An ecosystem includes all of the living things (plants, animals
and organisms) in a given area, interacting with each other, and
also with their non-living environments (weather, earth, sun,
soil, climate, atmosphere).
Changes resulting from natural causes affect
ecosystems.
Floods:
Floods impact on both individuals and communities, and have environmental
consequences. As most people are well aware, the immediate impacts of flooding
include loss of human life, damage to property, destruction of crops, loss of
livestock, and deterioration of health conditions owing to waterborne diseases. As
communication links and infrastructure such as power plants, roads and bridges are
damaged and disrupted, some economic activities may come to a standstill, people
are forced to leave their homes and normal life is disrupted.
Similarly, disruption to industry can lead to loss of livelihoods. Damage to
infrastructure also causes long-term impacts, such as disruptions to supplies of clean
water, wastewater treatment, electricity, transport, communication, education and
health care. Loss of livelihoods, reduction in purchasing power and loss of land
value in the floodplains can leave communities economically vulnerable.
Tropical Cyclones/Hurricanes:
There are a lot of ways that major storms can impact the ecosystem. When a
hurricane hits, animals can be swept away or stranded, trees splintered, and coastal
lands swallowed up. The main effects of tropical cyclones include heavy rain,
strong wind, large storm surges at landfall, and tornadoes. The destruction from a
tropical cyclone depends mainly on its intensity, its size, and its location. Tropical
cyclones act to remove forest canopy as well as change the landscape near coastal
areas, by moving and reshaping sand dunes and causing extensive erosion along the
coast. Even well inland, heavy rainfall can lead to mudslides and landslides in
mountainous areas. When a hurricane hits, seawater surges into wetlands, bays, and
estuaries. Some freshwater fish and other creatures can't survive the onslaught of
salt. Others, adapted to high salinity, suffer as the result of freshwater flooding.
Hurricanes can pull water from the coastline. Hurricanes can also upset wetlands,
which help absorb floods, filter water, and shelter a tremendous variety of plants and
animals.
After the cyclone has passed, devastation often continues. Standing water can cause
the spread of disease, and transportation or communication infrastructure may have
been destroyed, hampering clean-up and rescue efforts. People die globally due to
tropical cyclones.
Earthquakes:
Earthquakes happen in the lithosphere(land), and can alter all spheres of earth’s
environment and disrupt ecological balance :
1.The Biosphere (life) - Earthquakes can cause death of living beings(flora,fauna
--plants,trees etc and animals including humans) in their natural habitat.
2.The Hydrosphere(water,ice) - Tremors on the sea-floor can cause massive
Tsunamis.
3.The Lithosphere itself -Earthquakes can cause volcanoes. In-fact, Earthquakes are
often associated with volcanoes.Tremors also alter the landscape. They redistribute
the Lithospheric mass often resulting in change of topography.
Wildfires:
The perfect conditions for wildfires include drought, heat and frequent
thunderstorms. Once these fires exist, they can burn for weeks and do great damage
to the ecosystem that they travel through.
Droughts:
Drought also affects the environment in many different ways. Plants and animals
depend on water, just like people. When a drought occurs, their food supply can
shrink and their habitat can be damaged. Sometimes the damage is only temporary
and their habitat and food supply return to normal when the drought is over. But
sometimes drought's impact on the environment can last a long time, maybe forever.
Examples of environmental impacts include: 
 Losses or destruction of fish and wildlife habitat
 Lack of food and drinking water for wild animals
 Increase in disease in wild animals, because of reduced food and water
supplies
 Migration of wildlife
 Increased stress on endangered species or even extinction
 Lower water levels in reservoirs, lakes, and ponds
 Loss of wetlands
 More wildfires
 Wind and water erosion of soils
 Poor soil quality