Mother Nature took no prisoners when she unleashed her wrath on Los Angeles at the beginning of 2025. Wildfires continue to rage in the area, and the death toll now stands at at least 27. Around 12,000 structures have burned to the ground. Tens of thousands of people remain evacuated. Others are picking up the pieces.
It’s the latest in a series of natural disasters around the world that have had devastating effects in recent years. From earthquakes to hurricanes, volcanoes and floods, nature has truly tested the spirit of mankind. But even in the face of death and destruction, human beings have shown courage and resilience.
Bored Panda has compiled a list of photographs shared by people who have survived natural disasters. Some are heartbreaking, some are scary and others are a reminder that even during the toughest times, there's always a glimmer of hope.
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I Train These Clever Creatures To Save Victims Trapped In Collapsed Buildings After Earthquakes
We kit them out with a rat backpack, and train them to trigger a switch when they find a victim & come back for a tasty treat.
Colorado Man Reunited With His Donkey, Ennis, After Fire Swept Through His Town
Found Her Cat 16 Days After The Tornado
The Los Angeles wildfires have once again highlighted just how vulnerable human beings are to climate change. Experts have long warned that global warming leads to an increase in natural disasters, and the latest fires have been blamed on a "perfect storm".
The area had gone without rain for months, creating desirable dry and dead vegetation for extreme combustion. Coupled with hurricane-force winds, firefighters didn't stand a chance when a spark met its soulmate and whipped up a blaze that instantly took off as if it were taking part in a marathon.
A Dog And Her 2 Puppies Were Pulled Alive From The Rubble 124 Hours After The Earthquake In Turkey
Cat Walking Away From A Volcanic Eruption
A Cat And A Dog Cuddled Together After Being Rescued From The Rubble In Earthquake-Hit Syria
“When you have a high wind blowing a fire, the fire is not on the ground, it is in the air,” Hugh Safford told the Guardian. He's a fire ecologist at the University of California, Davis, and the regional director for the California Fire Science Consortium.
As Safford explained, embers can fly through the air, igniting vegetation way ahead of the fire frontline. The result: an apocalypse-like scene that catches residents and firefighters off guard.
Cal-Fire Firefighter From The Paradise, Ca Wildfire Finds Missing Dog, Helps Reunite With Family
Dog Carries Whole Bag Of Dog Food After Hurricane Harvey
Storm Chasin In West Texas
"The landscape is tinder dry, and so any ignition source, whether from errant cigarette butts or sparks from power lines blown over in the strong winds, is much more likely to take hold and spread," said David Demeritt, a geographer and expert in environmental policy.
Demeritt explains that Los Angeles has a lot of fuel to burn. And the inconsistent conditions aren't helping. "This time last year, Los Angeles was plagued with flooding (and landslides) that broke an extended long-term drought across the region," he said. "That burst of moisture led to plant growth, which has been steadily drying over the past year of very dry conditions."
Rainbow And Tornado
So Yesterday I Was On My Way To Phoenix And I Captured One Of The Craziest Photos!!
A Photo Of Incarcerated Firefighters Resting After Fighting A Socal Wildfire. They Get $2-$5/Day For That Work
I saw a conversation about this program and they need to have a clean record while incarcerated, and they get credits towards early release. The inmates said they liked it because they were treated like humans, which says a lot about prison conditions. Having been incarcerated myself for a minor offense (spit on a cop; six months) I completely understand why these guys are willing to do this hard work. As for wages, they should get paid more. It all goes into their jail fund, and they get it paid either for commissary or a check when they walk out of the door. I did so much to help my fellow inmates I had a darn cheering section when I walked the hallway for the last time. People who do the time are often resilient and want to do better, and that is what these crews are doing. It is really hard to come back and rebuild once you have made a mistake and ended up incarcerated. Took me a decade. I respect these guys who are risking their lives.
As thousands of Los Angeles residents come to terms with losing their homes and belongings, and firefighters continue to battle the blazes, experts have warned that extreme natural disasters are far from over. We are likely to see more droughts in the coming years. And as a result, storms could intensify.
The U.S. Geological Survey explains it like this: "As more water vapor is evaporated into the atmosphere it becomes fuel for more powerful storms to develop. More heat in the atmosphere and warmer ocean surface temperatures can lead to increased wind speeds in tropical storms. Rising sea levels expose higher locations not usually subjected to the power of the sea and to the erosive forces of waves and currents."
House Frozen By Lake Erie During This Week’s Blizzard In Buffalo
The Power Of Hurricane Force Winds
Last Day On The Line After 6 Years In Wildfire. It Has Been An Honor. Stay Safe!
Climate monitoring groups raised the alarm in January, warning that the world had set an unwanted record last year. Global surface temperatures rose to between 1.45°C and 1.6°C higher than the average from 1850 to 1900, making 2024 the hottest year in human history.
My Mom Has 5 Sets Of China (Don't Ask) And Put Them In Her Pool Prior To Being Evacuated From Fires In Northern California. The Dishware Survived!
When You Wake Up To 40" - 44" Of Snow In One Night
“We are now living in a very different climate from that which our parents and our grandparents experienced,” said deputy director of Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service Samantha Burgess.
Meanwhile, NASA's Gavin Schmidt warned that another 1.5°C of warming would take the planet back to a climate last seen 3 million years ago, in which case sea levels could rise dramatically. “We are halfway to Pliocene-level warmth in just 150 years,” Schmidt cautioned.
Oregon Wildfires Making It Look Straight Apocalyptic
Rare Typhoon Sky As Seen From A Subway Exit
The Fourth Largest City Of Sweden, Uppsala, Is Currently Flooded. The Swedes Aren’t That Concerned
Eruption Happening In St. Vincent Today
Getting Away From An Erupting Volcano Today
Valencia Right Now After The Floods
Green Sky During A Storm In South Dakota
My Aunt Took This Picture Of A Tornado At My Grandparents Farm That Touched Down Yesterday. South Dakota
Tree Struck By Lightning Burning From Inside Out
The Ongoing Eruption Of Mt Etna In Italy
Tornado In Southern Romania, Today
Blizzard Blew The Man Door On My Garage Open Yesterday
20ft Shipping Container Found Wrapped Around A Tree After A Flood
A Kangaroo Rushes Past A Burning House In Lake Conjola, Nsw
Roads In Turkey After The 7.8 Earthquake
Not human resilience, unless there is a human skateboarding over the cracks.
Overnight Storm Winds In Ga Moved A House Into The Road
Man Sits On Bench With His Dog During Hurricane Harvey
Not The Beautiful Florida View Anyone Imagined! Courtesy Of Hurricane Ian
A Street Completely Ripped Apart By The Floods In Germany
There Was A Hailstorm At My Cousins House, They Have No Power So They Can’t Vacuum Up The Broken Glass In Their House Yet
Sunrise Over The San Fransisco Bay Today. Pier 45 Is On Fire At The Moment
3pm In Port Macquarie, Nsw During The Wildfires
In Australia, they're referred to as "bushfires". This was back in late 2019/early 2020 when bushfires (started by lightning) took out hundreds of hectares up and down the NSW coast.
6000 People Isolated After An Avalanche Obstructed A Tunnel In Italy
MOUNTAIN: What do you mean by digging a hole in me. I will fill it up.
This Is The Power Of An Avalanche!
Wind Turbine After Being Hit By A Tornado
Flooding In Auckland, Nz
Waiting For A Fish Fry In Western New York After A Blizzard!
Itap Of The Lightning Through My Window During A Recent Thunderstorm
It's Currently -35°c Outside. The Water In The Air Freezes Making An Ice Fog
If you know, you know. Here in an area that gets below 0 F, early morning, lights in parking lots and facilities shine beams straight up due to ice crystals. Eerie.
Sister In A Bright Orange Work Suit Blending In With The #mallacoota Sky
so the nether really is real. now where are those piglins?
Hurricane Damaged Boardwalk
Before And After Hurricane Lan [fort Myers Florida]
Note: this post originally had 100 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
A lot of interesting pictures, but I am not seeing a lot of the resilience of people.
This is the road where I used to live in northern New York State. I have moved farther south twice since then. New-York-S...29946b.jpg
I feel like if they are all OK enough (survived) to take the photos AND later, post them to Reddit or BP... then I would say that those humans, are extremely resilient! And good on them!
Load More Replies...A lot of interesting pictures, but I am not seeing a lot of the resilience of people.
This is the road where I used to live in northern New York State. I have moved farther south twice since then. New-York-S...29946b.jpg
I feel like if they are all OK enough (survived) to take the photos AND later, post them to Reddit or BP... then I would say that those humans, are extremely resilient! And good on them!
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