A natural disaster is an event with a natural, as opposed to human, cause that results in large-

scale loss of life or damage to property. It could be related to weather, geology, biology or even
factors outside the Earth. Examples are earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts and flooding. Disease
epidemics are sometimes considered natural disasters, but may be put into a different category. In
some cases, natural and human factors may combine to produce a disaster.

Causes :
Natural disasters are caused by soil erosion, seismic activity, air pressure, and
ocean currents. These natural events have occurred since the the earth began
forming and continue to cause serious damage and loss of life all over the globe.
the root causes of many of the natural disasters that occur on earth can be attributed
to the four factors mentioned above.
 
Soil erosion is a naturally occurring event caused by rain and wind. Soil erosion
washes away soil and rocks in lower lying areas of the earth's surface which can be
effected by by floods. Soil erosion is responsible for many floods that have taken
place throughout the world.
 
Seismic activity caused by earth quakes have been the root cause of volcanoes
erupting and typhoons. The continents sit on hug plates that occasionally shift.
When these plates shift they cause an increase in pressure underneath the earths
surface. In areas where volcanoes have formed by solidified magma, pressure from
gasses and magma can explode or erupt to send tons of ash into the atmosphere.
The famous ancient city of Pompeii was completely buried in this manner.
Volcanoes are often formed along the lines of active plate margins. Underneath the
ocean magma arises from within the earth's mantle and add to the edges of plates
that are in collision. This causes earthquakes, which in turn brings about a tsunami,
or giant tidal wave.
 
Changing ocean currents can result in changes of water temperature which could
result in a global food shortage by killing fish and ocean plant life. The currents
could also adversely effect the intensity and frequency of storms. Tornadoes are
often formed by the interaction of high and low pressure air. Tornadoes have
decimated many communities in an area of America known as, Tornado Alley.
 
Air pressure, high and low determine whether or not we have thunderstorms, rain
and hurricanes. Flooding and high winds are caused by the crashing together of
low and high pressure air. Damage caused by flooding and hurricanes along coastal
cities and towns can be insurmountable for their victims.
 
Natural disasters have their root causes in the normal activities of the earth. In
recent generations however, man's increased knowledge and technology has served
to trigger some natural disasters. Flooding and erosion can occur in areas where
mining, deforestation, and manufacturing have taken place. Global warming,
which could eventually effect the ocean currents, has its roots in modern man's
overuse of fossil fuels. Earthquakes can be triggered by drilling, bombing, mining,
and construction.
Geoglogical and hydrologcial

Types

                   Natural Types of Disasters

 Agricultural diseases &

pests
 Damaging Winds  Hurricanes and tropical storms
 Drought and water shortage  Landslides & debris flow
 Earthquakes  Thunderstorms and lighting
 Emergency diseases  Tornadoes
(pandemic influenza)  Tsunamis
 Extreme heat  Wildfire
 Floods and flash floods  Winter and ice storms
 Hail  Sinkholes

Volcanic eruptions

Earthquakes

Cyclone

Avalanche

Flood droughts

Forest fire and bushfire

 Man-Made and Technological Types of Disasters

 Hazardous materials  Chemical threat and biological

 Power service disruption weapons
&blackout  Cyber attacks
  Nuclear power
plant and nuclear blast  Explosion
 Radiological emergencies  Civil unrest

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.

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, tsunamis (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 planning. Some of
the most significant earthquakes in recent times include:

 The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the third largest earthquake recorded in history,registering
a moment magnitude of 9.1-9.3. The huge tsunamistriggered by this earthquake killed at least
229,000 people.

Volcanoes can cause widespread destruction and consequent disaster in several ways. The effects
include the volcanic eruption 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 flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. [9] The EU Floods directive defines a
flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water. [10] 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.[11] 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 the water covers
land used by man like a village, city or other inhabited area, roads, expanses of farmland, etc.

