Natural disasters in Asia

NATURAL

DISASTER

A natural disaster is an event with a natural, as

opposed to human, cause that results in large-scale

loss of life or damage to property. It could be related to

weather, geology, biology or even factors outside the

Earth. Examples are earthquakes, hurricanes, droughts

and flooding.

LIST OF

NATURAL

DISASTERS IN

ASIA

HailstormHail is a variety of differently shaped ice balls

or lumps. These are mostly referred to hailstones

and in most occasions, are not harmful but in some

instances, they can be very dangerous.

Hurricane

Hurricanes can be described as giant, swirling storms.

They are severe ‘tropical storms’ and are usually accompanied

by treacherous thunderstorms. These monster storms can

reach winds speeds up to 160 miles per hour. They can also

unleash a whopping 2.4 trillion gallons of rain a day.

Hurricanes occur in the Caribbean Sea, Eastern Pacific

Ocean, Southern Atlantic Ocean and in the Gulf of Mexico.

LandslideA landslide or landslips are a natural disaster,

something which is unfortunately unavoidable. Landslides can

vary in size but usually they always involve a large ground

movement. This can be things such as debris and rock

failing. A landslide can occur on shore or off shore and usually

at coastal lines but it is the gravity that forces the debris and

rocks to fall and for a total landslide to occur.

Thunderstorm

Thunderstorms are some of the most frightening

and powerful storms to hit the world. A thunderstorm

can be known as a lightning storm, a thundershower or

even an electrical storm. A thunderstorm is one of the

most powerful storms to hit and it forms when the

weather is turbulent.

Tornado

Tornadoes are destructive columns of air that rotate

and have contact between earth’s surface and a

cumulonimbus cloud. In unusual cases, tornadoes can make

contact with earth’s surface and cumulus clouds. Twisters or

cyclones are other names for what is formally known as a

tornado. Tornadoes tend to come in many different shapes

and sizes, but most of the time they look like a condensation

funnel, with a narrow end that touches earth’s surface and

gets wider as it goes higher up.

Volcanic Eruption

A volcanic eruption is one of the most dangerous and

magnificent natural disasters. When a volcano erupts,

the volcano sends out ash clouds, lava and even

volcanic bombs. There is a high risk of danger from

slow moving lava; though, the lava might move slowly, it

is very dangerous and can cause a lot of damage to

property and human life.

Mount Mayon eruption

Drought

Droughts are one of the worst natural disasters to occur. A

drought is a lengthy period of time, stretching months or even years in

which time; land has a decrease in water supply. This can happen at any

given time, even in winter time, however, for most droughts, they do occur

during warmer or drier months. Droughts happen when surface or

underground water is reduced greatly, and in particular, when rain doesn’t

occur during long periods of time, it can do considerable damage.

Earthquake

A sudden and violent movement of a portion of the

earth’s crust, and the series of vibrations that follow.

Wildfire

A raging, rapidly spreading fire. Some call these

wildfires or refer to them as a forest fire, bush fire, brush

fire and many other names.

Heat Wave

A heat wave, by definition is a period of time in

which the temperatures are higher than normal for that

region at that time of year. What might be considered

normal temperatures in tropical or warmer regions can

be considered a heat wave in areas which normally

doesn’t experience that type of heat.

Flood

The definition of a flood is land covered by water

that is not usually covered by water. This means that any

time a river, lake, or other body of water overflows its

banks, it’s technically flooding.

Tsunami

A Tsunami is a series of gigantic water waves that causes

a surge of water onto land. These surges can reach heights up

to 100 feet. The massive height of the surges can lead to

devastating effects when it crashes over land. It can occur in

large lakes but mainly occurs in seas.

• In the event of natural and manmade disasters,

a disaster response team is there to assist people with things like

providing meals, clean-up, and rebuilding.

• One of the most important ways to protect the value of your

home is to be prepared in case of a major disaster such as a fire,

flood, earthquake, tornado, or hurricane.

• Develop political and individual behaviors in playing a

significant role in recovery and prevention.