Natural disaster
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{{Otheruses4|the natural disasters caused by natural hazards|natural hazards|Natural hazard}}
A '''natural disaster''' is the consequence of a [[natural hazard]] (e.g. [[volcanic eruption]], [[earthquake]], or [[landslide]]) which affects human activities. Human vulnerability, exacerbated by the lack of planning or lack of appropriate [[emergency management]], leads to financial, environmental or human losses. The resulting loss depends on the capacity of the population to support or resist the disaster, their resilience.<ref>{{cite book
| author=G. Bankoff, G. Frerks, D. Hilhorst (''eds.'')
| date=2003
| title=Mapping Vulnerability: Disasters, Development and People
| isbn= ISBN 1-85383-964-7
}}</ref> This understanding is concentrated in the formulation: "disasters occur when hazards meet [[vulnerability]]".<ref>{{cite book
| author=B. Wisner, P. Blaikie, T. Cannon, and I. Davis
| year=2004
| title=At Risk - Natural hazards, people's vulnerability and disasters
| publisher=Wiltshire: Routledge
| isbn= ISBN 0-415-25216-4
}}</ref> A natural hazard will hence never 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.<ref>{{cite book
| author=D. Alexander
| date=2002
| title=Principles of Emergency planning and Management
| publisher=Harpended: Terra publishing
| isbn= ISBN 1-903544-10-6
}}</ref>
==Natural hazards==
{{main|Natural hazard}}
A natural hazard is a threat of an event that will have a negative effect on people or the environment. Many natural hazards are related, e.g. [[earthquake]]s can result in [[tsunami]]s, [[drought]] can lead directly to [[famine]] and [[disease]]. A concrete example of the division between hazard and disaster is that the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]] was a disaster, whereas earthquakes are a hazard. Hazards are consequently relating to a future occurrence and disasters to past or current occurrences.
==Natural disasters==
{{main|disaster|list of deadliest natural disasters}}
===Land movement disasters===
====Avalanches====
[[Image:Timpavalanche.jpg|thumb|Avalanche on the backside (East) of Mt. Timpanogos, Utah at Aspen Grove trail]] Notable [[avalanche]]s include:
* The 1910 [[Wellington avalanche]]
* The [[1954 Blons avalanches]]
* The [[1970 Ancash earthquake]]
* The 1999 [[Galtür Avalanche]]
* The 2002 [[Kolka-Karmadon rock ice slide]]
====Earthquakes====
{{main|List of earthquakes}}
Some of the most significant [[earthquake]]s in recent times include:
* The [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]], the second largest earthquake in recorded history, registering a moment magnitude of 9.3. The huge [[tsunami]]s triggered by this earthquake cost the lives of at least 229,000 people.
* The 7.6-7.7 [[2005 Kashmir earthquake]], which cost 79,000 lives in [[Pakistan]].
* The 7.7 magnitude [[July 2006 Java earthquake]], which also triggered [[tsunami]]s.
[[Image:Sumatra devastation1.jpg|thumb||A [[Sumatra]]n village, devastated by the [[tsunami]] that followed the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]]]]
* The 7.9 magnitude May 12, [[2008 Sichuan earthquake]] in Sichuan Province, China. Death toll at over 61,150 as of May 27, 2008.
====Lahars====
The [[Tangiwai disaster]] is an excellent example of a [[lahar]], as is the one which killed an estimated 23,000 people in Armero, [[Colombia]], during the 1985 eruption of [[Nevado del Ruiz]].
====Landslides and Mudflows====
These occur with some regularity in parts of [[California]] after periods of heavy rain.
====Volcanic eruptions====
[[Image:Puu Oo cropped.jpg|thumb|100px|right|[[Pu'u 'Ō'ō]]]]
*An '''Eruption''' may in itself be a disaster, due to the explosion of the volcano or the fall of rock, but there are several effects that may happen after an eruption that are also hazardous to human life.
*'''[[Lava]]''' may be produced during the eruption of a [[volcano]], a material consisting of superheated rock. There are several different forms, which may be either crumbly (like [[a`a]]) or gluey (like [[pahoehoe]]). Leaving the volcano, this destroys any buildings and plants it encounters.
*'''[[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 cause ill-healtyh if inhaled. Since the ash has the consistency of ground glass, it causes abrasion damage to moving parts, such as engines.
*'''[[Supervolcano]]s''' : 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]]. 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.
*'''[[Pyroclastic flows]]''' consist of a cloud of hot volcanic ash which builds up in the air above a volcano, until it collapses under its own weight, and streams very rapidly from the mountain, burning anything in its path. It is believed that [[Pompeii]] was destroyed by a pyroclastic flow.
