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FLOOD

A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land which is usually dry.

The European Union (EU) Floods Directive defines a flood as a 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 occur as an overflow of water from water bodies, such as

a river, lake, or ocean, in which the water overtops or breakslevees, resulting
in some of that water escaping its usual boundaries, or it may occur due to
an accumulation of rainwater on saturated ground in an areal flood. While
the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes
in precipitation and snow melt, these changes in size are unlikely to be
considered significant unless they flood property or drown domestic animals.

Pictures of flood

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Floods can also occur in rivers when the flow rate exceeds the capacity of
the river channel, particularly at bends or meanders in thewaterway. Floods
often cause damage to homes and businesses if they are in the natural flood
plains of rivers.

Cause of Flood
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Flooding occurs most commonly from heavy rainfall when natural

watercourses do not have the capacity to convey excess water. However,
floods are not always caused by heavy rainfall. They can result from other
phenomena, particularly in coastal areas where inundation can be caused by
a storm surge associated with a tropical cyclone, a tsunami or a high tide
coinciding with higher than normal river levels. Dam failure, triggered for
example by an earthquake, will result in flooding of the downstream area,
even in dry weather conditions.

Riverine Flooding
While riverine flood damage can be eliminated by moving away from rivers
and other bodies of water, people have traditionally lived and worked by
rivers because the land is usually flat and fertile and because rivers provide
easy travel and access to commerce and industry.

Some floods develop slowly, while others such as flash floods, can develop in
just a few minutes and without visible signs of rain. A flash flood is a
rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry
lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rainassociated with a severe
thunderstorm, hurricane, tropical storm, or meltwater from ice or snow
flowing over ice sheets or snowfields.. Flash floods are distinguished from
regular floods by a timescale of less than six hours 

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Effect of Flooding

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Floods can have devastating consequences and can have effects on the
economy, environment and people.

Economic
During floods (especially flash floods), roads, bridges, farms, houses and
automobiles are destroyed. People become homeless. Additionally, the
government deploys firemen, police and other emergency apparatuses to
help the affected. All these come at a heavy cost to people and the
government. It usually takes years for affected communities to be re-built
and business to come back to normalcy. 

Environment
The environment also suffers when floods happen. Chemicals and other
hazardous substances end up in the water and eventually contaminate the
water bodies that floods end up in. In 2011, a huge tsunami hit Japan, and
sea water flooded a part of the coastline. The flooding caused massive
leakage in nuclear plants and has since caused high radiation in that area.
Authorities in Japan fear that Fukushima radiation levels are 18 times higher
than even thought.

Additionally, flooding causes kills animals, and others insects are introduced
to affected areas, distorting the natural balance of the ecosystem.

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People and animals

Many people and animals have died in flash floods. Many more are injured
and others made homeless. Water supply and electricity are disrupted and
people struggle and suffer as a result. In addition to this, flooding brings a lot
of diseases and infections including military fever, pneumonic plague,
dermatopathia and dysentery.Sometimes insects and snakes make their
ways to the area and cause a lot of havoc.

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However, there is also something good about floods, especially those that
occur in floodplains and farm fields. Floodwaters carry lots of nutrients that
are deposited in the plains. Farmers love such soils, as they are perfect for
cultivating some kinds of crops.

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EARTH QUAKE
An earthquake is a shaking of the ground caused by the sudden breaking
and movement of large sections (tectonic plates) of the earth's rocky
outermost crust. The edges of the tectonic plates are marked by faults (or
fractures). Most earthquakes occur along the fault lines when the plates slide
past each other or collide against each other.

The shifting masses send out shock waves that may be powerful enough to 

 alter the surface of the Earth, thrusting up cliffs and opening great
cracks in the ground and

 cause great damage ... collapse of buildings and other man-made

structures, broken power and gas lines (and the consequent fire),
landslides, snow avalanches, tsunamis (giant sea waves) and volcanic
eruptions.

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Pictures of earth quake

An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the perceptible

shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of
energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can be
violent enough to toss people around and destroy whole cities.
The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and
size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time.

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Cause of Earthquake

Most earthquakes are causally related to compressional or tensional stresses

built up at the margins of the huge moving lithospheric plates that make up
the earth's surface (see lithosphere). The immediate cause of most shallow
earthquakes is the sudden release of stress along a fault, or fracture in the
earth's crust, resulting in movement of the opposing blocks of rock past one
another. These movements cause vibrations to pass through and around the
earth in wave form, just as ripples are generated when a pebble is dropped
into water. Volcanic eruptions, rockfalls, landslides, and explosions can also
cause a quake, but most of these are of only local extent. Shock waves from
a powerful earthquake can trigger smaller earthquakes in a distant location
hundreds of miles away if the geologic conditions are favorable.

