Natural Disasters Essay
What are Natural Disasters? Common Causes and Impacts
Natural disasters are random events that can cause severe damage to life and property. There are many kinds of natural disasters that can potentially affect animals and plants in various ways. Some include tsunamis, volcanoes, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, drought, and more. Let us take a look at some of the most common types of natural disasters: Earthquakes are natural phenomena characterized by sudden lateral or vertical movement of the earth's surface due to cataclysmic forces. Some earthquakes are so mild they go unnoticed, while others are so strong and disruptive that their effects become dangerous. Earthquakes also cause landslides and tsunamis that are considered very dangerous.
Landslides, a type of earth movement caused by tectonic plates sliding past each other, can cause severe property damage. Avalanches are similar to landslides; however, avalanches happen when snow piles up and breaks apart from the slope, which can destroy anything in its way. People living in mountainous regions where snowfall dominates the landscape are always living in fear of avalanches.
Tsunamis are also life-threatening natural disasters that occur in the sea. These phenomena have occurred because of the movement of the earth under the sea, which has led to powerful waves that cause floods and do substantial harm to human life. Wildfires often occur in areas where people have encroached and constructed houses in forests. Some common causes of wildfires include lightning, sparks from a chimney, and human carelessness. Fires can spread very fast in forests because of their tinder-like components, which are trees and plants. Arsonists also set them on fire. Some forest fires can take a long time to die out because of the number of dead trees, which act as fuel for the fire.
Floods are another phenomenon that has both natural and human causes. For example, a hurricane or a storm surge brought on by an earthquake can cause flash floods. As water from the sea enters creeks and rivers, it overloads them with heavy volumes of water, and they in turn overflow, causing further flooding. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 is one such example. Heavy rains that occur after a prolonged dry spell can also lead to mass flooding. Such flooding occurs when the soil becomes saturated with water and cannot absorb any more as there are no plants to help it do so.
Another common phenomenon is hurricanes, which are caused due powerful storms that form over hot tropical waters and move towards land through the ocean at high speeds picking up heat and moisture along their way. The southeastern parts of the United States and northern Mexico are usually affected by hurricanes.
Natural disasters do not only bring damage to property but also pose a serious threat to human life. Natural disasters like earthquakes, wildfires, drought, and floods have proved to be fatal. The victims of these natural calamities often need emergency help, evacuation from the area, and medical support. Therefore, every individual and government needs to understand disaster management guidelines that can help in reducing the impact of such events.
Natural Disasters - Discussion Questions
1. How do you feel about natural disasters in general?
2. What is your opinion on the potential for more natural disaster occurrences due to climate change?
3. Are there any other possible explanations for this uptick in natural disaster activity, like solar flares or magnetic fields from the sun being off-kilter?
4. Conversely, are there any positives that come from a mega-storm or other such event (like work and service opportunities)?
5. Do you think these events will happen with such frequency that it could bring down entire societies at some point in the future, similar to what happened during Rome's downfall?
6. Is there anything individuals can do right now to help reduce the impact of natural disasters?