Most Important Geographical Events of 2008

1. Zimbabwe's Problems:-
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Runaway inflation, election issues, and now a cholera epidemic have plagued the country which has been led by Robert Mugabe since 1980. hopefully 2009 will be a better year for the beleaguered African country.

2. China's Earthquake:-
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The 2008 Sichuan earthquake or the Great Sichuan Earthquake was a deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0 Ms and 7.9 Mw occurred at 14:28:01.42 CST (06:28:01.42 UTC) on May 12, 2008 in Sichuan province of China and killed at least 68,000.

It was also known as the Wenchuan earthquake , after the location of the earthquake's epicenter, Wenchuan County in Sichuan province. The epicenter was 80 kilometres (50 mi) west-northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, with a depth of 19 kilometres (12 mi). The earthquake was also felt in nearby countries and as far away as both Beijing and Shanghai—1,500 kilometres (932 mi) and 1,700 kilometres (1,056 mi) away—where office buildings swayed with the tremor.

Official figures (as of July 21, 2008 12:00 CST) state that 69,227 are confirmed dead, including 68,636 in Sichuan province, and 374,176 injured, with 18,222 listed as missing.The earthquake left about 4.8 million people homeless, though the number could be as high as 11 million. Approximately 15 million people lived in the affected area. It was the deadliest earthquake to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which killed at least 240,000 people, and the strongest since the 1950 Chayu earthquake in the country, which registered at 8.5 on Richter magnitude scale. It is the 19th deadliest earthquake of all time.

Strong aftershocks, some exceeding magnitude 6, continue to hit the area even months after the main quake, causing new casualties and damage.

On 6 November 2008, the central government announced that it will spend 1 trillion yuan (about $146.5 billion) over the next three years to rebuild areas ravaged by the earthquake.

3. Summer Olympic Games in Beijing:-
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The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, were a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008.a A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 302 events in 28 sports, one event more than was on the schedule of the 2004 Games. Three nations participated in the Olympics for the first time. China became the 22nd nation to host the Olympic Games. It was the third time that the Summer Olympic Games were held in Asia, after Tokyo, Japan in 1964 and Seoul, South Korea in 1988. These Games were the third time that Olympic events have been held in the territories of two different NOCs, as the equestrian events were held in Hong Kong.
There were 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records set. An unprecedented 87 countries won at least one medal during the Games. Chinese athletes won the most gold medals, with 51, and 100 medals altogether. The United States won more total medals than any other country with 110, 36 of which were gold. Michael Phelps broke the records for most gold medals in one Olympics and for most career gold medals for an Olympian, and equaled the record for most individual golds at a single Games. Usain Bolt secured the traditional title "World's Fastest Man" by setting new world records in the 100 metres (330 ft) and 200 metres (660 ft) sprints.

4. India: Mumbai Terror Attack::-
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Eight of the attacks occurred in South Mumbai: at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, the Orthodox Jewish-owned Nariman House, the Metro Cinema, and a lane behind the Times of India building and St. Xavier's College. There was also an explosion at Mazagaon, in Mumbai's port area, and in a taxi at Vile Parle. By the early morning of 28 November, all sites except for the Taj Mahal Palace had been secured by Mumbai Police and security forces. An action by India's National Security Guards (NSG) on 29 November resulted in the death of the last remaining attackers at the Taj Mahal Palace, ending all fighting in the attacks.

5. US got the first African American President:-
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In 2007 most of the people are not aware from the name of Mr. Barack Obama. During the presidential campaign he first defeated the former US first lady Hillary Clinton and then he defeated the thinking of the people that US will never elect an African-American as President. On November 04, 2008 he defeated the Republican candidate John McCain by a huge margin and thus he became the 44th President of United States of America.

6. Global Economic Crisis:-
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Year 2008 will also be remembered for the biggest stock market crash. It was even the worst market crash since the Great Depression of 1929. The global share market crash started from September 2008, which is still going on and created a huge financial problem through out the world. US became the first victim and then almost each and every country became the victim of the scenario. This incident caused heavy downfall in job sector and few people lost their job too.

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