Title: Matt Daniel talks about the top five natural disasters of 2011 | Earth | EarthSky
Headings: Top five natural disasters of 2011
Top five natural disasters of 2011
5) Joplin, Missouri EF-5 Tornado
4) April 27 Tornado Outbreak in U.S. Southeast
Raw Video: Massive Tornado in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
3) Tropical Storm Washi
2) East African Drought
1) Japan Earthquake/Tsunami
Dramatic unseen footage of Japanese tsunami
Matt Daniel
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Content: So I also asked myself what factors made 2011 seem so rife with disasters. Electronics technology – and social media – surely both play into it. With electronics such as smartphones and iPads – and social media such as Twitter and Facebook – information can be shared almost instantly when disasters strike. Just like many people I know, I typically get my news from Twitter before any other news source. In today’s age, when something bad happens, we hear about it sooner. Random sources (your friends, or friends of friends) will update their statuses on social media websites. People retweet those statuses, and before you know it, millions of people have read about some disaster before traditional media has had time to publish the news. Also, urban sprawl is increasing. Both large and small cities are growing in size and population. With more people in the world, disasters can actually increase the number of casualties and injuries that take place.