Top 10 Most Significant Disasters of 2011

It's that time of year, time to look back at the year about to end and reflect and take stock of what happened and attempt, however vainly that may actually be, to place things in their proper context and establish their relative significance. Before you is my feeble attempt to list in order of significance (to me anyway) of the natural disasters that befell our planet this year. Of course, being the Ugly American I am my take on this is rather America-centric.

1. Great Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami on March 11, 2011 in Japan.
2. 2011 Super Outbreak on April 25-28, 2011 in the United States.
3. Mississippi River Floods of April through May, 2011 in the United States.
4. Christchurch Earthquake on February 22, 2011 in New Zealand.
5. Joplin Tornado on May 22, 2011 in the United States.
6. Hurricane Irene on August 22-28, 2011 in the Caribbean Sea and United States. 
7. Van Earthquake on October 23, 2011 in Turkey. 
8. Thailand Flooding from July through December, 2011 in Thailand.
9. Typhoon Washi on December 16, 2011 in the Philippines. 
10. Texas Wildfires from April through October, 2011 in the United States.