Week 1

A natural hazard a natural process or event that will have a negative effect on humans if they are in its path. These natural hazards have happened throughout earth’s history. These include avalanches, earthquakes, landslides, heat waves, tornadoes, wildfires, floods etc. These natural hazards do not become “natural disasters” until humans are impacted; without humans these are just natural events. Often a state of emergency is declared, and international assistance is requested. When these natural disasters are so massive that they require significant expenditures of money and years of recovery, they can be defined as catastrophes.