The different faces of disaster 2012

Published December 31, 2012
An ethnic Rakhine man holds homemade weapons as he walks in front of houses that were burnt during fighting between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities in Sittwe June 10, 2012.
An ethnic Rakhine man holds homemade weapons as he walks in front of houses that were burnt during fighting between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities in Sittwe June 10, 2012.
A woman weeps after learning that a neighbor presumed missing is okay while cleaning out her home in a neighborhood heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy in the New Dorp Beach neighborhood of the Staten Island borough of New York, November 1, 2012.
A woman weeps after learning that a neighbor presumed missing is okay while cleaning out her home in a neighborhood heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy in the New Dorp Beach neighborhood of the Staten Island borough of New York, November 1, 2012.
A temple stands amid the waters of the flooded river Tawi after heavy rains in Jammu August 19, 2012.
A temple stands amid the waters of the flooded river Tawi after heavy rains in Jammu August 19, 2012.
Huang Sufang reacts as she sees a part of her house being taken down by demolition workers at Yangji village in central Guangzhou city, Guangdong province March 21, 2012.
Huang Sufang reacts as she sees a part of her house being taken down by demolition workers at Yangji village in central Guangzhou city, Guangdong province March 21, 2012.
A firefighting helicopter fills a bucket of water in heavy smoke as the North Merna wildfire burns in the Bridger National Forest west of the town of Pinedale in Sublette County, Wyoming September 16, 2012.
A firefighting helicopter fills a bucket of water in heavy smoke as the North Merna wildfire burns in the Bridger National Forest west of the town of Pinedale in Sublette County, Wyoming September 16, 2012.
A woman runs along a road during an air strike by the Sudanese air force in Rubkona near Bentiu April 23, 2012.
A woman runs along a road during an air strike by the Sudanese air force in Rubkona near Bentiu April 23, 2012.
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover during clashes with Syrian Army in the Salaheddine neighborhood of central Aleppo August 7, 2012.
A Free Syrian Army fighter takes cover during clashes with Syrian Army in the Salaheddine neighborhood of central Aleppo August 7, 2012.
The skyline of lower Manhattan, as seen from Exchange Place, is mostly in darkness except for the Goldman Sachs building after a preventive power outage caused by giant storm Sandy, in New York October 30, 2012.
The skyline of lower Manhattan, as seen from Exchange Place, is mostly in darkness except for the Goldman Sachs building after a preventive power outage caused by giant storm Sandy, in New York October 30, 2012.
A bench engraved with the name of the grounded Costa Concordia cruise ship (seen at rear) is seen washed up on the shore of Giglio island, January 20, 2012.
A bench engraved with the name of the grounded Costa Concordia cruise ship (seen at rear) is seen washed up on the shore of Giglio island, January 20, 2012.
Students hold on to the side steel bars of a collapsed bridge as they cross a river to get to school at Sanghiang Tanjung village in Lebak regency, Indonesia's Banten village January 19, 2012. Flooding from the Ciberang river broke a pillar supporting the suspension bridge, which was built in 2001, according to Epi Sopian the head of Sanghiang Tanjung village.
Students hold on to the side steel bars of a collapsed bridge as they cross a river to get to school at Sanghiang Tanjung village in Lebak regency, Indonesia's Banten village January 19, 2012. Flooding from the Ciberang river broke a pillar supporting the suspension bridge, which was built in 2001, according to Epi Sopian the head of Sanghiang Tanjung village.
Residents paddle their makeshift boat to safety as fire engulfs houses at a slum community in Manila May 11, 2012. At least 1000 houses were razed in the fire, leaving 5000 families homeless, local media reported.
Residents paddle their makeshift boat to safety as fire engulfs houses at a slum community in Manila May 11, 2012. At least 1000 houses were razed in the fire, leaving 5000 families homeless, local media reported.
The remnants of a roller coaster sit in the surf three days after Hurricane Sandy came ashore in Seaside Heights, New Jersey November 1, 2012.
The remnants of a roller coaster sit in the surf three days after Hurricane Sandy came ashore in Seaside Heights, New Jersey November 1, 2012.
Wakana Kumagai, 7, visits the spot where her house, which was washed away by the March 11, 2011 tsunami, used to stand in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi prefecture March 11, 2012, to mark the first anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis.
Wakana Kumagai, 7, visits the spot where her house, which was washed away by the March 11, 2011 tsunami, used to stand in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi prefecture March 11, 2012, to mark the first anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis.

Pictures of disasters during 2012 from around the world.  - Photos by Reuters

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