Natural disaster
Encyclopedia
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard
(e.g., flood
, tornado
, hurricane, volcanic eruption, earthquake
, heatwave, or landslide
). It leads to financial, environmental or human losses. The resulting loss depends on the vulnerability of the affected population to resist the hazard, also called their resilience
.
This understanding is concentrated in the formulation: "disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability
."
Thus a natural hazard will not result in a natural disaster in areas without vulnerability, e.g. strong earthquakes in uninhabited areas. The term natural has consequently been disputed because the events simply are not hazards or disasters without human involvement. A concrete example of the division between a natural hazard and a natural disaster is that the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
was a disaster, whereas earthquakes are a hazard. This article gives an introduction to notable natural disasters, refer to the list of natural disasters for a comprehensive listing.
crust
that creates seismic wave
s. At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by vibration, shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. The vibrations may vary in magnitude. Earthquakes are caused mostly by slippage within geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests
. The underground point of origin of the earthquake is called the focus. The point directly above the focus on the surface is called the epicenter. Earthquakes by themselves rarely kill people or wildlife. It is usually the secondary events that they trigger, such as building collapse, fires, tsunami
s (seismic sea waves) and volcanoes, that are actually the human disaster. Many of these could possibly be avoided by better construction, safety systems, early warning and evacuation planning.
Some of the most significant earthquakes in recent times include:
itself that may cause harm following the explosion of the volcano or the fall of rock. Second, lava
may be produced during the eruption of a volcano. As it leaves the volcano, the lava destroys many buildings and plants it encounters. Third, volcanic ash
generally meaning the cooled ash - may form a cloud, and settle thickly in nearby locations. When mixed with water this forms a concrete-like material. In sufficient quantity ash may cause roofs to collapse under its weight but even small quantities will harm humans if inhaled. Since the ash has the consistency of ground glass it causes abrasion damage to moving parts such as engines. The main killer of humans in the immediate surroundings of a volcanic eruption is the pyroclastic flows, which consist of a cloud of hot volcanic ash which builds up in the air above the volcano and rushes down the slopes when the eruption no longer supports the lifting of the gases. It is believed that Pompeii
was destroyed by a pyroclastic flow. A lahar
is a volcanic mudflow or landslide. The 1953 Tangiwai disaster
was caused by a lahar, as was the 1985 Armero tragedy in which the town of Armero was buried and an estimated 23,000 people were killed.
A specific type of volcano is the supervolcano
. According to the Toba catastrophe theory
70 to 75 thousand years ago a super volcanic event at Lake Toba
reduced the human population to 10,000 or even 1,000 breeding pairs creating a bottleneck in human evolution. It also killed three quarters of all plant life in the northern hemisphere. The main danger from a supervolcano is the immense cloud of ash which has a disastrous global effect on climate and temperature for many years.
defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide
.
Flooding may result from the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river
or lake
, which overflows or breaks levees, with the result that some of the water escapes its usual boundaries.
While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt, it is not a significant flood unless such escapes of water endanger land areas used by man like a village, city or other inhabited area.
Some of the most notable floods include:
Tropical cyclone
s can result in extensive flooding and storm surge
, as happened with:
A limnic eruption
occurs when a gas, usually CO2
, suddenly erupts from deep lake water, posing the threat of suffocating wildlife, livestock and humans. Such an eruption may also cause tsunami
s in the lake as the rising gas displaces water. Scientists believe landslides, volcanic activity, or explosions can trigger such an eruption. To date, only two limnic eruptions have been observed and recorded:
Tsunamis can be caused by undersea earthquakes as the one caused in Ao Nang
, Thailand, by the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake
, or by landslides such as the one which occurred at Lituya Bay
, Alaska
.
s characterized by low temperature, strong winds, and heavy snow.
The difference between a blizzard and a snow storm is the strength of the wind.
To be a considered a blizzard, the storm must have winds in excess of 35 miles per hour, it should reduce the visibility to 1/4 miles, and must last for a prolonged period of 3 hours or more.
Ground blizzard
s require high winds to stir up snow that has already fallen, rather than fresh snowfall.
Blizzards have a negative impact on local economics and can terminate the visibility in regions where snowfall is rare.
Significant blizzards include:
which devastated Martinique, St. Eustatius and Barbados. Another notable hurricane is Hurricane Katrina
which devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005.
Well-known historical drought
s include:
, Germany, on July 12, 1984, causing about 2 billion dollars in insurance
claims.
