Natural hazard
Encyclopedia
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. earthquake
s can cause tsunami
s and drought
can lead directly to famine
. It is possible that some natural hazards are intertermporally correlated, as well. 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.
is a geophysical hazard a slide of a large snow (or rock) mass down a mountainside, caused when a build up of snow is released down a slope, it is one of the major dangers faced in the mountains in winter. An avalanche is an example of a gravity current consisting of granular material. In an avalanche, lots of material or mixtures of different types of material fall or slide rapidly under the force of gravity. Avalanches are often classified by what they are made of.
is a phenomenon
that results from a sudden release of stored energy that radiates seismic wave
s. At the Earth
's surface, earthquakes may manifest themselves by a shaking or displacement of the ground and sometimes tsunamis. Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the 40,000-km-long, horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt, also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the Pacific Plate
. Many earthquakes happen each day, few of which are large enough to cause significant damage.
is a type of natural disaster closely related to a volcanic eruption, and involves a large amount of material, including mud, rock
, and ash
sliding down the side of the volcano
at a rapid pace. These flows can destroy entire towns in seconds and kill thousands of people.
is localized depression in the surface topography, usually caused by the collapse of a subterranean structure, such as a cave
. Although rare, large sinkholes that develop suddenly in populated areas can lead to the collapse of buildings and other structures.
A volcanic eruption is the point in which a volcano
is active and releases its power, and the eruptions come in many forms. They range from daily small eruptions which occur in places like Kilauea
in Hawaii
, to megacolossal eruptions (where the volcano expels at least 1,000 cubic kilometers of material)] from supervolcanoes like Lake Taupo
(26,500 years ago) and Yellowstone Caldera
. 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
. Some eruptions form pyroclastic flows, which are high-temperature clouds of ash and steam that can trial down mountainsides at speed exceeding an airliner.
is a severe winter storm
icy and windy conditions characterized by low temperature
s, strong wind
s, and heavy snow
.
is an abnormally dry period when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban or environmental water needs. Extended droughts can result in deaths by starvation
or disease
, and can result in wildfire
s.
Scientists warn that global warming
may result in more extensive drought
s in coming years.
storm is a natural hazard where a thunderstorm produces numerous hailstones which damage the location in which they fall. Hailstorms can be especially devastating to farm
fields, ruining crops and damaging equipment.
is a hazard characterized by heat
which is considered extreme and unusual in the area in which it occurs. Heat waves are rare and require specific combinations of weather
events to take place, and may include temperature inversions, katabatic winds, or other phenomena. There is potential for longer term events causing global warming
, including stadial
events (the opposite to glacial 'ice age' events), or through human induced climatic warming.
Hurricane, tropical cyclone
, and typhoon are different names for the same phenomenon: a cyclonic storm
system that forms over the oceans. It is caused by evaporated water
that comes off of the ocean
and becomes a storm
. The Coriolis Effect
causes the storms to spin, and a hurricane is declared when this spinning mass of storms attains a wind speed greater than 74 mi/h. Hurricane is used for these phenomena in the Atlantic
and eastern Pacific Ocean
s, tropical cyclone in the Indian
, typhoon in the western Pacific
.
is a particular weather
event in which precipitation falls as ice
, due to atmosphere conditions.
is a natural disaster resulting from a thunderstorm
. Tornadoes are violent, rotating columns of air which can blow at speeds between 50 mi/h and 300 mi/h, and possibly higher. Tornadoes can occur one at a time, or can occur in large tornado outbreak
s associated with supercell
s or in other large areas of thunderstorm development. Waterspout
s are tornadoes occurring over tropical waters in light rain conditions.
is a long-term hazard which can increase or decrease the risk of other weather hazards, and also directly endangers property due to sea level rise and biological organisms due to habitat
destruction.
s can disrupt or damage technological infrastructure, and disorient species with magnetoception
.
is 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
. Wildfires can also produce ember attacks, where floating embers set fire to buildings at a distance from the fire itself.
is a natural hazard that can be enhanced by human factors such as urbanization
or poor sanitation
. Disease affecting multiple people can be termed an outbreak
or epidemic
.
In some cases, a hazard exists in that a human-made defense against disease could fail, for example through antibiotic resistance
.
launched the International Early Warning Programme
to address the underlying causes of vulnerability and to build disaster-resilient communities by promoting increased awareness of the importance of Disaster Risk Reduction
as an integral component of sustainable development
, with the goal of reducing human, economic and environmental losses due to hazards of all kinds (UN/ISDR, 2000). The 2006-2007 United Nations International Disaster Reduction Day theme is “Disaster reduction education begins in school”. The Foundation of Public Safety Professionals has launched an international campaign giving everybody a chance to have their say, thought their international open essay or documentary competition “Disaster Risk Reduction Education Begins at School”.
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
occurring event that will have a negative effect on people or the environment. Many natural hazards are interrelated, e.g. 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...
s can 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 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...
can lead directly to famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
. It is possible that some natural hazards are intertermporally correlated, as well. 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.
