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Photos: All the scariest natural disasters are happening at once

Cue toxic steam cloud.
Cue toxic steam cloud.
Image: USGS via AP
By
Johnny Simon
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Nature has strange, sudden, and often terrifying ways of reminding us of the precariousness of life on Earth. Over the past several weeks, a series of startling natural events have produced terrifying images, from Hawaii’s Mt. Kilauea eruption to a crack in the continent of Africa.

With renewed gratitude for the human race’s continued existence, here’s a look back:

Mt. Kilauea poured out lava from 22 fissures across Hawaii’s Big Island, setting homes ablaze and spewing toxic gas.

Jack Jones, visiting from Madison, Wis., takes pictures at a country club in Volcano, Hawaii on May 21.
Jack Jones, visiting from Madison, Wis., takes pictures at a country club in Volcano, Hawaii on May 21.
Image: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
A massive fast moving lava flow consumes everything in its path on May 19.
A massive fast moving lava flow consumes everything in its path on May 19.
Image: EPA/Bruce Omori/Paradise Helicopters

A crack began to form in east Africa, that will eventually split the continent in two.

This photo was taken several weeks ago, but we’re guessing the crack is still there.

A tanker drives near a chasm suspected to have been caused by a heavy downpour along an underground fault-line near the Rift Valley town of Mai-Mahiu, Kenya on March 28.
A tanker drives near a chasm suspected to have been caused by a heavy downpour along an underground fault-line near the Rift Valley town of Mai-Mahiu, Kenya on March 28.
Image: Reuters/Thomas Mukoya)

A lethal heat wave in Karachi

,  Pakistan,reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit (or 40 C).

Residents sleep on a building pavement, to escape heat and frequent power outage in their residence area Karachi, Pakistan May 22.
Residents sleep on a building pavement, to escape heat and frequent power outage in their residence area Karachi, Pakistan May 22.
Image: Reuters/Akhtar Soomro

Floods in Sri Lanka displaced almost 70,000 people and killed at least 13.

Sri Lankans look for recyclable material washed ashore with stormy waves in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, May 21. Heavy rain and lightning strikes across Sri Lanka have left at least five people dead and displaced more than 1,000.
Sri Lankans look for recyclable material washed ashore with stormy waves in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, May 21. Heavy rain and lightning strikes across Sri Lanka have left at least five people dead and displaced more than 1,000.
Image: AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena

A rare tornado ripped through parts of Germany

A caravan trailer is blown into a hedge in Viersen, Germany on May 17.
A caravan trailer is blown into a hedge in Viersen, Germany on May 17.
Image: EPA/Friedmann Vogel

Ebola resurfaced

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Health workers in protective clothing in Bikoro, the epicenter of the latest Ebola outbreak, in The Democratic Republic Of The Congo on May 17.
Health workers in protective clothing in Bikoro, the epicenter of the latest Ebola outbreak, in The Democratic Republic Of The Congo on May 17.
Image: IIRC vis EPA

And of course, a sinkhole opened up next to the US White House.

Yellow caution tape and cones are seen around a sinkhole next to the entrance of the briefing room at the White House in Washington on May 23.
Yellow caution tape and cones are seen around a sinkhole next to the entrance of the briefing room at the White House in Washington on May 23.
Image: Reuters/Carlos Barria