2005 natural disasters

The 2005 European floods hit mainly Romania, Switzerland, Austria and Germany, as well as several other countries in Central Europe and Eastern Europe during August 2005. The disaster came at a time when Portugal was suffering from intense forest fires which left 15 dead and days before the powerful Hurricane Katrina hit the United States.

The 2005 Gujarat floods, during the monsoon season, affected the state of Gujarat, India, that included 20 districts (out of 33), with 10 of them severely affected. 117 of the 225 Tehsils (Talukas or mandals), 11 cities were included, and more than 7,200 villages inundated, with up to 10,000 affected. The cumulative 505 millimetres (19.9 in) of rain left approximately 176,000 people homeless during the flooding that included the drowning of a rare Asiatic lion from the Gir wildlife sanctuary. At least 173 people were killed in the flooding.

Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere, both based on barometric pressure, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Wilma's rapid intensification led to a 24-hour pressure drop of 97 mbar (2.9 inHg), setting a new basin record. At its peak, Hurricane Wilma's eye contracted to a record minimum diameter of 2.3 mi (3.7 km). In the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Wilma was the twenty-second storm, thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, fourth Category 5 hurricane, and the second costliest in Mexican history.

The 2005 Maharashtra floods impacted many parts of the Indian state of Maharashtra including large areas of the metropolis Mumbai, a city located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, on the Western coast of India, in which approximately 1,094 people died. It occurred just one month after the June 2005 Gujarat floods. The term 26 July, is used to refer to the day when the city of Mumbai came to a standstill due to flooding.

Hurricane Wilma was the most intense tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the second-most intense tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere, both based on barometric pressure, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Wilma's rapid intensification led to a 24-hour pressure drop of 97 mbar (2.9 inHg), setting a new basin record. At its peak, Hurricane Wilma's eye contracted to a record minimum diameter of 2.3 mi (3.7 km). In the record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Wilma was the twenty-second storm, thirteenth hurricane, sixth major hurricane, fourth Category 5 hurricane, and the second costliest in Mexican history.

Gudrun was a powerful storm which hit Denmark and Sweden on 8 January 2005, and Latvia and Estonia on 9 January 2005. The name Erwin was chosen by the Free University of Berlin, while the storm was named Gudrun by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and was the name used in Sweden. Sustained wind speeds of 126 km/h (78 mph) with wind gusts of 165 km/h (103 mph) were measured in Hanstholm, Denmark – the same strength as a Category 1 hurricane.

Panabaj, located on the edge of Lake Atitlán in the western highlands of Guatemala, is a small village (canton or aldea) within the municipality of Santiago Atitlán, bordering the city of Santiago Atitlán proper, in the department of Sololá. Prior to the disaster of Hurricane Stan in which over 400 persons from Panabaj and nearby Tzanchaj were killed or left missing, the town's population had numbered over 3,000, though a census has not been taken since.