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Effect of Earthquake

Earthquake environmental effects are the effects caused by

an earthquake on the natural environment, including
surface faulting, tectonic uplift and subsidence, tsunamis, soil liquefactions,
ground resonance, landslides and ground failure, either directly linked to the
earthquake source or provoked by the ground shaking.  Both surface
deformation and faulting and shaking-related geological effects (e.g., soil
liquefaction, landslides) not only leave permanent imprints in the
environment, but also dramatically affect human structures. Moreover,
underwater fault ruptures and seismically-triggered landslides can generate
destructive tsunami waves.

  Social Economic impacts Environmental

impacts impacts

Short- People may be Shops and business The built landscape

term killed or may be may be destroyed.
(immediat injured. Homes destroyed.Looting ma Fires can spread
e) impacts may be y take place. The due to gas pipe
destroyed. damage to transport explosions. Fires
Transport and and communication can damage areas
communication links can make trade of woodland.
links may be difficult. Landslides may
disrupted. occur. Tsunamisma
Water pipes y cause flooding in
may burst and coastal areas.
water supplies
may be
contaminated.

Long-term Disease may The cost of rebuilding

impacts spread. People a settlement is high.
may have to be Investment in the
re-housed, area may be focused
sometimes in only on repairing the
refugee camps. damage caused by
the earthquake.
Income could be lost.

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VOLCANEOS
A volcano is a mountain that opens downward to a pool of molten rock below
the surface of the earth. When pressure builds up, eruptions occur. Gases
and rock shoot up through the opening and spill over or fill the air with lava
fragments. Eruptions can cause lateral blasts, lava flows, hot ash flows,
mudslides, avalanches, falling ash and floods. Volcano eruptions have been
known to knock down entire forests. An erupting volcano can trigger
tsunamis, flash floods, earthquakes, mudflows and rockfalls.

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Cause of Volcaneos

Volcanoes are formed when magma from within the Earth's upper mantle
works its way to the surface. At the surface, it erupts to form lava flows and
ash deposits. Over time as the volcano continues to erupt, it will get bigger
and bigger.

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Scientists have categorized volcanoes into three main categories: active,

dormant, and extinct. An active volcano is one which has recently erupted
and there is a possibility that it may erupt soon. A dormant volcano is one
which has not erupted in a long time but there is a possibility it can erupt in
the future. An extinct volcano is one which has erupted thousands of years
ago and there’s no possibility of eruption.

Why do volcanoes erupt?

The Earth's crust is made up of huge slabs called plates, which fit together
like a jigsaw puzzle. These plates sometimes move. The friction causes
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions near the edges of the plates. The theory
that explains this process is called plate tectonics.

There are more than 1500 active volcanoes on the Earth. We currently know
of 80 or more which are under the oceans. The Pacific Ring of Fire is an area

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of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions encircling the basin of the

Pacific Ocean.
The Ring of Fire has 452 volcanoes and is home to over 50% of the world's
active and dormant volcanoes. Ninety percent of the world's earthquakes
and 81% of the world's largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire.

Effects of volcanoes

The destructive effects of an earthquake can be classified into primary and

secondary effects.

Primary effects are the immediate damage caused by the quake, such as

collapsing buildings, roads and bridges, which may kill many people. Those
lucky enough to survive can suffer badly from shock and panic

Secondary effects are the after-effects of the earthquake, such as fires,

tsunami, landslides and disease.

 Fire - earthquakes destroy gas pipes and electric cables, causing fires
to spread. Broken water mains prevent the Fires being extinguished.
Fires spread very quickly in cities, especially in poor-quality housing
areas where wooden buildings are common. 
 Tsunamis - an earthquake on the sea floor or close to the coast may
cause huge waves. 
 Landslides - earthquakes often cause landslides, especially in steep
river valleys and areas of weak rocks. 
 Disease and famine - fresh water supplies are often cut off causing
typhoid and cholera. Lack of shelter and food causes much suffering. 
 soil liquefaction when soils with a high water content are violently
shaken they lose their mechanical strength and behave like a fluid and
so buildings can literally sink.

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Natural disasters is any catastrophic event that is caused by nature or the

natural processes of the earth. The severity of a disaster is measured in lives
lost, economic loss, and the ability of the population to rebuild.

All natural disasters cause loss in some way. Depending on the severity, lives
can be lost in any number of disasters. Falling buildings or trees, freezing to
death, being washed away, or heat stroke are just some of the deadly
effects. Some disasters cause more loss of life than others, and population
density affects the death count as well.

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Flood- Natural disaster

Tornado- Natural disaster

 The many natural disasters the world over, mankind has shown amazing
resilience. When an area or country is badly affected by a natural disaster,
the reaction is always one of solidarity and aid is quick to come. There are
organizations set up with the primary goal of being prepared for natural
disasters. These groups work on global and local scale rescue work. 

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It’s clear that natural disasters are a part of life as we know it. However,
science is making it more possible to predict, aid is faster at coming, and
people are learning how to rebuild in safer areas.

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