Natural Disasters
Natural disasters are incidents caused by the forces of nature and occur independently of human intervention, including geophysical events like earthquakes and weather events like storms. The main types of natural disasters include those caused by geophysical activity like earthquakes and volcanoes, hydrological events like floods and avalanches, climatological or meteorological events like hurricanes, and biological disasters such as diseases spread by animals (IRFC, 2018). Some natural disasters can also have multiple causes, such as landslides or mudslides, which can be caused by hydrological, climatological, and/or geophysical activity (CDC, 2018). Wildfires are another type of natural disaster that can be linked to a combination of causes that involve both human and non-human causes such as lightening, extremely dry air, and wind currents. Due to their intimate link with surrounding ecosystem, climate, and other geographical features, different areas face different risks for different disasters. For example, an inland area is less prone to hurricane damage than low-lying coastal areas and places that are not located near tectonic plate friction would not be prone to earthquakes. While natural disasters can sometimes be predicted, they often happen suddenly and without warning, making them difficult to plan for and respond to. Moreover, natural disasters can have unpredictable effects in terms of the extent and type of damage incurred.
Earthquakes
Earthquakes are geophysical natural disasters caused by the movement of tectonic plates. When earthquakes are caused by human activity such as using explosives underground, they would be classified more as a technological disaster rather than a natural disaster. An earthquake will not always cause damage; some smaller earthquakes occur regularly and cause no damage but larger and more intense earthquakes can cause severe damage. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS, 2018), an earthquake generally does not cause much damage until it reaches...
However, the extent of damage depends on multiple factors including the population density, the quality of the public infrastructure including whether structures were engineered to withstand shaking, the soil composition in area, the distance of an area from the earthquake’s epicenter, and whether the earthquake also caused additional problems like tsunamis or landslides (“Earthquake Effects,” n.d.). The damage caused by earthquakes can be extraordinary and diverse, ranging from liquefaction and ground displacement, to flooding and fire. Liquefaction occurs when the earthquake causes the local groundwater to mix with the surrounding soil or sand, leading to such a softening of the foundations that buildings can start to sink, lean, or collapse altogether (“What are Earthquake Hazards?” n.d.).
Tornados
Tornados are weather-related natural disasters caused by the collision of different air currents and the comingling of hot and cold, as well as dry and humid, air masses (Redd, 2016). The unstable, aggravated air creates the wind vortex that results in the conically shaped, rapidly rotating tornado column. Each year, hundreds of tornados occur on every inhabited continent, resulting in death and injury (Redd, 2016). Meteorologists can generally predict the possibility of a tornado forming, offering the ability to prepare for the event, and to mitigate and minimize damage.
Biological Hazards
Biological disasters are considered natural disasters when their cause is unrelated to human activity. A biological disaster can impact only the plant or animal kingdoms, such as a blight that kills trees throughout a large area. Given the interconnectedness of local and regional ecosystems, natural disasters that impact only plants and animals can still cause human casualties or humanitarian crises. Many biological disasters are almost linked to other variables, both geographic and anthropological. For example, some regions of the globe are…