Some of the most notable floods include:

 The Johnstown Flood of 1889 where over 2200 people lost their lives when the South Fork
Dam holding back Lake Conemaugh broke.
 The Huang He (Yellow River) in China floods particularly often. The Great Flood of 1931 caused
between 800,000 and 4,000,000 deaths

Drought is an extended period when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply whether surface or
underground water. A drought can last for months or years, or may be declared after as few as 15 days.
[1]
 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. Although droughts can persist
for several years, even a short, intense drought can cause significant damage [2] and harm to the
local economy.[3] Prolonged drought has caused cause mass migrations and humanitarian crises.

Many plant species, such as cacti, have adaptations such as reduced leaf area and waxy cuticles to
enhance their ability to tolerate drought. Some others survive dry periods as buried seeds. Semi-
permanent drought produces arid biomes such as deserts and grasslands. [4] Most arid ecosystems have
inherently low productivity.

In meteorology, a cyclone is an area of closed, circular fluid motion rotating in the same direction as
the Earth.[1][2] This is usually characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anti-clockwise in
the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphereof the Earth. Most large-scale
cyclonic circulations are centered on areas of low atmospheric pressure.[3][4] The largest low-pressure
systems are cold-core polar cyclones and extratropical cyclones which lie on the synoptic scale.
According to the NHC glossary, warm-core cyclones such as tropical cyclones and subtropical
cyclones also lie within the synoptic scale.[5] Mesocyclones, tornadoes and dust devils lie within the
smaller mesoscale.[6] Upper level cyclones can exist without the presence of a surface low, and can pinch
off from the base of the Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough during the summer months in the Northern
Hemisphere. Cyclones have also been seen on extraterrestrial planets, such as Mars and Neptune.[7]
[8]
 Cyclogenesis describes the process of cyclone formation and intensification. [9]Extratropical
cyclones form as waves in large regions of enhanced mid-latitude temperature contrasts called baroclinic
zones. These zones contract to form weather fronts as the cyclonic circulation closes and intensifies.
Later in their life cycle, cyclones occlude as cold core systems. A cyclone's track is guided over the
course of its 2 to 6 day life cycle by the steering flow of the cancer or subtropical jet stream.

Weather fronts separate two masses of air of different densities and are associated with the most
prominent meteorological phenomena. Air masses separated by a front may differ
in temperature or humidity. Strong cold fronts typically feature narrow bands of thunderstormsand severe
weather, and may on occasion be preceded by squall lines or dry lines. They form west of the circulation
center and generally move from west to east. Warm fronts form east of the cyclone center and are usually
preceded by stratiform precipitation and fog. They move poleward ahead of the cyclone path. Occluded
fronts form late in the cyclone life cycle near the center of the cyclone and often wrap around the storm
center.

Tropical cyclogenesis describes the process of development of tropical cyclones. Tropical cyclones form
due to latent heat driven by significant thunderstorm activity, and are warm core. [10]Cyclones can transition
between extratropical, subtropical, and tropical phases under the right conditions. Mesocyclones form as
warm core cyclones over land, and can lead to tornadoformation.[11] Waterspouts can also form from
mesocyclones, but more often develop from environments of high instability and low vertical wind shear.
[12]
 In the Atlantic basin, a tropical cyclone is generally referred to as a hurricane (from the name of the
ancient Central American deity of wind, Huracan), a cyclone in the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific,
and a typhoon in the Northwest Pacific region.[13]

An avalanche (also called a snowslide or snowslip) is a rapid flow of snow down a sloping surface.

Avalanches are typically triggered in a starting zone from a mechanical failure in the snowpack (slab
avalanche) when the forces on the snow exceed its strength but sometimes only with gradually widening
(loose snow avalanche). After initiation, avalanches usually accelerate rapidly and grow in mass and
volume as they entrain more snow. If the avalanche moves fast enough some of the snow may mix with
the air forming a powder snow avalanche, which is a type of gravity current.

