NATURAL CALAMITLES

INTRODUCTION
A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the
Earth; examples include floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, and
other geologic processes. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or property
damage, and typically leaves some economic damage in its wake, the severity of
which depends on the affected population's resilience, or ability to recover.
An adverse event will not rise to the level of a disaster if it occurs in an area
without vulnerable population.[2][3][4] In a vulnerable area, however, such as San
Francisco, an earthquake can have disastrous consequences and leave lasting
damage, requiring years to repair.
In 2012, there were 905 natural catastrophes worldwide, 93% of which were
weather-related disasters. Overall costs were US$170 billion and insured losses
$70 billion. 2012 was a moderate year. 45% were meteorological (storms), 36%
were hydrological (floods), 12% were climatological (heat waves, cold waves,
droughts, wildfires) and 7% were geophysical events (earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions). Between 1980 and 2011 geophysical events accounted for 14% of all
natural catastrophes









CAUSES

There are different reasons for natural disasters: floods (because of heavy rain or
fast melting snow), forest fires, snow and land avalanches, seismic activities,
volcano eruptions or various meteorological reasons such as storms
(thunderstorms, blizzards) or heavy colds (frosts, freezing rain). Often there are
primary and secondary reasons (e.g. a thunderbolt can be the reason for a forest
fire, a flood can be the reason for destroying a dam); in such cases the reason is the
one that caused the damage.
Natural disasters:
Natural disasters are the result of natural phenomena (earthquake, flood, fire,
drought, thunderstorm, hail, frost, sleet, land and snow slide, epidemic, epizootic,
pest diseases, ecologic disasters, etc.) and human activities, i.e. disasters that can
happen when various events get our of control in performing an activity, in using
means of work or in handling dangerous substances, which results in danger to
lives or health of people or animals, property, cultural heritage and the
environment.
Earthquakes:
Earthquakes are natural phenomena where smaller or greater movement of earth
is observed, which causes collapsing or ruining of buildings, equipment, etc.;
the results are injured and dead people.
FLOODS
Floods can be caused by activity of surface and underground waters or
because of steep mountain streams and rivers.

A flood caused by the influence of surface waters is uncontrolled flooding of
area (valleys of big watercourses) caused by overflowing the dams or by
ruining the dams or other hydro protecting objects. Floods caused by the ice
barriers are also included.

A flood caused by the activity of underground waters is flooding of area
(lowland) by high surface waters and high underground waters caused by high
hydrological state and because of slow draining of these waters (there is no
drainage or drainage is of low capacity).

Floods caused by steep mountain streams and rivers are cases of unexpected
flooding of area as a result of a rapidly raising level of steep mountain streams
and a big quantity of stone and slime alluvial material with great destructive
power usually after strong showers or fast snow melting periods.