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Causes of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident:The precise causes of the accident are still uncertain, but it is generally believed that the series of incidents that led to the explosion, fire and nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl was caused by a combination of reactor design flaws and operator error.Loss of Life from the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident:By mid-2005, fewer than 60 deaths could be linked directly to Chernobyl—mostly workers who were exposed to massive radiation during the accident or children who developed thyroid cancer. Estimates of the eventual death toll from Chernobyl vary widely. A 2005 report by the Chernobyl Forum—eight U.N. organizations—estimated the accident eventually would cause about 4,000 deaths. Greenpeace places the figure at 93,000 deaths, based on information from the Belarus National Academy of Sciences. Physical Health Effects Linked to the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident:The Belarus National Academy of Sciences estimates 270,000 people in the region around the accident site will develop cancer as a result of Chernobyl radiation and that 93,000 of those cases are likely to be fatal. Another report by the Center for Independent Environmental Assessment of the Russian Academy of Sciences found a dramatic increase in mortality since 1990—60,000 deaths in Russia and an estimated 140,000 deaths in Ukraine and Belarus—probably due to Chernobyl radiation.

After the 1991 cyclone, foreign donors and Bangladeshi government agencies began building emergency shelters - concrete boxes raised on pillars, each able to hold anywhere from a few hundred to 3,000 people.

The official death toll from a savage cyclone that wreaked havoc on southwest Bangladesh reached 1,723 Saturday - the deadliest storm to hit the country in a decade.

The official death toll from a savage cyclone that wreaked havoc on southwest Bangladesh reached 1,723 Saturday - the deadliest storm to hit the country in a decade

Bangladesh cyclone death toll hits 15,000

In the worst affected districts, 90 pc of homes and 95 pc of rice crops and valuable prawn farms were obliterated by the winds

Previous cyclones killed 500,000 people in 1970 and 143,000 in 1991 - however local officials said the impact would now fall on the many survivors.

Why did so many people die in Haiti's quake?

poverty also plays its role,

the size of the quake , but also how near it is to the surface, the density of the population near its epicentre, as well as whether there are any heavily urbanised areas nearby. These all indicate a higher death toll - and were all features of the Haiti quake.