Humanitarian crisis

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A humanitarian crisis or (in the language of history) a humanitarian disaster is a health or otherwise natural disaster which mortally threatens a very large number of people.

Such crises more often refer to localized cases of punctuated destruction —an act of nature, wars, famines, or epidemics. In a less typical sense, longer-term cases such as health pandemics may also qualify, as in the case of AIDS, and SARS. Major health-related problems such as cancer, global warming typically require an accentuated or punctuated mass-event to justify a label of "crisis" or "disaster."

An important example of a humanitarian crisis is the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. After striking Florida, Katrina ravaged through the Gulf Coast, causing widespread damage in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and other southern states. Katrina was costiest tropical cyclone in history, surpassing the $26 billion worth of damage caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Katrina has also caused over 1,000 deaths, and still rising.



External link

Reuters maintains a page on current humanitarian crises.

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