What Are Natural Disasters?

Read and speak about natural disasters.

Level B1/B2

Natural disasters are unforeseen events that cause damage to the environment and the people.

Natural disasters are violent events that are outside the control of humans. They are caused by the forces of nature and may result in loss of life, injury, and damage to property. There are many types of natural disaster including typhoons, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, earhtquakes, wildfires, floods, droughts, avalanches, landslides and hurricanes.

Natural disasters like earthquakes, tornado, tsunami and floods happen more frequently nowadays. There are many reasons why they occur, but the main one is related to human activity on Earth which often has a negative impact on our environment.

All kinds of disasters are usually very damaging. Many dwellings, roads and even whole streets and cities are ruined. The number of victims usually terrifies as hundreds or even thousands of people get injured or die in disasters. However, each disaster has a different nature.

An earthquake is the shaking or vibrating of the earth. An earthquake can range in sizes. As a result, some are so weak that they go unnoticed. But some are so strong that they can even destroy the whole city. Earthquakes can cause disruption of ground. Moreover, the can also cause landslides, avalanches, and tsunami. An earthquake is the result of the tectonic plates’ movement which leads to the shaking of a certain area on land.

A  tsunami is a huge wave caused by underwater earthquakes. A tsunami can cause floods if it occurs near shores. A tsunami can consist of multiple waves. Moreover, these waves have a high current. Therefore it can reach coastlines within minutes.

A landslide is the moving of big boulders of rocks or debris down a slope. Landslides occur on mountains and hilly areas. Landslides can cause destruction to man-made things in many ways. Gravitational pull, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes can cause landslides. Moreover, soil erosion due to deforestation is also a cause of landslides.

Avalanches are like landslides. But instead of rocks thousand tons of snow falls down the slope. An avalanche causes extreme damage to anything that comes in its way. People who live in snowy mountains always have fear of it. Avalanches take places when there is a large accumulation of snow on the mountains. Moreover, they can also occur from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Tornado looks like an enormous column of the wind which lifts cars, bicycles, furniture and many other things. It is also called a twister and it can be very dangerous if touches the surface of the ground or water.

Flood happens when rivers burst their banks. Most extended floods damage cities and wash away whole populated places.

A hurricane is a huge storm. Hurricanes gather heat and energy through contact with warm ocean waters. Evaporation from the seawater increases their power. In the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific Ocean, they are called hurricanes. In the Western Pacific Ocean, they are called typhoons. In the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and Australia, these types of storms are called cyclones.

Thus, there are many natural disasters which are dangerous for all of us. Natural disasters can cause great damage to human society.  The international Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement  was established to help in emergencies including natural disasters.

We should be careful and treat our planet better in order not to die with it.  Preventive measures can be taken to reduce the damage from these disasters.