Natural Hazards

• A natural hazard is a naturally occurring event that is a threat to a population.
• Natural hazards negatively affect a population by causing loss of life, injuries, and damage to important infrastructure that people rely on.
• An example of a natural hazard is the severe earthquake that hit Nepal in April 2015.
• The Nepal 2015 earthquake killed nearly 9000 people, injured thousands and destroyed many homes.
• The effects of the Nepal 2015 earthquake can be seen here.
• A natural event can only be classed as a natural hazard when there is a threat to people.
• If there was a volcano or an earthquake on a desert island with no people on it, it would not be classed as a natural hazard as there is no threat to human life or property.
• There are many different types of natural hazards, but in general they can be divided into three main groups: Geological hazards, Hydrological hazards, and Atmospheric hazards.
• Hazard risk is the probability (i.e. the likelihood or the chance) that a natural hazard will actually affect a population.
• The risk a hazard poses is dependent on a population’s exposure to the hazard as well as the population’s vulnerability to the hazard.
• If a population is more exposed to a hazard, then the hazard risk is higher.
• If a population is more vulnerable to the hazard (meaning they lack the resources to deal with the effects of a hazard) the risk is also higher.
• Hazard risk is affected by different social, environmental and economic factors.