20 Striking Natural Disasters (20 images)

Nature is a force to be reckoned with, beautiful yet simultaneously deadly. The following photos are of natural disasters throughout the past century, spanning from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to the recent devastating tornadoes in Alabama. The photos of earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, mudslides, etc. are breathtaking reminders of the strength of nature and the fragility of manmade structures.

An area resident talks on a cell phone after a possible tornado hit the surrounding area of Sunset Hills, Missouri on December 31, 2010. One man received a minor head injury while scores of businesses sustained broken windows, several homes were destroyed and cars tossed about in the suburb of St. Louis. UPI/Bill Greenblatt

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A car is crushed under whatever is left of a house destroyed in the San Francisco earthquake of 10/17/1989. (UPI Photo/Rod Lamkey/Files)

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A Chinese man stands on a lane divider now under water as he fishes on the banks of a swollen Yangtze River in Chongqing August 27, 2010. Flooding from torrential summer rains, which has killed at least 700 people and displaced millions, is the worst China has suffered in more than a decade. UPI/Stephen Shaver

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Horse drawn vehicles make their way up Market Street in this file photo made following the 1906 earthquake and fire in San Francisco. (UPI Photo/National Archives)

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