What are some recent major disasters? What relief actions were taken?
In 2004, four major hurricanes caused flooding and hundreds of tornadoes in the United States. In September 2004 alone, an astounding 247 tornadoes were reported, breaking the previous record of 139 set in 1967 and the average 47 that usually occur each September. Although $1.8 billion in government funds were budgeted for disaster relief in 2004, over 1.1 million people registered for hurricane-related assistance (the highest number ever) and FEMA supplied $2.25 billion and 15,560 federal workers to assist people impacted by disasters. On December 26, 2004, a massive earthquake caused tsunamis or sea waves in the Indian Ocean region. More than 210,000 people were killed by this disaster, making this the most destructive tsunami event in recorded history. Damaged areas stretched from coastal areas in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia to eastern Africa. As the enormous scale of this disaster became apparent, world attention focused on the area, relief funds were raised and relief teams
