Week 1: Earth’s disasters, catastrophes and hazards

Earths disasters, catastrophes and hazards can occur at any given time and at any given place.

A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth; examples include floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and other geologic processes. When 10 or more people are killed, 100 or more individuals are affected, a state of emergency is declared, is also considered a disaster. 

A catastrophe is a massive disaster that requires a lot of money and time to help the people and the area to recover and possibly rebuild from the hazard.

A hazard is a natural process that threatens human life or property.