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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.
Goiânia accident, human deaths resulting from dismantling a scrapped medical machine containing a source of radioactivity; Health effects arising from the September 11 attacks; Introduction of infectious diseases by Europeans causing the death of indigenous people during European colonization of the Americas
The period since 1950 has brought "the most rapid transformation of the human relationship with the natural world in the history of humankind". [107] Through 2018, humans have reduced forest area by ~30% and grasslands/shrubs by ~68%, to make way for livestock grazing and crops for humans. [108]
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 ...
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 .
There are numerous historical examples of pandemics [166] that have had a devastating effect on a large number of people. The present, unprecedented scale and speed of human movement make it more difficult than ever to contain an epidemic through local quarantines , and other sources of uncertainty and the evolving nature of the risk mean ...
Many people believe that those who experience a disaster firsthand experience emotional trauma that has both immediate and lasting effects. [12] It is thought that the initial devastation of the disaster leaves people too fragile and in shock. [8] As such, they are unable to cope with their situation or participate in recovery efforts.
During the last two centuries, tropical cyclones have been responsible for the deaths of about 1.9 million people worldwide. It is estimated that 10,000 people per year perish due to tropical cyclones. [27] The deadliest tropical cyclone was the 1970 Bhola cyclone, which had a death toll of anywhere from 300,000 to 500,000 lives.