Natural disaster

[6] Human choices in architecture,[9] fire risk,[10][11] and resource management[12] can cause or worsen natural disasters.

Disasters can be caused by natural, man-made and technological hazards, as well as various factors that influence the exposure and vulnerability of a community.

[20] There are 18 natural hazards included in the National Risk Index of FEMA: avalanche, coastal flooding, cold wave, drought, earthquake, hail, heat wave, tropical cyclone, ice storm, landslide, lightning, riverine flooding, strong wind, tornado, tsunami, volcanic activity, wildfire, winter weather.

Examples for such failures include inadequate building norms, marginalization of people, inequities, overexploitation of resources, extreme urban sprawl and climate change.

[27] Developing countries often have ineffective communication systems as well as insufficient support for disaster risk reduction and emergency management.

Tornadoes and flash floods are rapid onset events, meaning they occur with a short warning time and are short-lived.

Since the global population has grown over the same time period, the decrease in number of deaths per capita is larger, dropping to 6% of the original amount.

[29] The death rate from natural disasters is highest in developing countries due to the lower quality of building construction, infrastructure, and medical facilities.

[35] Natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes) have the potential to generate a significant amount of waste within a short period.

For example, the tsunami in Japan in 2011 produced huge amounts of debris: estimates of 5 million tonnes of waste were reported by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.

A study by Lo et al. (2020) reported a 100% increase in the amount of microplastics on beaches surveyed following a typhoon in Hong Kong in 2018.

The United States military reported that millions of water bottles and styrofoam food packages were distributed although there was no operational waste management system.

As waste collection services are underfunded and there is no recycling facility, plastics have flooded the camps' streets and surroundings.

Disrupted police enforcement, lax regulations, and displacement all contribute to increased risk of gender based violence and sexual assault.

[37] For example, Hindutva party Hindu Makkal Katchi and others blamed women's struggle for the right to enter the Sabarimala temple for the August 2018 Kerala floods, purportedly inflicted by the angry god Ayyappan.

[36] Unprotected intercourse during this time can lead to increased rates of childbirth, unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Inadequate nutrition, little access to clean water, lack of health-care services and psychological stress in the aftermath of the disaster can lead to a significant increase in maternal morbidity and mortality.

[46] Landslides, also known as landslips, skyfalls or rockslides,[47][48][49] are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows.

In many cases, the landslide is triggered by a specific event (such as a heavy rainfall, an earthquake, a slope cut to build a road, and many others), although this is not always identifiable.

[54] Avalanches can be triggered spontaneously, by factors such as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, other animals, and earthquakes.

Primarily composed of flowing snow and air, large avalanches have the capability to capture and move ice, rocks, and trees.

Earthquakes by themselves rarely kill people or wildlife – it is usually the secondary events that they trigger, such as building collapse, fires, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, that cause death.

Even small quantities will harm humans if inhaled – it has the consistency of ground glass and therefore causes laceration to the throat and lungs.

The main danger from a supervolcano is the immense cloud of ash, which has a disastrous global effect on climate and temperature for many years.

Heat waves used to be rare, requiring specific combinations of weather events to take place, such as temperature inversions, katabatic winds, or other phenomena.

In 2011, the State of Texas lived under a drought emergency declaration for the entire calendar year and suffered severe economic losses.

Tornadoes come in many shapes and sizes but typically take the form of a visible condensation funnel, the narrow end of which touches the Earth and is often encircled by a cloud of debris and dust.

The 1993 Superstorm originated in the Gulf of Mexico and traveled north, causing damage in 26 American states as well as in Canada and leading to more than 300 deaths.

DRR policies aim to "define goals and objectives across different timescales and with concrete targets, indicators and time frames.

[94] The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is an international initiative that has helped 123 countries adopt both federal and local DRR strategies (as of 2022).