Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A disaster hazard is an extreme geophysical event that is capable of causing a disaster. 'Extreme' in this case means a substantial variation in either the positive or the negative direction from the normal trend; flood disasters can result from exceptionally high precipitation and river discharge, and drought is caused by exceptionally low ...
The international disaster database EM-DAT defines a disaster as “a situation or event that overwhelms local capacity, necessitating a request for external assistance at the national or international level; it is an unforeseen and often sudden event that causes great damage, destruction and human suffering.” [12] The effects of a disaster ...
A natural disaster is the highly harmful impact on a society or community following a natural hazard event. The term "disaster" itself is defined as follows: "Disasters are serious disruptions to the functioning of a community that exceed its capacity to cope using its own resources.
An environmental disaster or ecological disaster is defined as a catastrophic event regarding the natural environment that is due to human activity. [2] This point distinguishes environmental disasters from other disturbances such as natural disasters and intentional acts of war such as nuclear bombings .
A mobile emergency operations center, in this case operated by the Air National Guard. Emergency management (also disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. [1]
The Degg's Model shows that a natural disaster only occurs if a vulnerable population is exposed to a hazard. [1] It was devised in 1992 by Martin Degg, [2] head of the geography department at the University of Chester, in England. It also depends on how far people are from the epicentre of an earthquake, volcano, or any other natural tectonic ...
Flash floods are a significant hazard, causing more fatalities in the U.S. in an average year than lightning, tornadoes, or hurricanes. They can also deposit large quantities of sediments on floodplains and destroy vegetation cover not adapted to frequent flood conditions.
Proactive disaster mitigation (also hazard mitigation) measures are generally more effective than reactive measures in eliminating or reducing the impacts, [2] but not all disasters are reasonably foreseeable, and when an unforeseen disaster occurs, mitigation is necessarily after the fact.