How Natural Disasters Impact the Environment

How Natural Disasters Impact the
Environment
Can you name some natural
disasters?
•Earthquakes
•Hurricanes
•Lightning
•Fire
•Tsunami
•Tornados
•Volcanoes
•Blizzards
•Floods
•Heat
•Drought
What You’ll Learn
During this PowerPoint you are going to about
11 natural disasters. You will see some
statistical information about how each
disaster impacts man. Afterwards, you’ll be a
researcher to learn how natural disasters
affect the environment.
Earthquake
A sudden movement of the earth's crust
caused by the release of stress collected
along faults or by volcanic activity
Earthquake Statistics http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html
Earthquake Video http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/environment/environmentnatural-disasters/earthquakes/earthquake-101.html
Richter Earthquake
Magnitudes Effects
Less than
3.5
3.5-5.4
Under 6.0
6.1-6.9
7.0-7.9
8 or
greater
Generally not felt, but recorded.
Often felt, but rarely causes damage.
At most slight damage to well-designed buildings.
Can cause major damage to poorly constructed
buildings over small regions.
Can be destructive in areas up to about 100
kilometers across where people live.
Major earthquake. Can cause serious damage
over larger areas.
Great earthquake. Can cause serious damage in
areas several hundred kilometers across.
Frequency of Occurrence of
Earthquakes
Magnitude
Average Annually
8 and higher
1
7 - 7.9
17
6 - 6.9
134
5 - 5.9
1319
4 - 4.9
13,000
3 - 3.9
130,000
2 - 2.9
1,300,000
(estimated)
(estimated)
(estimated)
Number of Earthquakes in the
United States for 2000 - 2009
Magnitude
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
8.0 to 9.9
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
7.0 to 7.9
0
1
1
2
0
1
0
1
0
0
6.0 to 6.9
6
5
4
7
2
4
7
9
9
2
5.0 to 5.9
63
41
63
54
25
47
51
72
85
26
4.0 to 4.9
281
290
536
541
284
345
346
366
432
172
3.0 to 3.9
917
842
1535
1303
1362
1475
1213
1137
1485
745
2.0 to 2.9
660
646
1228
704
1336
1738
1145
1173
1579
1199
1.0 to 1.9
0
2
2
2
1
2
7
11
14
12
0.1 to 0.9
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
No Magnitude
415
434
507
333
540
73
13
22
20
10
Total
2342
2261
3876
2946
3550
3685
2783
2791
3624
2167
Estimated Deaths
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
.
.
.
Worldwide Earthquake
Related Deaths for
2000 - 2009
Estimated
Deaths
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
231
21357
1685
33819
228802
82364
6605
712
88011
369
Hurricane
If winds reach 74 mph, then they are called:
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