Avalanche
An avalancheAvalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
is a geophysical hazard a slide of a large snow (or rock) mass down a mountainside, caused when a build up of snow is released down a slope, it is one of the major dangers faced in the mountains in winter. An avalanche is an example of a gravity current consisting of granular material. In an avalanche, lots of material or mixtures of different types of material fall or slide rapidly under the force of gravity. Avalanches are often classified by what they are made of.
Earthquake
An earthquakeEarthquake
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...
is a phenomenon
Phenomenon
A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...
that results from a sudden release of stored energy that radiates 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
Earth
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...
's surface, earthquakes may manifest themselves by a shaking or displacement of the ground and sometimes tsunamis. Most of the world's earthquakes (90%, and 81% of the largest) take place in the 40,000-km-long, horseshoe-shaped zone called the circum-Pacific seismic belt, also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, which for the most part bounds the Pacific Plate
Pacific Plate
The Pacific Plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. At 103 million square kilometres, it is the largest tectonic plate....
. Many earthquakes happen each day, few of which are large enough to cause significant damage.
Lahar
A laharLahar
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 type of natural disaster closely related to a volcanic eruption, and involves a large amount of material, including mud, rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
, and 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...
sliding down the side of the volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
at a rapid pace. These flows can destroy entire towns in seconds and kill thousands of people.
Sinkholes
A sinkholeSinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
is localized depression in the surface topography, usually caused by the collapse of a subterranean structure, such as a cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
. Although rare, large sinkholes that develop suddenly in populated areas can lead to the collapse of buildings and other structures.
Volcanic eruption
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
is active and releases its power, and the eruptions come in many forms. They range from daily small eruptions which occur in places like Kilauea
Kilauea
Kīlauea is a volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, and one of five shield volcanoes that together form the island of Hawaii. Kīlauea means "spewing" or "much spreading" in the Hawaiian language, referring to its frequent outpouring of lava. The Puu Ōō cone has been continuously erupting in the eastern...
in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, to megacolossal eruptions (where the volcano expels at least 1,000 cubic kilometers of material)] from supervolcanoes like Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo is a lake situated in the North Island of New Zealand. With a surface area of , it is the largest lake by surface area in New Zealand, and the second largest freshwater lake by surface area in geopolitical Oceania after Lake Murray ....
(26,500 years ago) and Yellowstone Caldera
Yellowstone Caldera
The Yellowstone Caldera is the volcanic caldera located in Yellowstone National Park in the United States, sometimes referred to as the Yellowstone Supervolcano. The caldera is located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, in which the vast majority of the park is contained. The major features of...
. 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
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...
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
Human evolution
Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
. Some eruptions form pyroclastic flows, which are high-temperature clouds of ash and steam that can trial down mountainsides at speed exceeding an airliner.
Climatic and atmospheric hazards
Blizzard
A blizzardBlizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
is a severe winter storm
Winter 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...
icy and windy conditions characterized by low temperature
Temperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
s, strong wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
s, and heavy snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
.
Drought
Drought is defined as an acute shortage of water and crop failure that results when the average rainfall is very less than the normal. A droughtDrought
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...
is an abnormally dry period when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban or environmental water needs. Extended droughts can result in deaths by starvation
Starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
or 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...
, and can result in 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.
Scientists warn that global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
may result in more extensive 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 in coming years.
Hailstorm
A hailHail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...
storm is a natural hazard where a thunderstorm produces numerous hailstones which damage the location in which they fall. Hailstorms can be especially devastating to farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
fields, ruining crops and damaging equipment.
Heat wave
A heat waveHeat wave
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat wave; the term is relative to the usual weather in the area...
is a hazard characterized by heat
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
which is considered extreme and unusual in the area in which it occurs. Heat waves are rare and require specific combinations of weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
events to take place, and may include temperature inversions, katabatic winds, or other phenomena. There is potential for longer term events causing global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, including stadial
Stadial
A stadial is a period of lower temperatures during an interglacial separating the glacial periods of an ice age. Such periods are of insufficient duration or intensity to be considered glacial periods...
events (the opposite to glacial 'ice age' events), or through human induced climatic warming.
Cyclonic storms
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...
, and typhoon are different names for the same phenomenon: a cyclonic storm
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
system that forms over the oceans. It is caused by evaporated water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
that comes off of the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
and becomes a storm
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
. The Coriolis Effect
Coriolis effect
In physics, the Coriolis effect is a deflection of moving objects when they are viewed in a rotating reference frame. In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the deflection is to the left of the motion of the object; in one with counter-clockwise rotation, the deflection is to the right...
causes the storms to spin, and a hurricane is declared when this spinning mass of storms attains a wind speed greater than 74 mi/h. Hurricane is used for these phenomena in the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and eastern Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
s, tropical cyclone in the Indian
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, typhoon in the western Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
Ice storm
An ice stormIce storm
An ice storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain, also known as a glaze event or in some parts of the United States as a silver thaw. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on exposed surfaces...
is a particular weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
event in which precipitation falls as ice
Ice
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
, due to atmosphere conditions.
