Collections: Learning from past disasters

Hurricane Irma ravaged the Caribbean and the Atlantic United States, resulting in over U.S. $50 billion worth of losses and dozens of deaths.

Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States and is widely remembered as one of the country's most consequential disasters.

Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affect those islands.

Hurricane Mitch is widely remembered as one of the most destructive hurricanes to strike Central America, in no small part because it caused widespread homelessness in Honduras.

In September 2014, intense flooding in India's Jammu and Kashmir, as well as Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab in Pakistan, killed hundreds, caused tens of thousands of people to be evacuated, and affected over 2,000 villages.

In January 2001, a strong earthquake impacted the Kutch District of Gujarat, killing thousands, injuring over 100,000, and destroying over 300,000 homes.

The morning of December 26, 2004 saw the worst disaster in Indonesia’s history. A magnitude (M) 9.1 submarine earthquake occurred along the Indian Ocean subduction zone triggering a massive tsunami.

In September 2018, a tsunami struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, causing widespread damage, especially to the city of Palu.