What is a Natural Disaster? Whats the difference between
natural disaster and natural hazard? Can we predict them? What can
we do to prevent disaster? Are we in danger?
List of top 11 natural disasters 1. Landslides and Mudflows 2.
Flood 3. Thunderstorm 4. Tsunami 5. Volcanic Eruption 6. Drought 7.
Hurricane 8. Tornado 9. Wildfire 10. Earthquake 11. Avalanche
Landslides and mudflows
Landslides Landslides are the movement of land down a slope by
gravity Landslides are mother natures way of redistributing land
They can be triggered by rain, floods, and earthquakes as well as
man-made factors such as slope grading or mining Landslides have
the potential to happen anywhere a steep slope is present
Landslides A landslide or a landslip is a movement in the
ground and a shallow flow of debris. The largest landslide in
history happened because of Mount St. Helens. 3km of rock moved
downhill.
Droughts A drought is a long period of time in which a certain
region receives a shortage of water Lasting three years from 1958
to 1961, the Great Chinese Famine is the worst on record, 15 to 43
million were killed as a result USA has been hit by a huge drought
in 2012 decreasing corn income by 12%
Thunder Storms Every Thunderstorm produces lightning There is
wet thunder and dry thunder, the difference being whether or not
rain in produced Warm humid conditions favor thunderstorms Only 10%
of thunderstorms are classified as severe Your chance of being
struck by lightning is 1 in 600,000 Multiple Lightning Strikes and
a Supercell Thunderstorm formation
Tsunami
Tsunamis Tsunami means harbor wave and is caused by the
displacement of a large body of water normally an ocean or a large
lake.
Tsunamis The biggest tsunami ever happened at Lituya Bay,
Alaska on July 9, 1958. The megatsunami was around 150 meters tall.
The tsunami caused by 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, is the 6th
deadliest Natural disaster in recorded history with a death toll of
230,210 280,000.
Volcanic Eruption A volcano is an opening in a planets surface
which allows hot magma to escape from below the surface. Study of
volcanos is called Volcanology and volcanic eruptions are measured
using Volcanic Explosivity Index
Volcanic Eruption The biggest volcanic eruption was Mount
Tamboraon April 10, 1815, it heard over 2000 km away and had a
death toll of around 71,000. Due to the explosion 1816 became known
as The Year Without Summer. The largest volcano known to humans is
Olympus Mons on Mars. Olympus Mons means Mount Olympus and is
bigger than Mount Everest.
Droughts A drought is a long period of time in which a certain
region receives a shortage of water Lasting three years from 1958
to 1961, the Great Chinese Famine is the worst on record, 15 to 43
million were killed as a result USA has been hit by a huge drought
in 2012 decreasing corn income by 12%
Hurricanes A hurricane is a tropical storm with winds over
74mph Hurricanes occupy the most intense level of the three levels
of tropical storms Hurricanes rotate or circulate counter-clockwise
in the northern hemisphere Hurricanes can only occur over the
Atlantic ocean, Caribbean sea, and gulf of Mexico View of a
Hurricane from Space
Tornados (Twisters) A tornado is a violently rotating column of
air that is touching both the ground and a cumulonimbus cloud.
Tornado conditions are caused when different temperatures and
humidity meet to form thunder clouds Twisters can attain speeds up
to 100 miles an hour
Tornados The biggest tornado recorded was the Hallam, Nebraska
tornado on May 22, 2004. It was around 2.5 miles big and had a
death toll of around 160. The deadliest tornado recorded occurred
in Daultipur and Salturia, Bangladesh on April 26th, 1989. 1300
recorded dead and 12,000 injured.
Tornados A tornado is defined as a violently rotating column of
air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground Tornados are found
in almost every part of the world Tornados are most common in the
United States, just east of the Rocky Mountains in an area called
Tornado Ally Waterspouts are weak tornados over water and can move
inland and become tornados Click on Image to View a Tornado Chasers
Video
Wildfire A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in the countryside
or wilderness. Other names for a wildfire are brush fire, bushfire,
forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire,
vegetation fire, and veldfire. One of the largest wildfire is the
1910 wildfire
Earthquakes Earthquakes are caused by the release of built up
pressure caused by the shifting of tectonic plates Earthquakes
usually occur on fault lines, or areas where tectonic plates meet
The size of an earthquake is measured using the logarithmic based
Richter scale An aerial view of the San Andreas fault in the
Carrizo Plain, Central California
Earthquake
Avalanches Avalanches Happen on every continent Avalanche
Season is during the winter time or December-April in the United
States A large scale can release up to 300,000 cubic yards of snow
Avalanches are more commonly released by recreationists than by
natural causes The biggest factor of avalanche possibility is the
accumulation snow over the winter season More snow = bigger
avalanche Click on Image for An Avalanche Video