A summer heat wave in Victoria, Australia, created conditions which fuelled the massive bushfires in 2009. Melbourne
experienced three days in a row of temperatures exceeding 40°C with some regional areas sweltering through much higher temperatures. The bushfires, collectively known as "Black Saturday", were partly the act of arsonists.
The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer
resulted in severe heat waves, which killed over 2,000 people. It resulted in hundreds of wildfires which causing widespread air pollution, and burned thousands of square miles of forest.
or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud
. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone
is used in meteorology in a wider sense, to name any closed low pressure
circulation. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel
, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris
and dust
. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour (177 km/h), are approximately 250 feet (76.2 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating. The most extreme
tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than 300 mph (480 km/h), stretch more than two miles (3 km) across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).
Well-known historical tornadoes include:
s are an uncontrolled fire burning in wildland areas. Common causes include lightning
and drought
but wildfires may also be started by human negligence or arson
. They can be a threat to those in rural areas and also wildlife
.
Notable cases of wildfire
s were the 1871 Peshtigo Fire
in the United States, which killed at least 1700 people, and the 2009 Victorian bushfires in Australia.
An epidemic
is an outbreak of a contractible disease
that spreads at a rapid rate through a human population. A pandemic
is an epidemic whose spread is global. There have been many epidemics throughout history, such as Black Death
. In the last hundred years, significant pandemics include:
Other diseases that spread more slowly, but are still considered to be global health emergencies by the WHO
include:
the hardest, although the number of victims of modern famines is much smaller than the number of people killed by the Asian famines of the 20th century.
in June 1908.
is a phenomenon where the sun suddenly releases a great amount of solar radiation, much more than normal. Some known solar flares include:
Gamma ray burst
Gamma ray bursts are the most powerful explosions that occur in the universe. They release an enormous amount of energy in milliseconds or longing for ten seconds. They release the same energy that the Sun would have given in its whole life or even more than that. Gamma ray bursts are not rare events because they occur about once every day and are detected by telescopes both on Earth and in space. Mostly large masses of stars, bigger than the Sun, can produce a GRB. A GRB of distances nearer than 8000 light years
may cause a concern to life on Earth. Mainly Wolf-Rayet stars WR 104
can produce GRB. Astronomers do believe that the Ordovician–Silurian extinction, the second most destructive extinction on Earth, might have been due to a GRB.
defines International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
, requires that "States shall take, in accordance with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law
and international human rights law
, all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including the occurrence of natural disaster." And further United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is formed by General Assembly
Resolution 44/182.
s, hurricanes and other storm
s. Overviews, consequences, government and citizen responses, and case studies of multiple natural disasters Provides key information on all countries in the world. Includes list of world's deadliest disasters in history.
Natural hazard
A natural hazard is a threat of a naturally occurring event that will have a negative effect on people or the environment. Many natural hazards are interrelated, e.g. earthquakes can cause tsunamis and drought can lead directly to famine. It is possible that some natural hazards are...
(e.g., flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
, tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
, hurricane, volcanic eruption, earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
, heatwave, or landslide
Landslide
A landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
). It leads to financial, environmental or human losses. The resulting loss depends on the vulnerability of the affected population to resist the hazard, also called their resilience
Resilience (ecology)
In ecology, resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a perturbation or disturbance by resisting damage and recovering quickly. Such perturbations and disturbances can include stochastic events such as fires, flooding, windstorms, insect population explosions, and human activities...
.
This understanding is concentrated in the formulation: "disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability
Vulnerability
Vulnerability refer to the susceptibility of a person, group, society, sex or system to physical or emotional injury or attack. The term can also refer to a person who lets their guard down, leaving themselves open to censure or criticism...
."
Thus a natural hazard will not result in a natural disaster in areas without vulnerability, e.g. strong earthquakes in uninhabited areas. The term natural has consequently been disputed because the events simply are not hazards or disasters without human involvement. A concrete example of the division between a natural hazard and a natural disaster is that the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
was a disaster, whereas earthquakes are a hazard. This article gives an introduction to notable natural disasters, refer to the list of natural disasters for a comprehensive listing.
Avalanches
Notable avalanches include:- The 1910 Wellington avalancheWellington avalancheThe Wellington avalanche was the worst avalanche, measured in terms of lives lost, in the history of the United States.For nine days at the end of February 1910, the little town of Wellington, Washington was assailed by a terrible blizzard. Wellington was a Great Northern Railway stop high in the...
- The 1910 Rogers Pass avalanche1910 Rogers Pass avalancheThe 1910 Rogers Pass Avalanche was an avalanche which killed 62 men clearing a railroad line near the summit of Rogers Pass through the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia on March 4, 1910...
- The 1954 Blons avalanches1954 Blons avalanchesThe Blons avalanches in Austria was one of the worst mass burials by avalanche in recorded history. This happened on February 10 and February 11....
- The 1999 Galtür AvalancheGaltür AvalancheThe Galtür Avalanche was an avalanche that occurred on February 23, 1999 in the Alpine village of Galtür, Austria. The avalanche killed 31 people and is considered the worst Alpine avalanche in 40 years. Three major weather systems originating from the Atlantic accounted for large snow falls...
- The 2002 Kolka-Karmadon rock ice slideKolka-Karmadon rock ice slideThe Kolka-Karmadon rock-ice slide occurred on the northern slope of the Kazbek massif in North Ossetia, Russia on the 20th of September 2002 following a partial collapse of the Kolka Glacier. It started on the north-northeast wall of Dzhimarai-Khokh and seriously affected the valley of Genaldon...
Earthquakes
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth'sEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
crust
Crust (geology)
In geology, the crust is the outermost solid shell of a rocky planet or natural satellite, which is chemically distinct from the underlying mantle...
that creates seismic wave
Seismic wave
Seismic waves are waves of energy that travel through the earth, and are a result of an earthquake, explosion, or a volcano that imparts low-frequency acoustic energy. Many other natural and anthropogenic sources create low amplitude waves commonly referred to as ambient vibrations. Seismic waves...
s. At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by vibration, shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. The vibrations may vary in magnitude. Earthquakes are caused mostly by slippage within geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests
Underground nuclear testing
Underground nuclear testing refers to test detonations of nuclear weapons that are performed underground. When the device being tested is buried at sufficient depth, the explosion may be contained, with no release of radioactive materials to the atmosphere....
. The underground point of origin of the earthquake is called the focus. The point directly above the focus on the surface is called the epicenter. Earthquakes by themselves rarely kill people or wildlife. It is usually the secondary events that they trigger, such as building collapse, fires, tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s (seismic sea waves) and volcanoes, that are actually the human disaster. Many of these could possibly be avoided by better construction, safety systems, early warning and evacuation planning.
Some of the most significant earthquakes in recent times include:
- The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
, the third largest earthquake in recorded history, registering a moment magnitudeMoment magnitude scaleThe moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...
of 9.1-9.3. The huge tsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s triggered by this earthquake cost the lives of at least 229,000 people. - The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunamiThe 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
registered a moment magnitudeMoment magnitude scaleThe moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...
of 9.0. The death toll from the earthquake and tsunami is over 13,000, and over 12,000 people are still missing. - The 8.8 magnitude February 27, 2010 Chile earthquake2010 Chile earthquakeThe 2010 Chile earthquake occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February 2010, at 03:34 local time , having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking lasting for about three minutes. It ranks as the sixth largest earthquake ever to be recorded by a...
and tsunami cost 525 lives. - The 7.9 magnitude May 12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake2008 Sichuan earthquakeThe 2008 Sichuan earthquake or the Great Sichuan Earthquake was a deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0 Msand 7.9 Mw occurred at 14:28:01 CST...
in Sichuan Province, China. Death toll at over 61,150 as of May 27, 2008. - The 7.7 magnitude July 2006 Java earthquakeJuly 2006 Java earthquakeThe July 2006 Java earthquake was a magnitude 7.7 earthquake off the southwestern coast of Java, Indonesia. It occurred on July 17, 2006, at 08:24 UTC ....
, which also triggered tsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s. - The 7.6-7.7 magnitude 2005 Kashmir earthquake2005 Kashmir earthquakeThe 2005 Kashmir earthquake was a major earthquake centered in Pakistan-administered Kashmir known as Azad Kashmir, near the city of Muzaffarabad, affecting Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October 2005...
