NATURAL

DISASTERS PROFESSOR:
Israel Piñón López
WHAT IS A A natural disaster is a major adverse event
NATURAL resulting from natural processes of the Earth
DISASTER ?
 TYPES OF DISASTERS

GEOLOGICAL HYDROLOGICAL METEOROLOGICAL

Often caused by shifts in A violent and harmful

tectonic plates and seismic Caused by extreme weather.
amendment either in quality
activity. of earth's water or in
distribution or movement
GEOLOGICAL
 AVALANCHE

• A mass of snow that slides rapidly down

an inclined slope, such as a mountainside.

• Triggered by either natural forces like

precipitation, rapid temperature changes
or human activity.
LANDSLIDE

• The movement of a mass of rock, debris,

or earth down a slope.

• Landslides are caused by rain,

earthquakes, volcanoes, or other factors
that make the slope unstable
 EARTHQUAKES

• The result of a sudden release of energy in

the Earth's crust that creates seismic
waves.

• The underground point of origin of the

earthquake is called the seismic focus.
SINKHOLE

• The collapse of the ground.

• Caused by natural erosion, human mining

or underground excavation.
 VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

• When lava and gas are discharged from a

volcanic vent.

• Volcanic eruptions often cause temporary

food shortages and volcanic ash landslides
called Lahar.
METEOROLOGICAL
 TYPHOON, CYCLONE, HURRICANE

• A tropical storm that forms over an

ocean..

• The determining factor on which term is

used is based on where the storm
originates.
COLD / HEAT WAVE

• A cold wave is a rapid fall in temperature

within a 24-hour period.

• A heat wave is a period of unusually and

excessively hot weather.
 DROUGHT

• Dryness of soil caused by levels of rainfall

significantly below average over a
prolonged period.

• Droughts result in crop failure and

shortages of water.
TORNADO

• A violent and dangerous rotating column

of air that is in contact with both the
surface of the Earth and a cloud.

• Most tornadoes have wind speeds of less

than 180 km/h (110 mph).
HYDROLOGICAL
 FLOOD

• A flood is an overflow of water that

'submerges' land.

• A temporary covering of land that is

usually dry with water.
TSUNAMI

• Caused by the displacement of a large

volume of water, generally in an ocean or
a large lake.

• Tsunamis can be caused by undersea

earthquakes.
Create a mental chart about the different types of
disasters.
ACTIVITY I
 Complete the following questions using the
ACTIVITY II volcabulary about natural disasters.
SINKHOLE HURRICANE DROUGHT EARTHQUAKE FLOOD TSUNAMI AVALANCHES

1.- During the _________ all the houses were covered with water.

2.- The ____________ was moving to the coasts of mexico.

3.- The ground was shaking terribly during the __________.

4.- A big ___________ hit the south of Asia almost 20 years ago.

5.- A ___________ was formed in Puebla not too long ago.

6.- ____________ are only formed in snowy places.

7.- All vegetation died in the área due to the recent _____________.
 NATURAL DISASTER READING
COMPREHENSION
ACTIVITY III
“THE INDIA TSUNAMI”
December 26 marks the anniversary of
the massive Indian Ocean tsunami. On
this day, a 100-foot high tsunami
triggered by an earthquake of
magnitude 9.1, one of the largest ever
recorded, from under the Indian Ocean
killed more than 230,000 people in
South Asia. With the epicentre near
Sumatra, Indonesia, the earthquake
triggered a tsunami that hit Thailand,
Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia.
A tsunami researcher and forecaster
with the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration Center
for Tsunami Research, Vasily Titov
cites the destructive capacity of the
2004 tsunami to the earthquake in the
megathrust fault, “They are the
largest faults in the world and they’re
all underwater,” History reported him
saying.

He added that the tsunami waves

could be seen like a large pebble
falling in the ocean causing mega
ripples.
Scientists in India are now able to
predict and project movements in
Indian ocean through real-time
seismic monitoring, tide gauges and
24x7 operational tsunami warning
system to detect tsunamigenic
earthquakes as to provide early
advisories to the most vulnerable.
1. What countries were hit by the tsunami?

2. What was the magnitude of the tsunami that originated the

tsunami?

3. Did the tsunami hit the coasts of Eastern Europe?

4. The epicenter was in the ocean?

5. Indian scientists aren’t able to predict movement in the ocean?

6. What triggered the tsunami?

7. When is the anniversary of this devastating event?

Select one natural disaster that you know of and answer the following
questions regarding that particular disaster. (work in pairs)

1.- What type of disaster is it?

2.- What category does it belong to?

3.- When did it happen? ACTIVITY IV

4.- Where did it happen?

5.- What caused the disaster?

6.- What consequences did it have?

7.- Share it with the class.