July 2003 Disasters

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

• July 1, Louisiana Tropical Depression Bill moved through Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, leaving four dead and 30 million dollars in damage.
• July 8, Port Sudan, Sudan: A Sudan Airways airplane, a Boeing 737, experienced technical difficulties shortly after takeoff and crashed while attempting to return to the Port Sudan airport. One child survived and 116 passengers and crew perished.
• July 8, Dhaka, Bangladesh: More than 400 people drowned after an overcrowded ferry sank in turbulent waters while crossing the rain-swollen Meghna river near Danka in southern Bangladesh. Over 2500 people swam to shore or were rescued.
• July 15, Gulf Coast, Texas: Hurricane Claudette, a Category I hurricane, packing winds up to 85 mph, killed three people and left battered buildings, trailers, and downed trees in its wake. Claudette was the first hurricane of the 2003 season. President Bush declared nine counties as disaster areas.
• July 22–26, Manila, Philippines and southern China: Typhoon Imbudo, with winds up to 143 mph, stuck the Northern Philippines, killing at least 20 people. The typhoon, one of the most powerful in years, continued on to southern China where it killed 20 more people, destroyed crops, and devastated houses.
• June-July, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, China: The worst flooding from the monsoons in years forced the evacuation of millions, left more than 3.5 million homeless, and killed more than 500 people. Some of the worst flooding was along the Huai River
• July, Kulu, India: Flash floods in the Kulu district north of New Delhi killed more than 100 people, bringing the total toll of people killed from the monsoon rains this year in Southeast Asia (India, Nepal, and Bangladesh) to about 400. Thousands of people were driven from their homes as landslides washed away homes and crops.

See also Major Earthquakes Around the World 2003

See also Recent Volcanic Activity