Slides of rocks or debris, behaving in a similar way to snow, are also referred to as avalanches
(see rockslide[1]). The remainder of this article refers to snow avalanches.

The load on the snowpack may be only due to gravity, in which case failure may result either from
weakening in the snowpack or increased load due to precipitation. Avalanches that occur in this way are
known as spontaneous avalanches. Avalanches can also be triggered by other loads such as skiers,
snowmobilers, animals or explosives. Seismic activity may also trigger failure in the snowpack and
avalanches.

Although primarily composed of flowing snow and air, large avalanches have the capability to entrain ice,
rocks, trees, and other material on the slope, and are distinct from mudslides, rock slides,
and serac collapses on an icefall. Avalanches are not rare or random events and are endemic to any
mountain range that accumulates a standing snowpack. Avalanches are most common during winter or
spring but glacier movements may cause ice and snow avalanches at any time of year. In mountainous
terrain, avalanches are among the most serious objective natural hazards to life and property, with their
destructive capability resulting from their potential to carry enormous masses of snow at high speeds.

There is no universally accepted classification of avalanches—different classifications are useful for

different purposes. Avalanches can be described by their size, their destructive potential, their initiation
mechanism, their composition and their dynamics.

A wildfire is an uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or

a wilderness area.[1][2] Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill
fire, peat fire, vegetation fire, and veldfire may be used to describe the same phenomenon depending
on the type of vegetation being burned, and the regional variant of English being used. A wildfire differs
from other fires by its extensive size, the speed at which it can spread out from its original source, its
potential to change direction unexpectedly, and its ability to jump gaps such as roads, rivers and fire
breaks.[3] Wildfires are characterized in terms of the cause of ignition, their physical properties such as
speed of propagation, the combustible material present, and the effect of weather on the fire. [4]

The four major natural causes of wildfire ignitions are lightning, volcanic eruption, sparks from rockfalls,
and spontaneous combustion.[22][23] The thousands of coal seam fires that are burning around the world,
such as those in Centralia, Burning Mountain, and several coal-sustained fires in China, can also flare up
and ignite nearby flammable material.[24] However, many wildfires are attributed to human sources such
as arson, discarded cigarettes, sparks from equipment, and power linearcs (as detected by arc mapping).
[25][26]
 Despite public belief discarded glass has no effect on starting a fire. [27] In societies
experiencing shifting cultivation where land is cleared quickly and farmed until the soil loses fertility, slash
and burn clearing is often considered the least expensive way to prepare land for future use. [28][29]Forested
areas cleared by logging encourage the dominance of flammable grasses, and abandoned logging
roads overgrown by vegetation may act as fire corridors. Annual grassland fires in southern Vietnam can
be attributed in part to the destruction of forested areas by US military herbicides, explosives, and
mechanical land clearing and burning operations during the Vietnam War.[30]

The most common cause of wildfires varies throughout the world. In the Canada and northwest China, for
example, lightning is the major source of ignition. In other parts of the world, human involvement is a
major contributor. In Mexico, Central America, South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Fiji, and New
Zealand, wildfires can be attributed to human activities such as animal husbandry, agriculture, and land-
conversion burning. Human carelessness is a major cause of wildfires in China and in the Mediterranean
Basin. In the United States and Australia, the source of wildfires can be traced to both lightning strikes
and human activities such as machinery sparks and cast-away cigarette butts." [8]

On a yearly basis in the United States, typically more than six times the number of wildfires are caused by
human means such as campfires and controlled agricultural burns than by natural means. However, in
any given year there could be far more acres burned by wildfires that are started by natural means than
by human means as well as vice-versa. For example, in 2010, almost 1.4 million acres were burned by
human-caused wildfires, and over 2 million acres were burned by naturally-caused wildfires. However, far
more acres were burned by human-caused fires in 2011, when almost 5.4 million acres were burned by
human-caused wildfires, and only about 3.4 million acres were caused by naturally-derived wildfires.

e following guide to producing a disaster plan outlines recommended action in all four phases, but
prevention is the best protection against disaster, natural or man-made.