, which cost 79,000 lives in PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Volcanic eruptions
Volcanoes can cause widespread destruction and consequent disaster through several ways. The effects include the volcanic eruptionTypes of volcanic eruptions
During a volcanic eruption, lava, tephra , and various gases are expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure. Several types of volcanic eruptions have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often named after famous volcanoes where that type of behavior has been observed...
itself that may cause harm following the explosion of the volcano or the fall of rock. Second, lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
may be produced during the eruption of a volcano. As it leaves the volcano, the lava destroys many buildings and plants it encounters. Third, volcanic ash
Volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
generally meaning the cooled ash - may form a cloud, and settle thickly in nearby locations. When mixed with water this forms a concrete-like material. In sufficient quantity ash may cause roofs to collapse under its weight but even small quantities will harm humans if inhaled. Since the ash has the consistency of ground glass it causes abrasion damage to moving parts such as engines. The main killer of humans in the immediate surroundings of a volcanic eruption is the pyroclastic flows, which consist of a cloud of hot volcanic ash which builds up in the air above the volcano and rushes down the slopes when the eruption no longer supports the lifting of the gases. It is believed that Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
was destroyed by a pyroclastic flow. A lahar
Lahar
A lahar is a type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris, and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. The term is a shortened version of "berlahar" which originated in the Javanese language of...
is a volcanic mudflow or landslide. The 1953 Tangiwai disaster
Tangiwai disaster
The Tangiwai disaster on 24 December 1953 was the worst rail accident in New Zealand history. An 11-carriage overnight express from Wellington to Auckland fell into the Whangaehu River at Tangiwai, ten kilometres west of Waiouru. The bridge carrying the North Island Main Trunk Railway over the...
was caused by a lahar, as was the 1985 Armero tragedy in which the town of Armero was buried and an estimated 23,000 people were killed.
A specific type of volcano is the supervolcano
Supervolcano
A supervolcano is a volcano capable of producing a volcanic eruption with an ejecta volume greater than 1,000 cubic kilometers . This is thousands of times larger than most historic volcanic eruptions. Supervolcanoes can occur when magma in the Earth rises into the crust from a hotspot but is...
. According to the Toba catastrophe theory
Toba catastrophe theory
The Toba supereruption was a supervolcanic eruption that occurred some time between 69,000 and 77,000 years ago at Lake Toba . It is recognized as one of the Earth's largest known eruptions...
70 to 75 thousand years ago a super volcanic event at Lake Toba
Lake Toba
Lake Toba is a lake and supervolcano. The lake is 100 kilometres long and 30 kilometres wide, and 505 metres at its deepest point. Located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a surface elevation of about , the lake stretches from to...
reduced the human population to 10,000 or even 1,000 breeding pairs creating a bottleneck in human evolution. It also killed three quarters of all plant life in the northern hemisphere. The main danger from a supervolcano is the immense cloud of ash which has a disastrous global effect on climate and temperature for many years.
Floods
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directiveFloods directive
DIRECTIVE 2007/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks is commonly known as the ‘Floods Directive’....
defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
.
Flooding may result from the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
or lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
, which overflows or breaks levees, with the result that some of the water escapes its usual boundaries.
While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt, it is not a significant flood unless such escapes of water endanger land areas used by man like a village, city or other inhabited area.
Some of the most notable floods include:
- The Huang He (Yellow River) in China floods particularly often. The Great Flood of 1931 caused between 800,000 and 4,000,000 deaths.
- The Great Flood of 1993Great Flood of 1993The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 occurred in the American Midwest, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993. The flood was among the most costly and devastating to ever occur in the United States, with $15 billion in damages...
was one of the most costly floods in United States history. - The 1998 Yangtze River Floods1998 Yangtze River FloodsThe 1998 Yangtze River floods was a major flood that lasted from middle of June to the beginning of September 1998 in the People's Republic of China at the Yangtze River.-Tolls:The event was considered the worst Northern China flood in 40 years...
, in China, left 14 million people homeless. - The 2000 Mozambique flood2000 Mozambique floodThe 2000 Mozambique flood was a natural disaster that occurred in February and March 2000. The catastrophic flooding was caused by heavy rainfall that lasted for five weeks and made many homeless. Approximately 800 people were killed. 1,400 km² of arable land was affected and 20,000 head of...
covered much of the country for three weeks, resulting in thousands of deaths, and leaving the country devastated for years afterward. - The 2005 Mumbai floods which destroyed 1094 people.
- The 2010 Pakistan floods2010 Pakistan floodsThe 2010 Pakistan floods began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area was underwater, approximately...
, damaged crops and the infrastructure, while claiming many lives.
Tropical cyclone
Tropical cyclone
A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a large low-pressure center and numerous thunderstorms that produce strong winds and heavy rain. Tropical cyclones strengthen when water evaporated from the ocean is released as the saturated air rises, resulting in condensation of water vapor...
s can result in extensive flooding and storm surge
Storm surge
A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...
, as happened with:
- Bhola Cyclone, which struck East PakistanEast PakistanEast Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
(now BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
) in 1970, - Typhoon NinaTyphoon Nina (1975)Super Typhoon Nina was a short-lived but intense super typhoon that caused catastrophic damage and loss of life in China after causing the Banqiao Dam to collapse...