*'''Lahars''', mentioned above, may be triggered by volcanic eruptions.
===Water disasters===
====Floods====
{{main|List of floods}}
[[Image:DF-SD-01-00934.jpg|thumb|The [[Limpopo River]], in southern [[Mozambique]], during the [[2000 Mozambique flood]]]]
Some of the most notable [[flood]]s include:
* The [[Huang He]] (Yellow River) in [[China]] floods particularly often. The [[1931 Huang He flood|Great Flood of 1931]] caused between 800,000 and 4,000,000 deaths.
* The [[Great Flood of 1993]] was one of the most costly floods in [[US]] history.
* The [[1998 Yangtze River Floods]], also in [[China]], left 14 million people homeless.
* The [[2000 Mozambique flood]] covered much of the country for three weeks, resulting in thousands of deaths, and leaving the country devastated for years afterward.
[[Tropical cyclone]]s can result in extensive flooding and [[storm surge]], as happened with:
*[[Bhola Cyclone]], striking [[East Pakistan]] (now [[Bangladesh]]) in 1970,
*[[Typhoon Nina (1975)|Typhoon Nina]], striking [[China]] in 1975,
*[[Tropical Storm Allison]], which struck [[Houston, Texas]] in 2001 and
*[[Hurricane Katrina]], which left most of [[New Orleans]] under water in the year 2005.
====Limnic eruptions====
[[Image:Cow killed by Lake Nyos gasses.jpg|thumb|left|150px|A cow suffocated by gases from [[Lake Nyos]] after a limnic eruption]]A [[limnic eruption]] occurs when [[carbon dioxide|CO<sub>2</sub>]] 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 CO<sub>2</sub> 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 [[Cameroon]], a limnic eruption in [[Lake Monoun]] caused the deaths of 37 nearby residents
*At nearby [[Lake Nyos]] in 1986 a much larger eruption killed between 1,700 and 1,800 people by [[asphyxiation]].
====Tsunamis====
[[Image:2004-tsunami.jpg|thumb|The [[tsunami]] caused by the [[December 26]], [[2004]] [[earthquake]] strikes [[Ao Nang]], [[Thailand]].]]
Tsunami 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]] in.
*[[Ao Nang]], Thailand (2004). The [[2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake]] created the tsunami and disaster at this site.
*[[Lituya Bay]], Alaska (1953). See paragraph three (3) of the entry. A [[mega-tsunami]] occurred here, the largest ever recorded.
*
This would also fit within Land movement category because it starts with an earthquake.
===Weather disasters===
{{main|Weather disasters}}
[[Image:Young steer after blizzard - NOAA.jpg|thumb|Young steer after a blizzard, March 1966]]
====Blizzards====
Significant [[blizzard]]s in the [[United States]] include:
* The [[Great Blizzard of 1888]]
* The [[Schoolhouse Blizzard]] earlier the [[1888|same year]]
* The [[Armistice Day Blizzard]] in 1940
* The [[1993 North American storm complex|Storm of the Century]] in 1993
====Droughts====
Well-known historical [[drought]]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.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/forcesofnature/natural-disasters.html World's worst natural disasters since 1900]</ref>
*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, [[Western Australia]], [[New South Wales]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] and [[Queensland]] (states of [[Australia]]) have been under drought conditions for five to ten years. The drought is beginning to affect [[urban area|urban]] populations for the first time.
*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.
====Hailstorms====
A particularly damaging hailstorm hit [[Munich]], [[Germany]] on [[August 31]], [[1986]], felling thousands of trees and causing millions of dollars in [[insurance]] claims.
====Heat waves====
The worst heat wave in recent history was the [[European Heat Wave of 2003]].
[[Image:Hurricane Katrina August 28 2005 NASA.jpg|thumb|[[Hurricane Katrina]]]]
====Cyclonic storms====
{{main|List of tropical cyclones}}
[[Hurricane]], [[tropical cyclone]], 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 1780]], which devastated [[Martinique]], [[St. Eustatius]] and [[Barbados]]. Another notable hurricane is [[Hurricane Katrina]], which devastated the [[Gulf Coast of the United States]] in 2005.
===Fire===
{{main|List of forest fires}}
[[Wildfire]]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]].
