The Global Reach of El Niño

(CBS) 

From torrential rains in arid parts of South America to droughts during Asia's monsoon season, El Niño is turning the world's climates upside down. For unprepared countries, that's meant disease, homelessness, and death.

North America
Ten Canadians died as a five-day onslaught of ice blanketed Eastern Canada and the Northeast United States in January. Three-million people endured frigid temperatures without power. Torrential rains have plagued California, and warm Pacific waters have carried tropical fish to the Northwestern U.S.

Central America
Hurricane Pauline paid a visit to Mexico in late October, pouring 14 inches of rain in five hours. Hundreds were killed and hundreds of thousands were left homeless. Acapulco, Mexico, was without running water for days. El Niño has also been held responsible for cutting the water level in the Panama Canal by 25 percent.

South America
Sixty-thousand people became homeless in Chile after rain brought floods in October. An explosion of vegetation in the typically barren Atacama Desert also brought an explosion of rodents carrying the deadly hantavirus. Flooding and mudslides in Ecuador killed 27 people over the course of three weeks in December. El Niño slashed Colombian coffee output and negatively affected Peru's gross domestic product.

Europe
Flooding and unusually warm temperatures have been felt throughout parts of Europe. But compared to other parts of the world, Europeans have much to be thankful for. El Niño's impact here hasn't been as severe as on other continents.

Africa
El Niño rains are blamed for the onslaught of Rift Valley fever, cholera, and other diseases that have claimed the lives of hundreds in northern Kenya. The heavy precipitation has also contributed to the outbreak of the "Nairobi fly" population in the eastern African nation.

Asia
Drought conditions in Southeast Asia have fueled small fires, turning them into national disasters. By January, 413,000 acres were destroyed by fires on Indonesia's Borneo Island alone. Pakistan and Northwestern India, the breadbasket of the Indian subcontinent, suffered from a weak monsoon season that resulted in very dry conditions.

Australia/Pacific Islands
Sydney was enveloped in smoke in December as brush was ravaged by fire that stretched or 100 miles and took 100,000 firefighters to battle. Across North Korea, China, Australia, and New Zealand, crop and livestock losses exceeded $130 million. In Papua, New Guinea, one million people faced starvation from the worst drought in 50 years.