Is it just me or does it seem like theres a uber-deadly natural disaster at least once a year lately? Is this something new or am I just reaching an age where I realize this now? Was this happening in the 80s? 60s? 20s? Did we just not hear about it as much before the internet? Did we not realize the magnitude and death tolls before we had Twitter and photojournalists everywhere? Or has the death tolls increased as populations soar and cities develop? I guess my question is: has there always been this many natural disasters? If so, did we just didn't hear about them as much or in the same way? Or were the number of deaths lower? Or were there less natural disasters?
I think that what flagamuffin touches on is true; people are much more aware of natural disasters now due to communications technologies, somewhat like we are now more aware of crime. As for severity, I'm really not sure. My cousin (who fortunately, lives far north of the typhoon's path) sent me this link. I have to say that what it details seems unlikely, so watch it with a grain of salt. However, what did give me pause is that the U.S. has modified weather patterns before for tactical purposes, notably in Vietnam. Skeptical as I am of the content in the video, I wouldn't be surprised to find that some of the technology we are using might affect weather in unforeseen ways.
It's a documented fact that climate change increases the extremes (both directions) in weather. But the two deadliest hurricanes in US history happened in 1908 and (I think) 1922. Of course, we have infrastructure to deal with this stuff in the US now. But on the flip side we're more likely to be cognizant of disasters in the Philippines than we were in 1900. Krakatoa famously netted one little 'ticker' line in British papers when it erupted in 1883 -- and that's as big as a natural disaster can really get.
10000. Fuck. The deadliest hurricane in the history of the United States is estimated to have killed about that many, maybe less ... over its entire duration. And that was a hundred years ago. Katrina didn't even kill 2000. The infrastructure differences are understated and as usual taken for granted. When the worst problem you have during a hurricane is finding gas, you know you live in the US.
One of the huge issues with this disaster is not only the large death toll but also the current funds the Philippines has to deal with this. This is possibly the strongest typhoon to make landfall with sustained winds over 190 miles per hour (New York Times), and on top of that the 7.2 magnitude earthquake which hit just 4 weeks prior has depleted the emergency funds of the government. It's just crappy.
Well, don't stop there. Remember that it has an incredibly corrupt and inefficient government that attempts to govern a country that was artificially unified under the Spanish, comprised of over 7,000 islands, of which 2,000 are inhabited. Not to mention that there are many ethnic groups which do not necessarily get along and that the government spends a lot of time and money dealing with Communist separatists in the north and Islamic separatists in the south. Oh and don't forget that typhoons are a fairly regular occurrence for part of the year and that damage from the last serious typhoons has yet to be fully repaired. Maligayang pagdating sa Pilipinas!
My response wasn't meant as a dig against you or what I perceived to be the limitations of your knowledge, merely an elaboration and a somewhat bitter one. I'm trying to become more knowledgeable and aware of international politics historically and at the present, myself. To limit the scope, I focus mostly on relations with the U.S. and also countries I have personal connections to.