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1 Disasters

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6 views4 pages

1 Disasters

Uploaded by

kwekwegaxela4
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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NATURAL DISASTER

My heart goes out to victims and survivors of the natural tragedy and to their families.

Date: 09 June 2025


Natural Disasters
It's unfortunate, but many of the natural processes that keep the Earth moving can result in tragedy. The
tectonic movement that protects us from solar radiation also causes earthquakes. The air pressure changes
that bring rain and carry seeds also cause hurricanes. At their worst, these natural events can spell
catastrophe for 喜 beings, and much of 喜 history has been shaped by natural disasters. Read on to learn more
about what these disasters are, why they happen, how we respond in afflicted areas, and some important
historical examples.

Heat Volcanoes Ring of Fire that surrounds the


Pacific Ocean plate. Fifty
Sustained periods of heat can Volcanoes are formed when
volcanoes have erupted in the
lead to a number of serious magma erupts of the earth's
United States since recorded
risks. The most dramatic of crust and becomes lava. The
history, and the United States
these are wildfires; a lack of ash and lava released by their
ranks third, behind Indonesia
rain can leave forests and eruptions can be devastating.
and Japan, in the number of
grasslands at high risk of Since at least the eruption that
historically active volcanoes.
catching fire. Though many buried Pompeii, volcanoes have
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environments are dependent on had a special reputation for
wildfires to replenish the soil, their destructive capabilities. To
these spell trouble for the 喜 learn more about the science of Inundations
beings who get caught up in volcanoes and their distribution. In all seasons, too much H2O
them. Related issues like About 550 volcanoes have on the ground can be a very
droughts can strain people's erupted on Earth's surface dangerous thing. In the winter
essential resources. Or the heat since recorded history; about minor shifts in the snow can
itself can cause health 60 are active each year. Far cause avalanches; the snow
problems in vulnerable more have erupted unobserved dislodged at worst can flatten
populations. on the ocean floor. Most structures and people. In the
volcanoes exist at the rest of the year, excess
boundaries of Earth's crustal groundwater can dislodge soil
plates, such as the famous and cause deadly mudslides, or
can cause widespread flooding.

Figure 1:floods

Earthquakes
An earthquake, the sudden and disruptive shaking of the earth, is a result of the Earth's tectonic plates moving
(this is also what causes volcanic activity). Tsunamis are massive waves most often caused by earthquakes
occurring out in the ocean. Earthquakes occur everywhere, but are most common (and most devastating) in
coastal regions.
Earthquakes are the result of forces deep within Earth's interior that continuously affect its surface. The energy
from these forces is stored in a variety of ways within the rocks. When this energy is released suddenly—by
shearing movements along faults in the crust of Earth, for example—an earthquake results. The area of the
fault where the sudden rupture takes place is called the focus or hypocenter of the earthquake. The point on
Earth's surface directly above the focus is called the epicenter of the earthquake.

The severity of an earthquake can be expressed in terms of both intensity and magnitude. The two terms are
quite different, however, and they are often confused. Intensity is based on the observed effects of ground
shaking on people, buildings, and natural features. It varies from place to place within the disturbed region
depending on the location of the observer with respect to the earthquake epicenter. Magnitude is related to the
amount of seismic energy released at the hypocenter of the earthquake. It is based on the amplitude of the
earthquake waves recorded on instruments, which have a common calibration. Magnitude is thus represented
by a single, instrumentally determined value.

Weather Disasters
While these types of disasters generally occur within particular times of year, due to the prevailing climate, they
are caused by very particular atmospheric conditions. These types of disasters are best looked at together,
due to substantial overlap. Hurricanes specifically form over the ocean, and as such primarily affect coastal
regions. Tornadoes also have a fairly limited range of areas where they regularly form. Thunderstorms occur
much more broadly.

Cyclones
Cyclones are perhaps the largest and most damaging disasters on the planet, hitting warmest coastal regions.
These intense storms, which form due to shifting atmospheric pressure systems, can affect hundreds of miles.
The damage caused by the winds and flooding can exceed several billion dollars, and the loss of life in
cyclones can be immense. Learn more about what causes hurricanes, where they tend to occur, and how
they've affected us in the past. Hurricanes are the most powerful storms on Earth. Whether called typhoons in
the western Pacific or cyclones in the Indian Ocean, damage and destruction result wherever they strike land.
These storms develop under different conditions than the everyday storm—they're also far less predictable.
Despite the fact that hurricanes strike hardest in coastal areas, development and population growth along
shore areas continues at a rapid rate. In the United States, there are 45 million permanent residents along the
coast. During holidays, weekends, and in the summer, the population in some coastal areas increases ten- to a
hundred-fold. Even though 80 to 90 percent of the population living in storm-prone areas has never
experienced the core of a hurricane, a disaster, if not a catastrophe, is waiting to happen with every hurricane
season. It's only a matter of time.
Figure 2: Violent Storm

Thunder and Lightning


Thunder and lightning are so ubiquitous that they prominently feature in many myths and stories around the
world. Lightning strikes every inhabited place on Earth, and although it is less devastating in scope than other
weather disasters it can still be incredibly deadly.
Although the mesoscale level of weather action is small in stature, it certainly is huge in impact. The most
violent weather on the face of the earth takes place within this scale. Tall cumulonimbus clouds turn into violent
thunderstorms, delivering strong winds, torrential rains, and damaging lightning. At the extreme, these clouds
can begin to spin and form tornadoes. This severe weather strikes throughout the world, but the United States
seems to be world capital for violent thunderstorms and tornadoes. A unique convergence of forces makes
them happen with amazing frequency.

Table of figures

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