Phase 1  :  Prevention

Identify and minimize the risks posed by the building, its equipment and fittings, and the natural hazards
of the area.

Carry out a building inspection and alter factors which

constitute a potential hazard.

Establish routine housekeeping and maintenance measures to

withstand disaster in buildings and surrounding areas.

Install automatic fire detection and extinguishing systems, and

water-sensing alarms.

Take special precautions during unusual periods of increased

risk, such as building renovation.

Make special arrangements to ensure the safety of library or

archival material when exhibited.

Provide security copies of vital records such as collection

inventories, and store these off-site.

Protect computers and data through provision

of uninterrupted power supply.

Have comprehensive insurance for the library or archives, its

contents, the cost of salvage operations, and potential
 replacement, re-binding and restoration of damaged materials.

Phase 2  :  Preparedness

Getting ready to cope.

Develop a written preparedness, response and recovery plan.

Keep the plan up-to-date, and test it.

Keep together supplies and equipment required in a disaster

and maintain them.

Establish and train an in-house disaster response team.

Training in :

  disaster response techniques

  identification and marking on floor-plans and enclosures of

irreplaceable and important material for priority salvage

Prepare and keep an up-to-date set of documentation

including :

  Building floor-plans, with locations of cut-off switches and

valves.

  Inventory of holdings, with priorities for salvage marked on

floor-plans.

  List of names, addresses, and home telephone numbers of

personnel with emergency responsibilities.

  List of names, addresses, and home telephone numbers of

the in-house disaster response team.

  List of names, addresses and home telephone numbers of

trained conservators with experience in salvaging water-
damaged materials, resource organisations, and other
facilities able to offer support in the event of a disaster.

  List of disaster control services, in-house supplies and

equipment, and in any central store, including locations and
names of contacts with home telephone numbers.

  List of suppliers of services and sources of additional

equipment and supplies, including names of contacts and
home telephone numbers.
  Arrangements made to access freezing facilities.

  Arrangements for funding emergency needs.

  Copies of insurance policies.

  Salvage procedures.

Distribute the plan and documentation to appropriate locations

on- and off-site.

Institute procedures to notify appropriate people of the

disaster and assemble them rapidly.

Phase 3  :  Response

When disaster strikes.

Follow established emergency procedures for raising the

alarm, evacuating personnel and making the disaster site
safe.

Contact the leader of the disaster response team to direct and

brief the trained salvage personnel.

When permission is given to re-enter the site, make a

preliminary assessment of the extent of the damage, and the
equipment, supplies and services required.

Stabilize the environment to prevent the growth of mould.

Photograph damaged materials for insurance claim purposes.

Set up an area for recording and packing material which

requires freezing, and an area for air-drying slightly wet
material and other minor treatment.

Transport water-damaged items to the nearest available

freezing facility.

OR
Mitigation

Mitigation activities actually eliminate or reduce the probability of disaster

occurrence, or reduce the effects of unavoidable disasters. Mitigation measures
include building codes; vulnerability analyses updates; zoning and land use
management; building use regulations and safety codes; preventive health care;
and public education.

Mitigation will depend on the incorporation of appropriate measures in national

and regional development planning. Its effectiveness will also depend on the
availability of information on hazards, emergency risks, and the
countermeasures to be taken. The mitigation phase, and indeed the whole
disaster management cycle, includes the shaping of public policies and plans
that either modify the causes of disasters or mitigate their effects on people,
property, and infrastructure.

Preparedness

The goal of emergency preparedness programs is to achieve a satisfactory level

of readiness to respond to any emergency situation through programs that
strengthen the technical and managerial capacity of governments,
organizations, and communities. These measures can be described as logistical
readiness to deal with disasters and can be enhanced by having response
mechanisms and procedures, rehearsals, developing long-term and short-term
strategies, public education and building early warning systems. Preparedness
can also take the form of ensuring that strategic reserves of food, equipment,
water, medicines and other essentials are maintained in cases of national or
local catastrophes.

