Hydrometeorological hazard 'a process or phenomenon of atmospheric, hydrological or

oceanographic nature that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property damage,
loss of livelihoods and services, social and economic disruption, or environmental damage (includes
tropical cyclones, thunderstorms, hailstorms, tornados, blizzards, heavy snowfall, avalanches,
coastal storm surges, floods including flash floods, drought, heatwaves and cold spells).' [1]

References
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. Terminology. Geneva, Switzerland:
UNISDR; 2009. http://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/terminology (Access date 13th September 2011)

Natural hazard a natural process that is a potential threat to human life.

Disaster when a hazard greatly impacts human life/activities/property.
Risk the chance of the hazard impacting on human life.
Vulnerability how susceptible a place is to damage due to conditions that effect how you respond to a hazard.
Disaster Risk Equation Risk = Hazard x Vulnerability / Capacity to Cope

Hydrometeorological hazards are caused by the climate. Examples of this include storm surges, tropical cyclones, sandstorms,
temperate storms, drouThe frequency of hydrometeorological hazards is increasing due to increased burning of fossil fuels,
which leads to the enhanced greenhouse effect. Unsustainable land use (such as building on floodplains) increas es both the
vulnerability of an area and the risk of casualties/financial costs. The same applies for population pressures (such as dense ly
populated cities) and environmental degradation (e.g. destruction of coastal mangroves, a natural barrier against st orm
surges).
The capacity to cope with hazards is decreasing due to aid funds being directed towards politically strategic regions. This
means that poor and vulnerable countries lack resources to manage hazards. This is reinforced by the future risk equ ation,
which emphasises how the development gap between countries is widening.
The number of people who died in disasters fell dramatically in the 20th Century, primarily due to prediction techniques an d
protection measures becoming more effective. The n umber has recently stabilised due to increasing hydrometeorological
hazards. There is currently an average of 25,000 to 40,000 deaths per year attributed to natural disasters. As a percentage o f
the world, deaths from hazards have decreased, but the actual figure has increased.
There is no solid evidence that the frequency or magnitude of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions is increasing, especially
now that they can be more easily reported. ght, flooding, and tornados.

http://thefaultinourtectonics.tumblr.com/post/112529833446/global-hazards-geophysical-and

Natural processes or phenomena of atmospheric, hydrological or

oceanographic nature that may cause the loss of life or injury, property
damage, social and economic disruption or environmental degradation.
Comment: Hydrometeorological hazards include: floods, debris and mud
flows; tropical cyclones, rain and wind storms, sand or dust storms, thunder
and hailstorms, blizzards, and other severe storms; storm surges, drought,
desertification, wildland fires, temperatureextremes, permafrost and snow or
ice avalanches.

from Glossary of Humanitarian Terms (2008)

by World Health Organization
Abstract
Floods are classified into different types depending on where the water comes from and
on their generating processes. Several types of floods are described in this chapter,
including river floods, flash floods, dam-break floods, ice-jam floods, glacial-lake floods,
urban floods, coastal floods, and hurricane-related floods. Examples of each flood type
are provided and their dominant processes are discussed. Hydrological flood processes
such as runoff generation and routing depend on the type of landscape, soils, geology,
vegetation, and channel characteristics. They are driven and modulated by climate
through precipitation and temperature. Also evapotranspiration and snow processes
play a critical role determining, for example, before-event soil saturation. These
processes vary widely around the world and, even at the same location, they vary
between events. The chapter reviews methods for estimating the probability and
magnitude of floods as a measure of the flood hazard. It is argued that understanding
the flood processes for each of the flood types is a prerequisite for estimating the flood
hazard reliably. This is particularly important if one expects the landscape or climate
characteristics to change in the future.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123948465000011

Hydrometeorological hazards are caused by extreme meteorological and climate events,

such as floods, droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, landslides, or mudslides. They account
for a dominant fraction of natural hazards and occur in all portions of the world, although
the frequency, intensity, and vulnerability of certain hazards in some regions differ from
those in others. Severe storms, strong winds, floods, and droughts develop at different
spatial-temporal scales, but all can become disasters to cause fatalities and infrastructure
damage and claim thousands of lives annually worldwide. Multiple hazards often concur
in one extreme weather event. In addition to causing injuries, deaths, and material
damage, a tropical storm can also result in flooding and mudslides, which disrupt water
purification and sewage disposal systems, cause overflow of toxic wastes, and increase
propagation of mosquito-borne diseases. The increase in the frequency of extreme events
due to acceleration of the global water cycle induces more risks to human settlements,
especially those on floodplains and areas susceptible to landslides, in an era of rapid
population growth.
Monitoring and forecasting of the occurrence, intensity, and evolution of
hydrometeorological extreme events have been critical for many humanitarian and
government agencies in their efforts to prepare, mitigate, and manage responses to
disaster to save lives and limit damage. Remote sensing and modeling are two powerful
technologies for providing timely information of hazardous events. Both research areas
advance rapidly to provide better understanding of causation and geophysical process of
these natural hazards, while each has its own strengths and weaknesses. In addition
to monitoring and short-range forecasting for rapid responses, long-range projections of
future changes in extremes and hazards allow for assessing risks and therefore provide a
venue to plan for adaptation and mitigation strategies. Ideally physical and social
scientists would work together to find means to integrate modeling and remote sensing
approaches that are complementary to each other for providing accurate forecasts, issuing
timely warnings, monitoring on-going hazards, reducing vulnerabilities, and building
resilience for future.
We solicit high quality, original research contributions from physical, socioeconomic
sciences, hazard response, and preparedness fields that study hydrometeorological
hazards across spatial scales.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
Remote sensing and physical or statistical modeling of hydrometeorological
hazards in urban and rural environments
Coupled and hyperresolution hydrometeorological modeling
Data assimilation of remote sensing and in situ observations for improved modeling
and land surface datasets
Ensembles and probabilistic hydrometeorological forecasting
New method of integration of remote sensing and modeling hazard information with
case studies
Characterization and communication of uncertainty of retrospective and operational
modeled and remotely sensed results
Interdisciplinary and integrated model and application results from areas of
hydrology, meteorology, ecology, and socioeconomics
Hydrometeorological hazard emergency management and quantitative damage
evaluation
Vulnerability, resilience, and risk assessment and management
Assessment of socioeconomic impacts of/on hydrometeorological hazards

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/amete/si/459038/cfp/

Hydro-Meteorological Hazards, Risks, and Disasters provides an

integrated look at major atmospheric disasters that have had and continue
to have major implications for many of the worlds people, such as floods
and droughts. . This volume takes a geoscientific approach to the topic,
while also covering current thinking about some directly relevant social
scientific issues that can affect lives and property. Hydro-Meteorological
Hazards, Risks, and Disastersalso contains new insights about how climate
change affects hazardous processes. For the first time, information on the
many diverse topics relevant to professionals is aggregated into one
volume.
https://www.elsevier.com/books/hydro-meteorological-hazards-risks-and-disasters/shroder/978-0-12-
394846-5

Hydrometeorology is a branch of meteorology and hydrology that studies the transfer

of water and energy between the land surface and the lower atmosphere. UNESCO[1] has several
programmes and activities in place that deal with the study of natural hazards of
hydrometeorological origin and the mitigation of their effects. Among these hazards are the results of
natural processes or phenomena of atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic nature such
as floods, tropical cyclones, drought and desertification. Many countries have established an
operational hydrometeorological capability to assist with forecasting, warning and informing the
public of these developing hazards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrometeorology