I have always considered droughts to be the most catastrophic of natural disasters, because they can cause profound changes in civilizations and societies. Hurricanes and tornadoes, while they may be spectacular and cause a lot of death and distruction, usually don’t cause profound social changes or destroy entire civilizations.
The Akkadians of Mesopotamia forged the world's first empire more than 4,300 years ago. The Akkads seized control of cities along the Euphrates River and swept up onto the plains to the north in a short period of time their empire stretched 800 miles, all the way from the Persian Gulf to the headwaters of the Euphrates, through what is now Iraq, Syria and parts of southern Turkey.
Tell Leilan was a small village founded by some of the worlds first farmers. Its located in present day Syria and has existed for over 8,000 years. The Akkads conquered Tell Leilan around 2300 B.C. and the area became the breadbasket for the Akkadian empire.
After only a hundred years the Akkadian empire started to collapse.
Must have been all of those SUV chariots....:^)