, which struck China in 1975, - Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, which struck New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
in 2005, and - Cyclone YasiCyclone YasiSevere Tropical Cyclone Yasi was a tropical cyclone that made landfall in northern Queensland, Australia in the early hours of Thursday, 3 February 2011. Yasi originated from a tropical low near Fiji. The system intensified to a Category 3 cyclone at about 5pm AEST on 31 January 2011...
, which struck Australia in 2011
Limnic eruptions
Limnic eruption
A limnic eruption, also referred to as a lake overturn, is a rare type of natural disaster in which carbon dioxide suddenly erupts from deep lake water, suffocating wildlife, livestock and humans. Such an eruption may also cause tsunamis in the lake as the rising CO2 displaces water. Scientists...
occurs when a gas, usually CO2
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
, suddenly erupts from deep lake water, posing the threat of suffocating wildlife, livestock and humans. Such an eruption may also cause tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s in the lake as the rising gas displaces water. Scientists believe landslides, volcanic activity, or explosions can trigger such an eruption. To date, only two limnic eruptions have been observed and recorded:
- In 1984, in CameroonCameroonCameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, a limnic eruption in Lake MonounLake MonounLake Monoun is a lake in West Province, Cameroon, that lies in the Oku Volcanic Field . On August 15, 1984, the lake exploded in a limnic eruption, which resulted in the release of a large amount of carbon dioxide that killed 37 people. At first, the cause of the deaths was a mystery, and...
caused the deaths of 37 nearby residents. - At nearby Lake NyosLake NyosLake Nyos is a crater lake in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, located about northwest of Yaoundé. Nyos is a deep lake high on the flank of an inactive volcano in the Oku volcanic plain along the Cameroon line of volcanic activity...
in 1986 a much larger eruption killed between 1,700 and 1,800 people by asphyxiation.
Tsunamis
Ao Nang
Ao Nang is a small resort town and subdistrict in the Mueang Krabi District of Krabi Province, Thailand.-Geography:Ao Nang is a central point of the coastal province of Krabi, Thailand. The town consists chiefly of a main street, which is dominated by restaurants, pubs, shops and other commerce...
, Thailand, by the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
, or by landslides such as the one which occurred at Lituya Bay
Lituya Bay
Lituya Bay is a fjord located on the coast of the Southeast part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is long and wide at its widest point. The bay was noted in 1786 by Jean-François de La Pérouse, who named it Port des Français...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
- Ao NangAo NangAo Nang is a small resort town and subdistrict in the Mueang Krabi District of Krabi Province, Thailand.-Geography:Ao Nang is a central point of the coastal province of Krabi, Thailand. The town consists chiefly of a main street, which is dominated by restaurants, pubs, shops and other commerce...
, Thailand (2004). The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
created the Boxing Day Tsunami and disaster at this site. - Lituya Bay, Alaska (1953).
- 2010 Chile earthquake2010 Chile earthquakeThe 2010 Chile earthquake occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February 2010, at 03:34 local time , having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking lasting for about three minutes. It ranks as the sixth largest earthquake ever to be recorded by a...
- On October 26, 2010, a tsunami occurred at SumatraSumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Indonesia - On March 11, 2011, a tsunami occurred near Fukushima, Japan2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunamiThe 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
and spread through the Pacific.
Meteorological disasters
Blizzards
Blizzards are severe winter stormWinter storm
A winter storm is an event in which the dominant varieties of precipitation are formed that only occur at low temperatures, such as snow or sleet, or a rainstorm where ground temperatures are low enough to allow ice to form...
s characterized by low temperature, strong winds, and heavy snow.
The difference between a blizzard and a snow storm is the strength of the wind.
To be a considered a blizzard, the storm must have winds in excess of 35 miles per hour, it should reduce the visibility to 1/4 miles, and must last for a prolonged period of 3 hours or more.
Ground blizzard
Ground blizzard
Ground blizzard refers to a weather condition where loose snow or ice on the ground is lifted and blown by strong winds. The primary difference between a ground blizzard as opposed to a regular blizzard is that in a ground blizzard no precipitation is produced at the time, but rather all the...
s require high winds to stir up snow that has already fallen, rather than fresh snowfall.
Blizzards have a negative impact on local economics and can terminate the visibility in regions where snowfall is rare.