During the preparedness phase, governments, organizations, and individuals

develop plans to save lives, minimize disaster damage, and enhance disaster
response operations. Preparedness measures include preparedness plans;
emergency exercises/training; warning systems; emergency communications
systems; evacuations plans and training; resource inventories; emergency
personnel/contact lists; mutual aid agreements; and public
information/education. As with mitigations efforts, preparedness actions
depend on the incorporation of appropriate measures in national and regional
development plans. In addition, their effectiveness depends on the availability
of information on hazards, emergency risks and the countermeasures to be
taken, and on the degree to which government agencies, non-governmental
organizations and the general public are able to make use of this information.
 Humanitarian Action

During a disaster, humanitarian agencies are often called upon to deal with
immediate response and recovery. To be able to respond effectively, these
agencies must have experienced leaders, trained personnel, adequate transport
and logistic support, appropriate communications, and guidelines for working
in emergencies. If the necessary preparations have not been made, the
humanitarian agencies will not be able to meet the immediate needs of the
people.

Response

The aim of emergency response is to provide immediate assistance to maintain

life, improve health and support the morale of the affected population. Such
assistance may range from providing specific but limited aid, such as assisting
refugees with transport, temporary shelter, and food, to establishing semi-
permanent settlement in camps and other locations. It also may involve initial
repairs to damaged infrastructure. The focus in the response phase is on
meeting the basic needs of the people until more permanent and sustainable
solutions can be found. Humanitarian organizations are often strongly present
in this phase of the disaster management cycle.

Recovery

As the emergency is brought under control, the affected population is capable

of undertaking a growing number of activities aimed at restoring their lives and
the infrastructure that supports them. There is no distinct point at which
immediate relief changes into recovery and then into long-term sustainable
development. There will be many opportunities during the recovery period to
enhance prevention and increase preparedness, thus reducing vulnerability.
Ideally, there should be a smooth transition from recovery to on-going
development.

Recovery activities continue until all systems return to normal or better.

Recovery measures, both short and long term, include returning vital life-
support systems to minimum operating standards; temporary housing; public
information; health and safety education; reconstruction; counseling programs;
and economic impact studies. Information resources and services include data
collection related to rebuilding, and documentation of lessons learned.
Effects

Displaced Populations
One of the most immediate effects of natural disasters is population
displacement. When countries are ravaged by earthquakes and other
powerful forces of nature, many people have to abandon their homes and
seek shelter in other regions. A large influx of refugees can disrupt
everything from accessibility of health care and education to food supplies
and basic hygiene. Large-scale evacuations are common in light of the
power of tsunamis and other natural disasters, and those fortunate enough
to survive face a range of challenges following widespread destruction.

Health Risks
Aside from the obvious danger that natural disasters present, the secondary
effects can be just as damaging. Typhoons, hurricanes and tsunamis often
cause severe flooding, which can result in the spread of waterborne bacteria
and malaria. As a result, health complications can be prevalent among
survivors of natural disasters, and without the help of international relief
organizations, death tolls can rise even after the immediate danger has
passed.

Food Scarcity
After natural disasters, food can become scarce. Thousands of people around
the world go hungry as a result of destroyed crops and a loss of agricultural
supplies. The impacts of hunger following an earthquake, typhoon or
hurricane can be tremendous, but fortunately, there are ways you can help.
ChildFund's Child Alert Emergency Fundprovides people affected by
natural disasters with the food and nutritional support they need. Your
donation of $25, $50 or $100 will be used to fulfill immediate needs on the
ground.
Emotional Aftershocks
Natural disasters can be particularly traumatic for young children.
Confronted with scenes of destruction and the deaths of friends and loved
ones, many children develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a
serious psychological condition resulting from extreme trauma. Left
untreated, children suffering from PTSD can be prone to lasting
psychological damage and emotional distress. ChildFund works in
countries around the world affected by natural disasters to help
children receive the psychosocial care they need following these traumatic
events.