===Health and disease===
====Epidemic====
{{main|List of epidemics}}
[[Image:Colorized transmission electron micrograph of Avian influenza A H5N1 viruses.jpg|thumb|The A H5N1 virus, which causes [[Avian influenza]]]]
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:
* The 1918 [[Spanish flu]] pandemic, killing an estimated 50 million people worldwide
* The 1957-58 [[Asian flu]] pandemic, which killed an estimated 1 million people
* The 1968-69 [[Hong Kong flu]] pandemic
* The 2002-3 [[SARS]] pandemic
* The [[AIDS]] epidemic, beginning in 1959
Other diseases that spread more slowly, but are still considered to be global health emergencies by the [[WHO]] include:
* [[XDR TB]], a strain of [[tuberculosis]] that is extensively resistant to drug treatments
* [[Malaria]], which kills an estimated 1.5 million people each year
* [[Ebola hemorrhagic fever]], which has claimed hundreds of victims in [[Africa]] in several [[outbreak]]s
====Famine====
{{main|List of famines}}
In modern times, famine has hit [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] 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 ===
[[Image:Tunguska event fallen trees.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Fallen [[tree]]s caused by the Tunguska meteoroid of the [[Tunguska event]] in June, 1908.]]
====Impact events====
One of the largest impact events in modern times was the [[Tunguska event]] in June, 1908.
====Solar flare====
A [[solar flare]] 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 years is believed to have occurred in September 1859
This is not currently a natural disaster because it has not damaged human structures; however, it does have the potential to be a natural disaster as we continue to explore space.
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== See also ==
<div style="-moz-column-count:4; column-count:4;">
* [[Act of God]]
* [[Environmental emergency]]
* [[Emergency management]]
** [[Civil defense]]
** [[Disaster relief]]
** [[Disaster Risk Reduction]]
* [[Environmental disaster]]
** [[List of environmental disasters]]
* [[World Conference on Disaster Reduction]]
</div>
== External links ==
* {{cite web
| url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/135814
| title=When Nature Attacks
| publisher=Newsweek
}}
* {{cite web
| url=http://www.gri-p.net
| title=Global Risk Identification Program (GRIP)
| publisher=GRIP
}}
* {{cite web
| url=http://go.worldbank.org/BCQUXRXOW0
| title=World Bank's Hazard Risk Management
| publisher=World Bank
}}
* {{cite web
| url=http://gfdrr.org
| title=Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR)
| publisher=GFDRR
}}
* {{cite web
| url=http://www.disasternews.net/
| title=Disaster News Network
| accessdate=2006-11-05
}} US news site focused on disaster-related news.
* {{cite web
| url=http://www.em-dat.net
| title=EM-DAT International Disaster Database
| accessdate=2006-11-05
}} Includes country profiles, disaster profiles and a disaster list.
* {{cite web
| url=http://www.whoi.edu/institutes/coi/topicIndex.do?o=read&id=113
| title=Natural Hazard Information from the Coastal Ocean Institute
| publisher=[[Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]]
| accessdate=2006-11-05
}} Particularly including articles on [[tsunami]]s, [[hurricane]]s and other [[storm]]s.
* {{cite web
| url=http://www.projectarcix.com
| title=ProjectArcix: Global Disaster Information Portal
}} Overviews, consequences, government and citizen responses, and case studies of multiple natural disasters
* {{cite web
| url=http://www.gdacs.org
| title=Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System
| publisher=[[European Commission]] and [[United Nations]] website initiative
}}
* {{cite web
| url=http://www.undp.org/bcpr/
| title=What the Development Programme of the United Nations (UN) does to reduce the human risks linked to Natural Disasters
| publisher=United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
}}
* {{cite web
| url=http://gridca.grid.unep.ch/undp/
| title=Pioneering Disaster Risk Index (DRI) Tool
| publisher=United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
}} Provides key information on all countries in the world.
[[Category:Natural disasters| ]]
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[[bg:Природно бедствие]]
[[ca:Catàstrofe natural]]
[[da:Naturkatastrofe]]
[[de:Naturkatastrophe]]
[[el:Φυσική καταστροφή]]
[[es:Desastre natural]]
[[eo:Naturkatastrofo]]
[[fr:Catastrophe#Catastrophes_naturelles]]
[[gl:Catástrofes naturais]]
[[ko:자연재해]]
[[hr:Prirodna katastrofa]]
[[is:Náttúruhamfarir]]
[[it:Disastro naturale]]
[[he:אסון טבע]]
[[lv:Dabas katastrofas]]
[[hu:Természeti katasztrófa]]
[[mn:Байгалийн гамшиг]]
[[nl:Natuurramp]]
[[ja:自然災害]]
[[no:Naturkatastrofe]]
[[pl:Klęska żywiołowa]]
[[pt:Desastre natural]]
[[ru:Стихийное бедствие]]
[[scn:Disastru]]
[[simple:Natural disaster]]
[[sr:Природне катастрофе]]
[[sh:Prirodna katastrofa]]
[[sv:Naturkatastrof]]
[[tg:Офатҳои таббии]]
[[tr:Doğal afet]]
[[uk:Стихійне лихо]]
[[zh:自然灾害]]