Hazards and Disasters

Hazards and Disasters

The link between hazards and disasters illustrates how geographic phenomena progress from potential risk to actual devastation. Hazards are natural events or human acts that might cause harm, such as flooding, quakes, or factory accidents (Khan & Khan, 2008). Hazards do not lead to disasters, but how they interact with susceptible human populations and infrastructure can. The degree of exposure and vulnerability of a community or region plays a role in deciding whether a hazard becomes a disaster. For example, an earthquake in a remote place may cause modest damage, yet the same magnitude earthquake in a densely populated town may result in massive deaths and devastation, qualifying it to become a disaster.

One of the most threatening hazards is seismic activity around mountainous and coastal regions, which leads to disasters. Seismic activity comes in the form of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions (Khan & Khan, 2008). For instance, Mount Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has experienced disastrous lava flows, the most recent one occurring in 2021. The lava flow led to the loss of several lives and damage to over 14,000 homes.

Besides, cyclones and typhoons affecting countries that border the Coast of Mexico and the Caribbean Coast also pose severe environmental hazards. Depending on the region hit, these cyclones and typhoons often result in heavy rains, winds, and storms. The site of homes in coastal cities being swept by winds is common. The winds sweep anything in their way, including vehicles and structures, resulting in deaths and serious injuries. In addition, such winds disrupt the internet and power supply to the affected regions, and it takes a long time before relevant authorities restore critical infrastructure. Based on the above, the extent of the impact of a hazard on the community determines if it is a disaster.

Furthermore, tsunamis also have the potential to cause life-threatening disasters. Tsunamis are caused by underwater activity, including volcanic eruptions, landslides, and earthquakes. Once they occur, these activities displace large amounts of water, triggering underwater high-speed waves. These waves may not be noticeable from the surface of the ocean, but on approaching coastal areas, speed reduces, and the height of the water increases. The aftermaths are devastating floods and property damage once the water flows impact the land surface, leading to flooding.

One of the worst disasters to ever hit the world is the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The tsunami was triggered by an underwater earthquake on the Indonesian Island of Sumatra. Seven hours after the tsunami, its impacts spread as far as East Africa. The tsunami, which occurred during a festive period when most people were spending time on the beach, led to over 200,000 deaths in Indonesia alone. Tens of thousands of others were reported missing or dead in other countries, including India, Thailand, and the Maldives. Apart from the immediate casualties and economic damage caused by the tsunami, it also resulted in long-term environmental aftermath. The disaster led to extensive farmlands being destroyed and famine in other vulnerable countries.

In summary, the nexus between hazards and disasters is that disasters are outcomes of massive occurrences of hazards. Some of the common hazards countries are exposed to include earthquakes and tsunamis. To that end, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami remains one of the most devastating natural disasters to ever hit the world.

References

Khan, H., & Khan, A. (2008). Natural hazards and disaster management in Pakistan. In Munich Personal RePEc Archive. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/11052/

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Hazards and Disasters

Due to its geography and geo-physical construct countries and their population are exposed to various hazards both natural and anthropogenic (man induce), state the nexus between hazard and disaster, identify and describe the various hazards to with countries are exposed and site and provide information on one major disaster event globally that have resulted from the accompanying hazard trigger.