Although nobody can prevent natural disasters, we can help people in need
in their wake. By making a donation to ChildFund's Child Alert Emergency
Fund, you can help us provide food, clean water, health care and emotional
support to children and communities displaced by natural disasters.

All natural disasters leave behind a trail of damage, death and destruction, the common problems
faced in areas affected by disasters are :
1. A great loss of animal, plant and human life.

2. People get hurt by or buried under fallen debris.

3. Destruction and damage to buildings.

4. Disruption of communication and transport.

5. Disruption of civic amenities like electricity, water, telephones/ etc.

6. Large-scale fires.

7. Floods in certain areas.

8. Landslides in hilly areas.

9. Exposure to disease and danger of epidemics.

10. Breakdown of law and order.

11. Widespread panic and loss of morale.

Flood effects

Effects
Primary effects
The primary effects of flooding include loss of life, damage to buildings and other structures, including
bridges, sewerage systems, roadways, andcanals.

Floods also frequently damage power transmission and sometimes power generation, which then

has knock-on effects caused by the loss of power. This includes loss of drinking water treatment and
water supply, which may result in loss of drinking water or severe water contamination. It may also cause
the loss of sewage disposal facilities. Lack of clean water combined with human sewage in the flood
waters raises the risk of waterborne diseases, which can
include typhoid, giardia, cryptosporidium, cholera and many other diseases depending upon the location
of the flood.

Damage to roads and transport infrastructure may make it difficult to mobilise aid to those affected or to
provide emergency health treatment.

Flood waters typically inundate farm land, making the land unworkable and preventing crops from being
planted or harvested, which can lead to shortages of food both for humans and farm animals. Entire
harvests for a country can be lost in extreme flood circumstances. Some tree species may not survive
prolonged flooding of their root systems [5]

Secondary and long-term effects

Economic hardship due to a temporary decline in tourism, rebuilding costs, or food shortages leading to
price increases is a common after-effect of severe flooding. The impact on those affected may cause
psychological damage to those affected, in particular where deaths, serious injuries and loss of property
occur.

Urban flooding can lead to chronically wet houses, which are linked to an increase in respiratory problems
and other illnesses.[6] Urban flooding also has significant economic implications for affected
neighborhoods. In the United States, industry experts estimate that wet basements can lower property
values by 10-25 percent and are cited among the top reasons for not purchasing a home.

Minor disasters
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by
high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary,[1] a heat wave is measured
relative to the usual weather in the area and relative to normal temperatures for the season.
Temperatures that people from a hotter climate consider normal can be termed a heat wave in a cooler
area if they are outside the normal climatepattern for that area.[2] The term is applied both to routine
weather variations and to extraordinary spells of heat which may occur only once a century. Severe heat
waves have caused catastrophic crop failures, thousands of deaths from hyperthermia, and widespread
power outages due to increased use of air conditioning. A heat wave is a danger because heat and
sunlight may overheat the human body.
A cold wave (in some regions known as a cold snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by
a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall
in temperature within a 24 hour period requiring substantially increased protection to agriculture, industry,
commerce, and social activities. The precise criterion for a cold wave is determined by the rate at which
the temperature falls, and the minimum to which it falls. This minimum temperature is dependent on the
geographical region and time of year.[1]

In the United States, a cold spell is defined as the national average high temperature dropping below
18 °F (−8 °C

Read it once
A cold wave can cause death and injury to livestock and wildlife. Exposure to cold mandates
greater caloric intake for all animals, including humans, and if a cold wave is accompanied by heavy and
persistent snow, grazing animals may be unable to reach needed food and die of hypothermia or
starvation. They often necessitate the purchase of foodstuffs at considerable cost to farmers to feed
livestock.

