An Overview to Natural Disasters
                     NATURAL DISASTERS
Introduction
• A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth; 
examples include firestorms, duststorms, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, 
earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, and other geologic processes. 
Source: Wikipedia
Cause Damage
• A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some economic 
damage in its wake, the severity of which depends on the affected population's resilience and 
on the infrastructure available.
Source: Wikipedia
Avalanches and landslides
• A landslide is described as an outward and downward slope movement of an abundance of 
slope-forming materials including rock, soil, artificial materials, or a combination of these.
• During World War I, an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 soldiers died as a result of avalanches during 
the mountain campaign in the Alps at the Austrian-Italian front. Many of the avalanches were 
caused by artillery fire.
Source: Wikipedia
Earthquakes
• An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates 
seismic waves. At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by vibration, shaking, 
and sometimes displacement of the ground. 
• Earthquakes are caused by slippage within geological faults. The underground point of origin of 
the earthquake is called the seismic focus. 
Source: Wikipedia
Sinkholes
• When natural erosion, human mining or underground excavation makes the ground too weak to 
support the structures built on it, the ground can collapse and produce a sinkhole. 
• For example, the 2010 Guatemala City sinkhole, which killed fifteen people, was caused when 
heavy rain from Tropical Storm Agatha, diverted by leaking pipes into a pumice bedrock, led to 
the sudden collapse of the ground beneath a factory building.
Source: Wikipedia
Volcanic eruptions
• Volcanoes can cause widespread destruction and consequent disaster in several ways. One 
hazard is the volcanic eruption itself, with the force of the explosion and falling rocks able to 
cause harm. 
• Lava may also be released during the eruption of a volcano; as it leaves the volcano, it can 
destroy buildings, plants and animals due to its extreme heat. 
Source: Wikipedia
Hydrological disasters
• A hydrological disaster is a violent, sudden and destructive change either in the quality of Earth's 
water or in the distribution or movement of water on land below the surface or in the 
atmosphere.
Source: Wikipedia
Meteorological disasters
• Typhoon, cyclone, cyclonic storm and hurricane are different names for the same phenomenon: 
a tropical storm that forms over an ocean. It is characterized by strong winds, heavy rainfall and 
thunderstorms. 
Source: Wikipedia
Effects
• Environmental issues
• Humanitarian crisis
• Damages to infrastructure
• Public health issues and diseases
• Food scarcity
•  Water scarcity
• Displaced population
• Injuries
• Fatalities
• Emotional shocks
• Economic impact
Source: Wikipedia
Prevention
• There is no way to prevent or avert these natural disasters, though scientists do claim to have 
found the ways to predict these natural disasters at most of the times they have failed to predict 
natural disasters causing some serious destruction.
Source: targetstudy.com