driven fires caused widespread damage on the island of Maui, and killed at least 111 people in the town of Lāhainā.^[302]
2023 Greece wildfires	17 July – 9 September 2023	Greece	Over 80 fires in Greece led to the deaths of at least 28 and the evacuation of 20,000 people.

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Pollution

More information Event, Date ...

Event	Date	Country	Description
2022 Oder environmental disaster	July – August 2022	Poland, Germany	A mass fish kill occurs in the river Oder in Poland and Germany attributed to an algal bloom.

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Other natural events

Beginning in 2019 until 2022, a huge swarm of desert locusts threatened to engulf massive portions of the Middle East, Africa and Asia.^[303]^[304]^[305]^[306]^[307]^[308]