Natural Disasters Essay, Research Paper

Planet Earth is our home in space. It is a planet of continuous changes that started billions of years ago and that will continue for billions of years to come. Sometime the earth undergoes changes or movements that are rapid and effect our environment and safety. These rapid changes are known as natural disasters.

These include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons (hurricanes), tsunamis, floods, droughts, fires, and other events which are indications of interactions of mass and energy on the surface of our planet. Such natural disasters are unavoidable because

they are beyond our control and almost all cannot be prevented. However, mankind, being as adaptable as it is, has learned to live with all these hazards.

Each day, natural disasters destroy our communities and affect the lives of our families, neighbors, and businesses. Researchers and lay people of today are paying considerable attention to risk and disasters. Disasters can strike at any time, and some

disasters, such as fires, can occur everyday. Natural disasters affect the lives of many thousands of people each year. Within minutes, a natural disaster can rip apart a community, and change the lives of its residents forever. People who understand disasters and know what to do beforehand and after a disaster hits, can significantly reduce disaster deaths and property damage.

Understanding natural disasters can often help control their effects, thus preserving life and property. Some of the changes that take place on our earth, like the rising and erosion of mountains, are very slow, taking millions of years. Others, like the sudden appearance of storms, are rapid by comparison. The tectonic movements

responsible for earthquakes, are sudden and unpredictable. They are usually catastrophic, particularly if they occur in densely populated areas. Typhoons, storms, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, and numerous other hazards are also unpredictable changes that can result in loss of life and destruction to property.

On a large scale, they are uncontrollable catastrophes that can cause human suffering, displacement, and chaos – both economic and social. These can consist of various manifestations and are the most devastating things in human lives which can affect large numbers of people, destroy vast areas, and yet, over which mankind has

little or no control over.