2016 was one for the record books in many ways, one of which were the natural disasters that hit regions around the world.

The year started off with winter storm Jonas, called 'The Storm of the Century' by some, when a record amount of snow pummeled much of the Northeast and left 48 people dead.

In early February, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan.

The death toll reached 116, and the local disaster response team said most of the fatalities came from the collapse of a high-rise tower.

California had a brutal summer of wildfires, with hundreds of homes destroyed and hundreds of thousands of acres burned.

In August, historic flooding hit Louisiana in what the Red Cross called the worst natural disaster in the US since Hurricane Sandy. Thirteen people died, and thousands lost everything they owned. One part of the state was hit with more than 30 inches of rain in just 15 hours.

Later in August, powerful earthquakes hit Italy and then Myanmar on the same day.

On August 24th, central Italy was rocked by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake. According to various reports, tremors were felt nearly 100 miles away in Rome. The death toll was estimated at over 240.

Myanmar was hit just hours later by a slightly larger quake that sent tremors across India. Three people were killed.

In early October, Hurricane Matthew brought destruction from the Caribbean to the Southeast US and caused devastating flooding in North Carolina.

In total, 43 people died in the US and hundreds died in the Caribbean. Reuters tallied numbers from local officials and put the death count in Haiti at 1,000.

A massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand's South Island in November causing a tsunami that forced thousands to evacuate and killed two.

And in early December, a 6.5 earthquake stuck Indonesia killing nearly 100 people.

 

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