The belief that more deaths are caused by cold weather in comparison to hot weather is true as a result of
the after effects of these temperatures (i.e. cold, flu, pneumonia, etc.) all contributing factors to
hypothermia. However statistics have shown that more deaths occur during a heat wave than in a cold
snap in developed regions of the world. Studies have shown that these numbers are significantly higher in
undeveloped regions.

Extreme winter cold often causes poorly insulated water pipelines and mains to freeze. Even some poorly
protected indoor plumbing ruptures as water expands within them, causing much damage to property and
costly insurance claims. Demand for electrical power and fuels rises dramatically during such times, even
though the generation of electrical power may fail due to the freezing of water necessary for the
generation of hydroelectricity. Some metals may become brittle at low temperatures. Motor vehicles may
fail as antifreeze fails and motor oil gels, resulting even in the failure of the transportation system. To be
sure, such is more likely in places like Siberia and much of Canada that customarily get very cold
weather.

Fires become even more of a hazard during extreme cold. Water mains may break and water supplies
may become unreliable, making firefighting more difficult. The air during a cold wave is typically denser
and any cold air that a fire draws in is likely to cause a more intense fire because the colder, denser air
contains more oxygen.

Winter cold waves that aren't considered cold in some areas, but cause temperatures significantly below
average for an area, are also destructive. Areas with subtropical climates may recognize unusual cold,
perhaps barely freezing, temperatures, as a cold wave. In such places, plant and animal life is less
tolerant of such cold as may appear rarely. The same winter temperatures that one associates with the
norm for Kentucky, northern Utah, or Bavaria would be catastrophic to winter crops in southern Florida,
southern Arizona, or southern Spain that might be grown for wintertime consumption farther north, or to
such all-year tropical or subtropical crops as citrus fruits. Likewise, abnormal cold waves that penetrate
into tropical countries in which people do not customarily insulate houses or have reliable heating may
cause hypothermia and even frostbite.

Cold waves that bring unexpected freezes and frosts during the growing season in mid-latitude zones can
kill plants during the early and most vulnerable stages of growth, resulting in crop failure as plants are
killed before they can be harvested economically. Such cold waves have caused famines. At times as
deadly to plants as drought, cold waves can leave a land in danger of later brush and forest fires that
consume dead biomass. One extreme was the so-call

A cold wave can cause death and injury to livestock and wildlife. Exposure to cold mandates
greater caloric intake for all animals, including humans, and if a cold wave is accompanied by heavy and
persistent snow, grazing animals may be unable to reach needed food and die of hypothermia or
starvation. They often necessitate the purchase of foodstuffs at considerable cost to farmers to feed
livestock.

The belief that more deaths are caused by cold weather in comparison to hot weather is true as a result of
the after effects of these temperatures (i.e. cold, flu, pneumonia, etc.) all contributing factors to
hypothermia. However statistics have shown that more deaths occur during a heat wave than in a cold
snap in developed regions of the world. Studies have shown that these numbers are significantly higher in
undeveloped regions.

Extreme winter cold often causes poorly insulated water pipelines and mains to freeze. Even some poorly
protected indoor plumbing ruptures as water expands within them, causing much damage to property and
costly insurance claims. Demand for electrical power and fuels rises dramatically during such times, even
though the generation of electrical power may fail due to the freezing of water necessary for the
generation of hydroelectricity. Some metals may become brittle at low temperatures. Motor vehicles may
fail as antifreeze fails and motor oil gels, resulting even in the failure of the transportation system. To be
sure, such is more likely in places like Siberia and much of Canada that customarily get very cold
weather.

Fires become even more of a hazard during extreme cold. Water mains may break and water supplies
may become unreliable, making firefighting more difficult. The air during a cold wave is typically denser
and any cold air that a fire draws in is likely to cause a more intense fire because the colder, denser air
contains more oxygen.

