Different Types of Disasters Natural, Biological & Person-Induced Hazards

Disaster may occur in different forms and can remain from hour to days and weeks. Following are different types of disasters

Types of Natural Hazards

It is an adverse condition occurred naturally.

Astronomical Hazards

  1. Asteroid crashes  
  2. Comet crashes
  3. Geo-magnetic storms
  4. Meteor sowers

Atmospheric Hazards

  1. Blizzards extreme cold, fog, freezing rain or drizzle
  2. Heat waves
  3. Hurricanes
  4. Snow storm, ice dogs and ice storm, frost, hail storms
  5. Thunderstorms
  6. Tornadoes
  7. Wind storms

Fires

  1. Forest Fires
  2. Grass, bush and brush fires
  3. Urban wild land an interface fire

Geological

  1. Avalanches
  2. Debris avalanches, debris flows and torrents
  3. Expansive soils
  4. Landslides
  5. Land subsidence and sinkholes
  6. Sand and dust storms
  7. Submarine slides

Hydrological

  1. Drought
  2. Erosion, accretion and desertification
  3. Floods – flash urban, river ice jam and snow melt
  4. Glaciers
  5. Icebergs, ice islands and sea ice
  6. Sea stroms
  7. Seiche
  8. Storm surges
  9. Rain storms

Seismic

  1. Ground failure
  2. Liquefaction surface faulting
  3. Tectonic deformation
  4. Tsunamis

Volcanic

  1. Ash falls, projectiles and lateral blasts
  2. Lava flow
  3. Mudflows, pyroclastic flow

Types of Biological Hazards

Diseases affecting people

  1. Viral and bacterial human transmitted epidemics
  2. Viral and bacterial insect borne epidemics
  3. Viral and bacterial animal borne epidemics
  4. Water and air borne epidemics parasites

Diseases affecting animals

  1. Viral and bacterial human transmitted epidemics
  2. Viral and bacterial insect borne epidemics
  3. Viral and bacterial animal borne epidemics
  4. Water and air borne epidemics parasites

Diseases and Infestations affecting plants

  1. Viral and bacterial human transmitted epidemics
  2. Viral and bacterial insect borne epidemics and infestations
  3. Viral and bacterial animal borne epidemics and infestations
  4. Water and air borne epidemics parasites and infestations

Types of Person-Induced Hazards

A number of the hazards include on the person induced hazards list also appear in the natural list.

Accidents

  1. Air crashes
  2. Marine accidents
  3. Motor vehicle crashes
  4. Rail accidents
  5. Subway accidents

Dam Failure

  1. Flooding
  2. Landslides
  3. Soil erosion
  4. Sedimentation

Ecological Destruction

  1. Deforestation
  2. Disruption in natural hydrological cycle
  3. Global warming
  4. Ozone depletion

Explosion, Leaks and Famine

  1. Gas explosion and gas leaks
  2. Mine
  3. Drought
  4. Depletion of ground water resources
  5. Erosion and accretion
  6. Local flooding
  7. Desertification

Geological

  1. Avalanches
  2. Debris avalanches, debris flows, and torrents
  3. Landslides
  4. Sand and dust storms
  5. Submarine slides
  6. Land subsidence

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