‘Natural Disasters Are Often Not Natural Disasters, but in Fact Human Disasters. Discuss This Statement According to Seismic Events’

From here, the event can be classified into specific type of emergency. This event, an earthquake, is classified as a natural disaster. A natural disaster is one that occurs naturally in the environment with out any interference from man. These can include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, cyclones, floods, landslides, some bushfires, and droughts (Carter 1991). Most of these disasters cannot be avoided but some can be predicted or detected, providing significant warning time to prepare affected areas. Natural diasters are part of the earth’s environment, and need to be accepted and expected in our societies.

A ‘hazard’ can be defined as a geophysical process operating within the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere or biosphere which could potentially lead to the loss of human life or property. However, an earthquake only becomes hazardous and therefore needs management if it occurs within close proximity to a vulnerable population. To some extent, any human settlement around the world situated close to or on top of an area of seismic activity is vulnerable. However, not all nations suffer equal devastation.

The Kobe earthquake in Japan 1995 struck at 5.45am. Many people were asleep in bed, causing the hazard to be increased because the people were unaware. Although many Japanese buildings were of aseismic design, the roofs of their houses were designed to withstand typhoons and so were very heavy. When the earthquake struck many people

Natural disasters are a part of our lives as humans. If you’ve never been in one then you've probably heard of one or been taught about one. There effects are devastating and tragic. Those who are lost in such unexpected ways are some of the most memorable and mourned. Though disasters may be more prominent in some places, such a Haiti, they are not specific to one place, rather found all over the world and endured by many. Throughout Leonard Pitts article Sometimes the Earth is Cruel, the idea that the Earth is undeniably, unwaveringly, and inescapably cruel is an important and prevalent theme.

In 2010, an earthquake occurred that scared ten million lives of men, women, and children. However, the earthquake

A natural disaster is a natural event such as a flood, earthquake, or hurricane that causes great damage or loss of life. “The Perfect Storm” by Sebastian Junger and “Super Disasters of the 21st Century” by Jacqueline Adams describes the cause and effect of nature’s savagery. Each author uses similar and different strategies and techniques to accomplish this goal. In an excerpt from the article “Super Disasters of the 21st Century,” Jacqueline Adams points out recent disasters and provides an in depth look at how hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis occur and the devastation that result. In an excerpt from “The Perfect Storm”, Sebastian Junger combines a first person anecdote

At least 500,000 people were injured. Many farm crops were lost during the earthquake. The farmers lost all of their farmland, giving them no more financial income. The electrical supply system, water supply and communication services all failed to work. Tangshan’s coal mines were all destroyed. Collapsed highways and railroads made it extremely hard for rescuers to get to the people in need. 95% of city homes and 78% of commercial buildings were destroyed.

A hazard can best be defined as a 'situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property or the environment.' The overall impact of earthquakes as a natural hazard varies greatly from one place and timeframe to another. As do the types of hazards, which are categorised into primary and secondary. Primary hazards are created by the direct seismic energy of an earthquake; this could include liquefaction, slope failure and tsunamis. These primary hazards can in turn trigger secondary hazards such as floods, fires, disease and destabilisation of infrastructure. A number of factors play a part in determining the severity

Discuss the view that the impact of earthquake hazards depends primarily on human factors (40)

While natural disasters such as floods, drought and hurricanes are commonly thought to occur due to environmental forces such as weather, climate and tectonic movements; a deeper investigation into the ‘disaster’ displays other contributing forces. Human factors have a large, if not equal, contribution to the occurrance and outcome of such disasters (Pelling, 2001). As Pelling (2001) argues, there is both a physical and human dimension to ‘natural disasters’. The extent to which the natural occurrence of a physical process, such as a flood or earthquake, impacts on society is constructed by that society, creating a ‘disaster’ as measured by a

Volcanoes and Earthquakes are two of the most intriguing natural disasters that can occur on earth. Unlike hurricanes and tornadoes, they can awaken at almost any point in time throughout the year. These two natural disasters are also different from others because they occur on the layers of the earth itself. Volcanoes, while large to us, are actually small, conical patches of earth that spurt and ooze hot molten lava from the core, and can destroy areas of land triple their size. Earthquakes, on the other hand, are severe jolts felt on land due to the movement of earths tectonic plates. Some may describe earthquakes as being similar to riding a bike down a flight of stairs. The impact of an earthquakes can take down even the largest buildings and strongest structures. All natural disasters can have damaging effects on land, some more than others, and all can be measured or predicted in different ways. Although earthquakes and volcanoes are similar to each other, the two are still very comparable. A few of these similarities and differences include the cause of their occurrence, and how their occurrence impacts the environment.

Natural disasters may be defined as natural catastrophes which cause great damage by disrupting the functioning of a society thus rendering the country incapable of coping through using its own resources as there is a need for outsider assistance in order to effectively preserve lives and the environment. Conversely, Natural hazards are natural phenomena that are potential threats to people within a society, structures or economic assets and may cause disaster. Natural disasters are inevitable and ubiquitous worldwide. Within the Caribbean, they are chiefly present in the forms of hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, droughts, and volcanoes. The great damages caused by natural disasters may be divided into three categories: social, economic

This paper will discuss the differences between two different natural and man-made disasters. The disasters that will be discussed are Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Additionally, this paper will look into the specifics of what constitutes a natural and man-made disaster. Specifically, this paper will look into each disaster to include the events surrounding them; the risks; and the assessments. Furthermore, this paper will look at some of the details of each disaster and why there was so much devastation. Finally, this paper will look at a few similarities, but mainly the differences between the two, and how the effects of each still linger today.

In the U.S. alone, the average annual cost to repair damage caused by earthquakes is $4.4 billion USD. The worldwide figure is much larger than this but unquantifiable due to poorer countries unable to accurately determine the amount of damage that occurred. Year after year the cost of damages barely fluctuates from these ridiculously high figures and money must be pumped into repairing the damage done. Although a lot is being learnt about earthquakes and the fact that humans are now normally able to be alerted in time to evacuate the area the earthquake will affect, there have been no breakthroughs into reducing the amount of damage earthquakes cause to buildings and infrastructures.

Natural disaster is a sudden and terrific event in nature (such as a hurricane, tornado, flood, heat waves,typhoon) that usually results in serious damage and a huge amount of deaths.