Winter cold waves that aren't considered cold in some areas, but cause temperatures significantly below
average for an area, are also destructive. Areas with subtropical climates may recognize unusual cold,
perhaps barely freezing, temperatures, as a cold wave. In such places, plant and animal life is less
tolerant of such cold as may appear rarely. The same winter temperatures that one associates with the
norm for Kentucky, northern Utah, or Bavaria would be catastrophic to winter crops in southern Florida,
southern Arizona, or southern Spain that might be grown for wintertime consumption farther north, or to
such all-year tropical or subtropical crops as citrus fruits. Likewise, abnormal cold waves that penetrate
into tropical countries in which people do not customarily insulate houses or have reliable heating may
cause hypothermia and even frostbite.

Cold waves that bring unexpected freezes and frosts during the growing season in mid-latitude zones can
kill plants during the early and most vulnerable stages of growth, resulting in crop failure as plants are
killed before they can be harvested economically. Such cold waves have caused famines. At times as
deadly to plants as drought, cold waves can leave a land in danger of later brush and forest fires that
consume dead biomass. One extreme was the so-call

A mudslide is the most rapid (up to 80 km/h, or 50 mph) and fluid type of downhill mass wasting.

It is a rapid movement of a large mass of mud formed from loose dirt and water. Similar phenomena

include mudflow, mud stream, debris flow (e.g. in high mountains), jökulhlaup,
and lahar (from volcanoes). These terms cover a broad variety in water content (from loamy mud, to
almost liquid, and even steam); material (wet soil, sandy sediments and/or silt, dirt, rock, debris, volcanic
ash, small plants, and even trees); length; total mass; and velocity.

A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere especially affecting its surface, and
strongly implying severe weather. It may be marked by
strong wind, hail, thunder and/or lightning (a thunderstorm), heavy precipitation (snowstorm, rainstorm),
heavy freezing rain (ice storm), strong winds (tropical cyclone, windstorm), or wind transporting
some substance through the atmosphereas in a dust storm, blizzard, sandstorm, etc.

Storms generally lead to negative impacts to lives and property such as storm surge,
heavy rain or snow (causing flooding or road impassibility), lightning, wildfires, and vertical wind shear;
however, systems with significant rainfall can alleviate drought in places they move through. Heavy
snowfall can allow special recreational activities to take place which would not be possible otherwise,
such as skiing and snowmobiling.
Manmade disasters

In epidemiology, an epidemic (from Greek ἐπί epi "upon or above" and δῆμος demos "people") 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. [1]:354[2] Epidemiologists often consider
the term outbreak to be synonymous to epidemic, but the general public typically perceives outbreaks to
be more local and less serious than epidemics. [1]:55, 354[2]

Epidemics of infectious disease are generally caused by a change in the ecology of the host population
(e.g. increased stress or increase in the density of a vector species), a genetic change in the parasite
population or the introduction of a new parasite to a host population (by movement of parasites or hosts).
Generally, an epidemic occurs when host immunity to a parasite population is suddenly reduced below
that found in the endemic equilibrium and the transmission threshold is exceeded. [3]

An epidemic may be restricted to one location; however, if it spreads to other countries or continents and
affects a substantial number of people, it may be termed a pandemic.[1]:55 The declaration of an epidemic
usually requires a good understanding of a baseline rate of incidence; epidemics for certain diseases,
such as influenza, are defined as reaching some defined increase in incidence above this baseline. [2] A
few cases of a very rare disease may be classified as an epidemic, while many cases of a common
disease (such as the common cold) would not.

Major natural disasters:

· Flood

· Cyclone

· Drought
· Earthquake

Minor natural disasters:

· Cold wave

· Thunderstorms

· Heat waves

· Mud slides

· Storm

Major manmade disaster:

 Setting of fires

 Epidemic

 Deforestation

 Pollution due to prawn

cultivation

 Chemical pollution.

 Wars

Minor manmade disaster:

· Road / train accidents, riots

· Food poisoning

· Industrial disaster/ crisis

· Environmental Pollution