Significant blizzards include:
- The Great Blizzard of 1888Great Blizzard of 1888The Great Blizzard of 1888 or Great Blizzard of '88 was one of the most severe blizzards in United States' recorded history. Snowfalls of 40-50 inches fell in parts of New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, and sustained winds of over produced snowdrifts in excess of...
in the United States - The 2008 Afghanistan blizzard2008 Afghanistan blizzardThe 2008 Afghanistan blizzard was a fierce but not a record-breaking blizzard that struck Afghanistan in February 2008.Temperatures fell to a low of -30 C, with up to 180 centimetres of snow in the more mountainous regions, killing at least 926 people....
- The North American blizzard of 1947North American blizzard of 1947The Great Blizzard of 1947 was a record-breaking snowfall that began on Christmas without prediction and brought the northeastern United States to a standstill. The snowstorm was described as the worst blizzard after 1888. The storm was not accompanied by high winds, but the snow fell silently and...
- The 1972 Iran blizzard resulted in approximately 4,000 deaths and lasted for 5 to 7 days.
Cyclonic storms
Cyclone, tropical cyclone, hurricane, and typhoon are different names for the same phenomenon a cyclonic storm system that forms over the oceans. The deadliest hurricane ever was the 1970 Bhola cyclone; the deadliest Atlantic hurricane was the Great Hurricane of 1780Great Hurricane of 1780
The Great Hurricane of 1780, also known as Hurricane San Calixto, the Great Hurricane of the Antilles, and the 1780 Disaster, is the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record. Over 20,000 people died when the storm passed through the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean between October 10 and October...
which devastated Martinique, St. Eustatius and Barbados. Another notable hurricane is Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
which devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005.
Droughts
Drought occurs when rainfall is insufficient to maintain river flow and ground-water levels fall to such an extent that water becomes unavailable or almost unavailable to support life. The formal definition of drought varies from area to area.Well-known historical drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
s include:
- 1900 India killing between 250,000 and 3.25 million.
- 1921-22 Soviet Union in which over 5 million perished from starvation due to drought
- 1928-30 northwest China resulting in over 3 million deaths by famine.
- 1936 and 1941 Sichuan Province China resulting in 5 million and 2.5 million deaths respectively.
- As of 2006, states of Australia including South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Queensland had been under drought conditions for five to ten years. The drought is beginning to affect urban area populations for the first time. With the majority of the country under water restrictions.
- In 2006, Sichuan Province China experienced its worst drought in modern times with nearly 8 million people and over 7 million cattle facing water shortages.
- 12-year drought that was devastating southwest Western Australia, southeast South Australia, Victoria and northern Tasmania was "very severe and without historical precedent".
Hailstorms
Hailstorms are rain drops that have formed together into ice. A particularly damaging hailstorm hit MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany, on July 12, 1984, causing about 2 billion dollars in insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
claims.
Heat waves
The worst heat wave in recent history was the European Heat Wave of 2003.Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
experienced three days in a row of temperatures exceeding 40°C with some regional areas sweltering through much higher temperatures. The bushfires, collectively known as "Black Saturday", were partly the act of arsonists.
The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer
2010 Northern Hemisphere summer
The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer included severe heat waves that impacted most of the United States, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, North Africa and the European continent as a whole, along with parts of Canada, Russia, Indochina, South Korea and Japan during May, June, July and August...
resulted in severe heat waves, which killed over 2,000 people. It resulted in hundreds of wildfires which causing widespread air pollution, and burned thousands of square miles of forest.
Tornadoes
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloudCumulonimbus cloud
Cumulonimbus is a towering vertical cloud that is very tall, dense, and involved in thunderstorms and other inclement weather. Cumulonimbus originates from Latin: Cumulus "Heap" and nimbus "rain". It is a result of atmospheric instability. These clouds can form alone, in clusters, or along a cold...
or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud
Cumulus cloud
Cumulus clouds are a type of cloud with noticeable vertical development and clearly defined edges. Cumulus means "heap" or "pile" in Latin. They are often described as "puffy" or "cotton-like" in appearance. Cumulus clouds may appear alone, in lines, or in clusters...
. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone
Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as the Earth. This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere of the Earth. Most large-scale...
is used in meteorology in a wider sense, to name any closed low pressure
Low pressure area
A low-pressure area, or "low", is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is below that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence which occur in upper levels of the troposphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as...
circulation. Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes, but are typically in the form of a visible condensation funnel
Funnel cloud
A funnel cloud is a funnel-shaped cloud of condensed water droplets, associated with a rotating column of wind and extending from the base of a cloud but not reaching the ground or a water surface. A funnel cloud is usually visible as a cone-shaped or needle like protuberance from the main cloud...
