Flooding And Natural Disasters

Argentina
Airmail - Chilean Earthquake Relief Fund
September 10, 1960
The 1960 Valdivia earthquake or Great Chilean earthquake of May 22 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, rated at 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale. It occurred in a Sunday afternoon (15:11 local time) and lasted approximately 10 minutes. The resulting tsunami affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia and the Aleutian Islands.
The epicenter was near Lumaco, approximately 570 kilometers south of Santiago, with Valdivia being the most affected city. The death toll was estimated at 6,000, and monetary losses were estimated as high as $USD 800 Million.
The two charity stamps issued by Argentina bear the national flowers of the two countries (copihue for Chile and seibo for Argentina) and a simple message help Chile (ayuda a Chile).

The second sheet commemorating Rotary help for victims of Niger flooding.

Japan
Great East Japan Earthquake Relief
June 21, 2011
The 2011 Great East Japan earthquake was a magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 local time on Friday March 11. It was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded to have hit Japan, and the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900.
The earthquake resulted in nearly 16,000 deaths and 8,500 injured and missing across twenty prefectures in eastern Honshu. The associated tsunami caused level 7 meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex and the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents.
The World Bank estimated the economic cost at US$235 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in world history.

In December 2003 an earthquake hit southern Iran close to the old city of Bam; tens of thousands of people were killed or injured, more lost their homes. The stamps (2004) show first responders and Red Cross during the disaster. The Photos show the ancient citadel before and after.

The Odra River in western Poland is well known for its capacity to flood. One of the worst floods of the past century hit Poland in the summer of 1997. The stamp shows affected farmland but damage in cities was tremendous (photo of Wroclaw).

Australia - 2013
Headlines News Series

Cyclone Tracy
Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, 1974. It is the most compact cyclone or equivalent-strength hurricane on record in the Australian basin, with gale-force winds extending 48 kilometres (30 mi) from the centre.



Tracy killed 71 people, caused A$837 million in damage (1974 dollars), or approximately A$4.45 billion (2015 dollars). It destroyed more than 70% of Darwin's buildings, including 80% of houses

Continuous rains during the spring of 1998 resulted in three straight months of flooding in China's northern provinces. As many as 4,000 people were killed by the floods, which also drove 14m Chinese from their homes. China's greatest river, the Yangtze, has often flooded (photo). The charity contribution is on the tab.





(Hi Jorge, I clearly remember the news about that storm in Australia, that was when I was dreaming of going there sometime. K.)

Flooding in Indonesia is not a rare occurrance. The charity stamp was issued for the victims of the floods in 1967. Photo: Jakarta in 2014.

Slovakia expressed solidarity with the victims of the December 2004 tsunami in Asia.

Antigua
1974 Earthquake Relief overprinted stamps
The Leeward Islands Earthquake of October 8, 1974 (magnitude 7.5) caused significant damages to the Lesser Antilles region. Miraculously there was no report of loss of life.
Antigua Post issued a set of four stamps overprinted with EARTHQUAKE RELIEF on October 16. The 75c Steel Band stamp was surcharged to $5.00, whereas the World Cup soccer stamps kept their original denominations.

Yugoslavia
The Anniversary of the Earthquake in Skopje
July 26, 1964
The 1963 Skopje earthquake was a 6.1 moment magnitude earthquake which destroyed 80 percent of the city, killed and injured over 5,000 people, and left more than 200,000 people homeless.
The two commemorative stamps depict the destruction of the city and the relief effort from the United Nations.

Guyana
Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund
April 26, 2010
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake, with an epicenter near the town of Léogâne 25 kilometers west of Port-au-Prince. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday January 12, 2010.
The earthquake caused extensive damages in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, and other settlements in the region. An estimated three million people were affected, with a death toll in the 100,000s.
A bird souvenir sheet issued in 2007 was overprinted with Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund and a map outline of Haiti.

France
Solidarity Haiti
January 18, 2010
The semipostal stamp uses the Beaujard Marianne design. For each stamp sold for the price of 1 euro, the French Red Cross will receive euro 0,44 to help the victims of Haiti.

Jamaica
300th Anniversary of the Destruction of Port Royal by Earthquake
June 7, 1992
The 1692 Jamaica earthquake struck Port Royal on June 7 around 11:43 a.m. local time. The 7.5 magnitude earthquake caused most of the city to sink below sea level and caused ca. 3,000 casualties.
The commemorative stamps and souvenir sheet depicts the destruction of the port and the city.

Iran
For the Earthquake Victims
February 1963
The 1962 Buin Zahra earthquake occurred on September 1 in the area of Buin Zahra, Qazvin Province. The magnitude 7.1 earthquake killed over 12,000 people. Tens of thousands of homes were destroyed, and countless livestock, a key source of both food and income in the region, were lost.