August 2002 Disasters

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

• August, central and western Europe: Torrential rains and flooding wreaked havoc across the region, from Germany to Russia, causing at least 71 deaths. The Black Sea area, in Russia, was among the hardest hit; flash floods swept houses and bridges into the sea and left thousands of vacationers stranded. In Czech Republic, thousands of people were evacuated from Prague as floodwaters deluged the city center, and Salzburg, Austria, was declared a disaster zone, with 1,000 buildings partially or totally submerged. The heavy rains also triggered landslides in Germany and Switzerland and caused major crop damage in northern Italy. Bulgaria and Romania were also the scenes of destructive flooding.
• August, southeast China: Torrential rains triggered floods and landslides that left about 200 people dead (as of Aug. 16) in Hunan province. In the province of Yunnan, 25 people were killed and another 44 were said to be missing following a massive landslide (Aug. 16). An earlier landslide in the province left at least 16 dead (Aug. 12). The total death toll due to flooding this year in China has risen to about 1,000.
• August, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh: Monsoon floods and mudslides resulted in 323 deaths in India; 424 in Nepal; and 157 in Bangladesh. In addition, there was a widespread loss of crops and livestock across the region.
• Aug. 31, southern and eastern South Korea: Typhoon Rusa triggered flash floods and landslides, leaving more than 100 dead or missing. Wind gusts up to 127 mph uprooted trees and left more than a million homes without power. South Korea's worst typhoon in 40 years.

See also Major Earthquakes Around the World 2002

See also Recent Volcanic Activity