, whose narrow end touches the earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris
Debris
Debris is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier etc. The singular form of debris is debris...
and dust
Dust
Dust consists of particles in the atmosphere that arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind , volcanic eruptions, and pollution...
. Most tornadoes have wind speeds less than 110 miles per hour (177 km/h), are approximately 250 feet (76.2 m) across, and travel a few miles (several kilometers) before dissipating. The most extreme
1999 Bridge Creek – Moore tornado
The 1999 Bridge Creek – Moore tornado was an extremely powerful F5 tornado which devastated towns just outside of Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999. Throughout its one hour and 25 minute existence, the tornado covered , destroying thousands of homes, killing 41 people and leaving...
tornadoes can attain wind speeds of more than 300 mph (480 km/h), stretch more than two miles (3 km) across, and stay on the ground for dozens of miles (more than 100 km).
Well-known historical tornadoes include:
- The Tri-State TornadoTri-State TornadoThe Tri-State Tornado of Wednesday, March 18, 1925, was the deadliest tornado in U.S. history. With 695 confirmed fatalities, the tornado killed more than twice as many as the second deadliest, the 1840 Great Natchez Tornado...
of 1925, which killed over 600 people in the United States; - The Daulatpur-Saturia Tornado of 1989, which killed roughly 1,300 people in Bangladesh.
Fires
WildfireWildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
s are an uncontrolled fire burning in wildland areas. Common causes include lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
and drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
but wildfires may also be started by human negligence or arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
. They can be a threat to those in rural areas and also wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
.
Notable cases of wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
s were the 1871 Peshtigo Fire
Peshtigo Fire
The October 8, 1871 Peshtigo Fire in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, is the conflagration that caused the most deaths by fire in United States history, killing as many as 1,500. Occurring on the same day as the more infamous Great Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fire is mostly forgotten...
in the United States, which killed at least 1700 people, and the 2009 Victorian bushfires in Australia.
Epidemics
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
is an outbreak of a contractible disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
that spreads at a rapid rate through a human population. A pandemic
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
is an epidemic whose spread is global. There have been many epidemics throughout history, such as Black Death
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
. In the last hundred years, significant pandemics include:
- The 1918 Spanish fluSpanish fluThe 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
pandemic, killing an estimated 50 million people worldwide - The 1957-58 Asian fluAsian fluAsian Flu may refer to:* The Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, or* Asian Flu, the H2N2 virus...
pandemic, which killed an estimated 1 million people - The 1968-69 Hong Kong fluHong Kong fluThe Hong Kong flu was a category 2 flu pandemic whose outbreak in 1968 and 1969 killed an estimated one million people worldwide. It was caused by an H3N2 strain of the influenza A virus, descended from H2N2 through antigenic shift, a genetic process in which genes from multiple subtypes reassorted...
pandemic - The 2002-3 SARS pandemic
- The AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
pandemic, beginning in 1959 - The H1N1 Influenza2009 flu pandemicThe 2009 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the second of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus , albeit in a new version...
(Swine Flu) Pandemic 2009-2010
Other diseases that spread more slowly, but are still considered to be global health emergencies by the WHO
Who
Who may refer to:* Who , an English-language pronoun* who , a Unix command* Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism- Art and entertainment :* Who? , a 1958 novel by Algis Budrys...
include:
- XDR TB, a strain of tuberculosisTuberculosisTuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
that is extensively resistant to drug treatments - MalariaMalariaMalaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, which kills an estimated 1.6 million people each year - Ebola hemorrhagic fever, which has claimed hundreds of victims in Africa in several outbreakOutbreakOutbreak is a term used in epidemiology to describe an occurrence of disease greater than would otherwise be expected at a particular time and place. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent. Two linked cases of a rare infectious...
s
Famines
In modern times, famine has hit Sub-Saharan AfricaSub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
the hardest, although the number of victims of modern famines is much smaller than the number of people killed by the Asian famines of the 20th century.
Space disasters
Impact events
One of the largest impact events in modern times was the Tunguska eventTunguska event
The Tunguska event, or Tunguska blast or Tunguska explosion, was an enormously powerful explosion that occurred near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in what is now Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, at about 7:14 a.m...
in June 1908.