Tornado
A tornadoTornado
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...
is a natural disaster resulting from a thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
. Tornadoes are violent, rotating columns of air which can blow at speeds between 50 mi/h and 300 mi/h, and possibly higher. Tornadoes can occur one at a time, or can occur in large tornado outbreak
Tornado outbreak
While there is no single agreed upon definition, generally at least 6-10 tornadoes produced by the same synoptic scale weather system is considered a tornado outbreak. The tornadoes usually occur within the same day, or continue into the early morning hours of the succeeding day, and within the...
s associated with supercell
Supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm that is characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, continuously-rotating updraft. For this reason, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms...
s or in other large areas of thunderstorm development. Waterspout
Waterspout
A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex that occurs over a body of water and is connected to a cumuliform cloud. In the common form, it is a non-supercell tornado over water. While it is often weaker than most of its land counterparts, stronger versions spawned by mesocyclones do occur...
s are tornadoes occurring over tropical waters in light rain conditions.
Climate change
Climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
is a long-term hazard which can increase or decrease the risk of other weather hazards, and also directly endangers property due to sea level rise and biological organisms due to habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
destruction.
Geomagnetic storm
Geomagnetic stormGeomagnetic storm
A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a disturbance in the interplanetary medium. A geomagnetic storm is a major component of space weather and provides the input for many other components of space weather...
s can disrupt or damage technological infrastructure, and disorient species with magnetoception
Magnetoception
Magnetoception is the ability to detect a magnetic field to perceive direction, altitude or location. This sense plays a role in the navigational abilities of several animal species and has been postulated as a method for animals to develop regional maps.Magnetoception is most commonly observed in...
.
Wildfire hazard
A 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...
is 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....
. Wildfires can also produce ember attacks, where floating embers set fire to buildings at a distance from the fire itself.
Disease
DiseaseDisease
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...
is a natural hazard that can be enhanced by human factors such as urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
or poor sanitation
Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...
. Disease affecting multiple people can be termed an outbreak
Outbreak
Outbreak 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...
or epidemic
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...
.
In some cases, a hazard exists in that a human-made defense against disease could fail, for example through antibiotic resistance
Antibiotic resistance
Antibiotic resistance is a type of drug resistance where a microorganism is able to survive exposure to an antibiotic. While a spontaneous or induced genetic mutation in bacteria may confer resistance to antimicrobial drugs, genes that confer resistance can be transferred between bacteria in a...
.
International campaigns
In 2000, the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
launched the International Early Warning Programme
International Early Warning Programme
The International Early Warning Programme , was first proposed at the Second International Early Warning Conference in 2003 in Bonn, Germany...
to address the underlying causes of vulnerability and to build disaster-resilient communities by promoting increased awareness of the importance of Disaster Risk Reduction
Disaster risk reduction
Disaster 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...
as an integral component of sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
, with the goal of reducing human, economic and environmental losses due to hazards of all kinds (UN/ISDR, 2000). The 2006-2007 United Nations International Disaster Reduction Day theme is “Disaster reduction education begins in school”. The Foundation of Public Safety Professionals has launched an international campaign giving everybody a chance to have their say, thought their international open essay or documentary competition “Disaster Risk Reduction Education Begins at School”.
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 :...
- Risks to civilization, humans and planet EarthRisks to civilization, humans and planet EarthVarious existential risks could threaten humankind as a whole, have adverse consequences for the course of human civilization, or even cause the end of planet Earth.-Types of risks:...
- List of environmental disasters
- Ten ThreatsTen threatsThe ten threats identified in 2004 by the High Level Threat Panel of the United Nations are these:# Poverty# Infectious disease# Environmental degradation# Inter-state war# Civil war# Genocide...
identified by the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace... - 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...
- GeohazardGeohazardA geohazard can be defined as a geological state that represents or has the potential to develop further into a situation leading to damage or uncontrolled risk. This definition implies that geohazards are widespread phenomena that are related to geological and environmental conditions and involve...
- 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...
- Standardized Natural Hazards Disclosure StatementStandardized Natural Hazards Disclosure StatementThe Natural Hazards Disclosure Act of California, effective June 1, 1998 The Natural Hazards Disclosure Act of California, effective June 1, 1998 The Natural Hazards Disclosure Act of California, effective June 1, 1998 (as amended June 9, 1998, requires that seller of real property and their agent...
- Social vulnerabilitySocial vulnerabilityIn its broadest sense, social vulnerability is one dimension of vulnerability to multiple stressors and shocks, including abuse, social exclusion and natural hazards. Social vulnerability refers to the inability of people, organizations, and societies to withstand adverse impacts from multiple...