US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — There are so dangerous places in the world that it’s even hard to believe that someone is ready to live there and fight with nature day by day. Here are 8 of the most extreme places on the planet that require stamina, resourcefulness and remarkable skills for survival.
1. Pole of cold: Verkhoyansk, Russia
In the cold taiga, at a distance of 4800 km east of Moscow, in the depths of Siberia, the city of Verkhoyansk is located. The lowest temperature at minus 67.6 ° C was recorded here in February 1892. This is the oldest city beyond the Arctic Circle, in which only 1,122 people live. Verkhoyansk is the coldest city in the world, the so-called “Pole of Cold.” It’s hard to argue, given that from September to March, the sun illuminates the city on average less than five hours a day, and the temperature in winter rarely rises above -40 ° C.
2. Fire Mountain: Merapi, Indonesia
Even during the calmest periods, Indonesia’s largest active volcano on Java continues to threaten to smolder. The smoke from the “Fiery Mountain”, as its name translates from English, rises up to a height of three kilometers. During the eruption of Merapi in 1974, two villages were destroyed, several cases of the death of tourists and volcanologists were recorded, the graves of which can be found directly on the volcano. In 2010, during the next eruption, 350 thousand people were evacuated, and 353 people died.
3. The Perfect Storm: Gonaives, Haiti
A subtropical storm Fay covered the coastal city of Gonaive in August 2008, immediately followed by Hurricane Gustav, and a little later there were Hurricanes Hannah and Ike. So one of the five largest cities in Haiti was under the sights of four destructive tropical cyclones, as a result of which Gonaive was almost washed away into the sea. Most of the city was buried under mud or immersed in dirty water, the level of which in some places exceeded 3.5 meters. The death toll reached 500 people, but 2008 was not the deadliest in the history of Gonaiva: in 2004, hurricane Jenny that hit the city buried about three thousand people.
4. Death Lake: Central Africa
Kivu Lake, located on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, is one of the Great African Lakes. The surface area of the lake is approximately 2700 square kilometers, and its depth reaches 480 meters. However, there are carbon dioxide deposits and 55 billion cubic meters of methane under the lake, which is deadly, since the slightest earthquake or volcanic activity can lead to a devastating explosion. Two million people from the surrounding area are in constant fear of dying from a methane explosion or from asphyxiation with carbon dioxide.
5. Ephemeral Islands: Maldives
10% of the territory of the Republic of Maldives – chains of 20 atolls, consisting of 1192 coral islands, became unsuitable for living after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, which killed more than 80 people and left a third of the population without a roof over their heads. However, even more difficult trials await the island ahead: the Maldives can completely go under water in a few decades, because now none of the islands rises more than 2 meters above sea level.
6. The world capital of hurricanes: Grand Cayman
The Cayman Islands, considered a true tropical paradise, are located in the Caribbean Sea, 240 km south of Cuba. Many tourists come to the Caribbean for the sake of civilized beaches and diving. However, Grand Cayman, the largest of the three islands, became known as the world capital of hurricanes, because it suffers from the devastating elements on average every 2.16 years – more often than any other territory in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Ivan, which raged here in 2004, destroyed almost 80% of all structures on the island and left 40 thousand inhabitants without electricity and water for several days.
7. Tornado Alley: Oklahoma City, USA
More than a million people live along the I-44 in the United States, which connects the capital of Oklahoma with its second largest city, Tulsa. Every spring, when cool and dry air from the mountains descends into the plain and meets warm moist air from the ocean, crushing eddies arise along I-44. Since 1890, Oklahoma City and its environs have been attacked by a tornado more than 120 times. In May 1999, 70 whirlwinds immediately passed through the states of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, and the most destructive of them swept through Oklahoma City, destroying 1,700 houses, damaging more than 6,500 buildings and killing more than 40 people.
8. Wandering Deserts: China
The once fertile oasis of Mingqin is experiencing very turbulent times, being sandwiched between deserts. Ten years of drought and the disappearance of rivers have led to the fact that sands are rapidly approaching the region from the southeast and northwest. In total, since 1950, deserts have absorbed more than 160 square kilometers, and the local population over the same period has grown from 860 thousand to more than two million people. The huge desert is approaching people at a speed of about 10 meters per year, reducing the territory of arable land by six times.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.