Solar flares
A solar flareSolar flare
A solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun surface or the solar limb, which is interpreted as a large energy release of up to 6 × 1025 joules of energy . The flare ejects clouds of electrons, ions, and atoms through the corona into space. These clouds typically reach Earth a day...
is a phenomenon where the sun suddenly releases a great amount of solar radiation, much more than normal. Some known solar flares include:
- An X20 event on August 16, 1989
- A similar flare on April 2, 2001
- The most powerful flare ever recorded, on November 4, 2003, estimated at between X40 and X45
- The most powerful flare in the past 500 yearsSolar storm of 1859The solar storm of 1859, also known as the Solar Superstorm, or the Carrington Event, which occurred during solar cycle 10, was the most powerful solar storm in recorded history, and the largest flare, observed by Richard Christopher Carrington, became known as the Carrington Super...
is believed to have occurred in September 1859
Gamma ray burstGamma ray burstGamma-ray bursts are flashes of gamma rays associated with extremely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies. They are the most luminous electromagnetic events known to occur in the universe. Bursts can last from ten milliseconds to several minutes, although a typical...
Gamma ray bursts are the most powerful explosions that occur in the universe. They release an enormous amount of energy in milliseconds or longing for ten seconds. They release the same energy that the Sun would have given in its whole life or even more than that. Gamma ray bursts are not rare events because they occur about once every day and are detected by telescopes both on Earth and in space. Mostly large masses of stars, bigger than the Sun, can produce a GRB. A GRB of distances nearer than 8000 light yearsLight Years
Light Years is the seventh studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released on 25 September 2000 by Parlophone and Mushroom Records. The album's style was indicative of her return to "mainstream pop dance tunes"....
may cause a concern to life on Earth. Mainly Wolf-Rayet stars WR 104
WR 104
WR 104 is a Wolf-Rayet star discovered in 1998, located 8,000 light years from Earth. It is a binary star with a class OB companion. The stars have an orbital period of 220 days and the interaction between their stellar winds produce a spiral "pinwheel" outflow pattern over 200 astronomical units...
can produce GRB. Astronomers do believe that the Ordovician–Silurian extinction, the second most destructive extinction on Earth, might have been due to a GRB.
Protection by international law
International law, for example Geneva ConventionsGeneva Conventions
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...
defines International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities...
, requires that "States shall take, in accordance with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law
International humanitarian law
International humanitarian law , often referred to as the laws of war, the laws and customs of war or the law of armed conflict, is the legal corpus that comprises "the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions, as well as subsequent treaties, case law, and customary international law." It...
and international human rights law
International human rights law
International human rights law refers to the body of international law designed to promote and protect human rights at the international, regional and domestic levels...
, all necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including the occurrence of natural disaster." And further United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is formed by General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
Resolution 44/182.
See also
- Act of GodAct of GodAct of God is a legal term for events outside of human control, such as sudden floods or other natural disasters, for which no one can be held responsible.- Contract law :...
- Gamma ray burstGamma ray burstGamma-ray bursts are flashes of gamma rays associated with extremely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies. They are the most luminous electromagnetic events known to occur in the universe. Bursts can last from ten milliseconds to several minutes, although a typical...
- Emergency managementEmergency managementEmergency management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause events like disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the...
- Civil defenseCivil defenseCivil defense, civil defence or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from military attack. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation, and recovery...
- Disaster relief
- Disaster Risk ReductionDisaster risk reductionDisaster Risk Reduction is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster. It aims to reduce socio-economic vulnerabilities to disaster as well as dealing with the environmental and other hazards that trigger them: here it has been strongly influenced by the...
- Civil defense
- Environmental disasterEnvironmental disasterAn environmental disaster is a disaster to the natural environment due to human activity. It should not be confused with the separate concept of a natural disaster.-History:...
- Environmental emergencyEnvironmental emergencyAn environmental emergency is a sudden onset disaster or accident resulting from natural, technological or human-induced factors, or a combination of these, that cause or threaten to cause severe environmental damage as well as loss of human lives and property. This term is coming into increasingly...
- SurvivalismSurvivalismSurvivalism is a movement of individuals or groups who are actively preparing for future possible disruptions in local, regional, national, or international social or political order...
- World Conference on Disaster ReductionWorld Conference on Disaster ReductionWorld Conference on Disaster Reduction is a United Nations conference bringing together government officials, non-governmental experts and other specialists from around the world to discuss the growing trend of people affected by natural disasters....
External links
US news site focused on disaster-related news. Includes country profiles, disaster profiles and a disaster list. Particularly including articles on tsunamiTsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s, hurricanes and other storm
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
s. Overviews, consequences, government and citizen responses, and case studies of multiple natural disasters Provides key information on all countries in the world. Includes list of world's deadliest disasters in history.