Natural disasters in 2025 have been nothing short of brutal, tearing through communities on every continent and exposing just how vulnerable the world remains. From record-breaking floods and raging wildfires to powerful earthquakes and storms, this year’s catastrophes have killed thousands, displaced millions, and inflicted staggering economic losses. Here are the top 5 major disasters that shook the globe in 2025 and the countries that bore the heaviest impact.
1. Los Angeles/ Southern California Wildfires: In January 2025, wind-whipped wildfires roared through Southern California, turning suburbs near Los Angeles into charred shells and forcing mass evacuations in the dead of winter. The fires killed dozens, destroyed tens of thousands of structures, and racked up tens of billions of dollars in losses, cementing their place among the year’s most expensive disasters.
2. Mokwa flood, Nigeria – May 2025
In May, severe flash flooding hit Mokwa in Niger State, Nigeria, after intense rainfall and drainage failures, killing hundreds and leaving many missing. Regional reporting and risk analyses describe it as one of Africa’s deadliest floods of 2025 and a stark warning about growing flood risk in West Africa.
3. Pakistan monsoon floods – mid‑2025
Severe monsoon flooding over several months inundated large parts of Pakistan, killing more than a thousand people and displacing millions, with major damage to homes, roads, and agricultural land. Year‑end climate‑disaster reviews list Pakistan’s 2025 floods among the most significant global events in terms of humanitarian impact.
4. Myanmar earthquake – March 28, 2025
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck near Myanmar’s Sagaing Region on March 28, killing more than 3,300 people and causing widespread destruction in and around Mandalay. Shaking was felt in Thailand, China, and Vietnam, where buildings were damaged, and authorities declared emergencies.
5. Hurricane Melissa also had a major catastrophic effect, bringing 185 mph winds, extreme rainfall, flooding, and landslides across Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. In Jamaica alone, around 116,000 structures were severely damaged or destroyed, with some communities seeing 65–90 percent of buildings impacted, and at least dozens of deaths and millions affected across the region.
Economic losses from Melissa are estimated to be in the billions of dollars, with some analyses suggesting that total damages in Jamaica could rival or exceed the country’s annual GDP, underscoring its scale. The storm also became a global symbol of how warming oceans are fueling stronger hurricanes, giving it both a major human impact and strong worldwide relevance for your list.
Natural disasters in 2025 have battered every region, from earthquake‑hit Myanmar to flood‑ravaged Asia and hurricane‑stricken Caribbean islands. Together, quakes, fires, storms, and floods have killed thousands, displaced millions, and caused staggering economic losses. These events highlight the vulnerability of many countries in a warming, rapidly urbanizing world, and serve as a stark warning that without urgent investment in resilience and climate action, even more devastating disasters lie ahead. Follow the Guardian Nigeria for more stories like this.
