Natural Disaster

A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard (e.g., flood, tornado, hurricane, volcanic eruption, earthquake, or landslide). It leads to financial, environmental or human losses. The resulting loss depends on the vulnerability of the affected population to resist the hazard, also called their resilience.[1] This understanding is concentrated in the formulation: "disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability."[2] A natural hazard will hence never result in a natural disaster in areas without vulnerability, e.g. strong earthquakes in uninhabited areas.[3] The term natural has consequently been disputed because the events simply are not hazards or disasters without human involvement.[4] A concrete example of the division between a natural hazard and a natural disaster is that the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was a disaster, whereas earthquakes are a hazard. This article gives an introduction to notable natural disasters, refer to the list of natural disasters for a comprehensive listing.
Main articles: Disaster and List of natural disasters
Contents [hide]   * 1 Geological disasters       * 1.1 Avalanches       * 1.2 Earthquakes       * 1.3 Volcanic eruptions (S.C.S)   * 2 Hydrological disasters       * 2.1 Floods       * 2.2 Limnic eruptions       * 2.3 Tsunamis   * 3 Meteorological disasters       * 3.1 Blizzards       * 3.2 Cyclonic storms       * 3.3 Droughts       * 3.4 Hailstorms       * 3.5 Heat waves       * 3.6 Tornadoes   * 4 Fires   * 5 Health disasters       * 5.1 Epidemics       * 5.2 Famines   * 6 Space disasters       * 6.1 Impact events       * 6.2 Solar flares   * 7 Protection by international law   * 8 See also   * 9 References   * 10 External links |
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[edit]Geological disasters
[edit]Avalanches
Main article: List of avalanches
See also: Avalanche

Avalanche on the backside (East) of Mt. Timpanogos, Utah at Aspen Grove trail
Notable avalanches include:
  * The 1910 Wellington avalanche
  *... [continues]

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