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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 World Scientists' Warning to Humanity in 1992 begins with: "Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course". About 1,700 of the world's leading scientists, including most Nobel Prize laureates in the sciences, signed this warning letter. The letter mentions severe damage to the atmosphere, oceans, ecosystems, soil productivity ...
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 .
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.
Environment destruction caused by humans is a global, ongoing problem. [4] Water pollution also cause problems to marine life. [5] Some scholars believe that the projected peak global population of roughly 9-10 billion people could live sustainably within the earth's ecosystems if humans worked to live sustainably within planetary boundaries.
Some climate change effects: wildfire caused by heat and dryness, bleached coral caused by ocean acidification and heating, environmental migration caused by desertification, and coastal flooding caused by storms and sea level rise. Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an overall ...