"hurricane" (the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast
Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, or the South Pacific
Ocean east of 160E)
"typhoon" (the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the
dateline)
"severe tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Pacific Ocean
west of 160E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90E)
"severe cyclonic storm" (the North Indian Ocean)
"tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Indian Ocean)
Hurricane Statistics http://www.mthurricane.com/Information.htm
Top 10 Deadliest Hurricanes
(Atlantic)
Rank
Hurricane Name
Year
Category
Deaths
1
Texas (Galveston)
1900
4
8000
2
FL (Lake Okeechobee)
1928
4
1836
3
Hurricane Katrina
2005
3
1500
4
Florida Keys
1919
4
600
5
New England
1938
3
600
6
Florida Keys (Labor Day)
1935
5
408
7
Audrey
1957
4
390
8
NE United States
1944
3
390
9
LA (Grand Isle)
1909
4
350
10
LA (New Orleans)
1915
4
275
Most Expensive Hurricanes
(Atlantic)
Rank
Hurricane Name
Year
Category
Damage (U.S.)
1
Hurricane Katrina
2005
3
$81,000,000,000
2
Hurricane Andrew
1992
5
$26,500,000,000
3
Hurricane Wilma
2005
3
$20,600,000,000
4
Hurricane Ike
2008
2
$18,000,000,000
5
Hurricane Charley
2004
4
$15,000,000,000
6
Hurricane Ivan
2004
3
$14,200,000,000
7
Hurricane Rita
2005
3
$11,300,000,000
8
Hurricane Frances
2004
2
$8,900,000,000
9
Hurricane Hugo
1989
4
$7,000,000,000
10
Hurricane Jeanne
2004
3
$6,900,000,000
11
Tropical Storm Allison
2001
T.S.
$5,000,000,000
12
Hurricane Floyd
1999
2
$4,500,000,000
Note: Damages are listed in US dollars and are not adjusted for inflation.
Lightning
a brilliant electric spark discharge in the
atmosphere, occurring within a thundercloud,
between clouds, or between a cloud and the
ground
Lightning Statistics http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/fatalities.htm
Lightening Fatalities in 2009
No.
Date
Day
State
1
3/15
Sun
TX
2
4/25
Sat
3
5/6
4
City
Age
Sex
Location
Activity
Victim
Port Aransas
63
M
On beach
Walking to vehicle
Stan Grassel
KS
Perry
45
M
Highway
Riding motorcycle
Troy Gentzler
Wed
MN
St. Cloud
42
M
Back yard
Yard work
Chad Giroux
5/16
Sat
MS
Yazoo County
16
M
Corn field
5
6/3
Wed
CA
Fontana
40
F
Under tree
Walking to bus
Tina Marie Bond
6
6/3
Wed
VA
Fredericksburg
12
M
Ball field
Playing baseball
Chelal Matos
7
6/3
Wed
TX
Crystal Beach
33
M
Beach
Jogging
Isaias Lara-Matinez
8
6/3
Wed
CA
Portola
70
F
Near tree
Yard work
MaryAnn Heald
9
6/5
Fri
CO
Evans
21
M
Open field
Walking
Efrain TrevizoMolina
10
6/8
Mon
FL
Coral Springs
53
M
In yard
Trimming grass
Dessalines Oleus
11
6/8
Mon
NC
Fairview
65
M
In field
Clearing brush
Donald Michael
Lynch
12
6/10
Wed
KY
Shelbyville
44
M
Under tree
Waiting for car ride
Brian Larsh
13
6/11
Thu
IN
Indianapolis
10
M
Near tree
Camping, going to car
Jeremiah Miller
14
6/11
Thu
FL
Sebring
32
M
Near tree
Golfing
Pierre Hyppolite
15
6/17
Wed
MO
Columbia
23
F
Open Field
Fishing
Georgette Tillett
16
6/27
Sat
PR
Moca
43
M
Outside Home
Cutting lawn
Antonio Cruz
Mangual
17
7/1
Wed
MA
Orleans
41
M
Boat
Shellfishing
Christopher West
Andrew Williams
Fire
a burning mass of material
Fire Statistics http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/
The Overall Fire
Picture - 2007
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There were 3,430 civilians that lost their lives as the result of
fire.
There were 17,675 civilian injuries that occurred as the
result of fire.
There were 118 firefighters killed while on duty.
Fire killed more Americans than all natural disasters
combined.
84 percent of all civilian fire deaths occurred in residences.
There were an estimated 1.6 million fires in 2007.
Direct property loss due to fires was estimated at $14.6
billion.
An estimated 32,500 intentionally set structure fires resulted
in 295 civilian deaths.
Intentionally set structure fires resulted in an estimated $733
million in property damage.
Tsunami
an unusually large sea wave produced by a
seaquake or undersea volcanic eruption
Tsunami Statistics http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/tsustats.pdf
Damaging Tsunamis
vs Non-damaging Tsunamis
- Worldwide
Volcano
a vent in the earth's crust through which lava,
steam, ashes, etc., are expelled, either
continuously or at irregular intervals
Volcano Statistics
http://www.epicdisasters.com/index.php/site/comments/the_worlds_worst_volcanic_eruptions/
Deadliest Volcanic
Eruptions
Location
Date
Death Toll
Mt. Tambora, Indonesia
April 10 - 15, 1816
92,000
Mt. Pelee, West Indies
April 25 - May 8, 1902
40,000
Mt. Krakatoa, Indonesia
August 26 - 28, 1883
36,000
Nevado del Ruiz,
Columbia
November 13, 1985
23,000
Mt. Unzen, Japan
1792
12,000 - 15,000
Mt. Vesuvius, Italy
April 24, AD 79
10,000+
The Laki Volcanic System, June 8, 1783 - February
Iceland
1784
9350
Blizzard
A violent snowstorm with winds blowing at a
minimum speed of 35 miles per hour and
visibility of less than one-quarter mile for
three hours
Top Blizzards in US

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0886098.html
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http://nsidc.org/snow/blizzard/storms.html
Top 10 Deadliest Blizzards
Death Toll
Event
Location
Date
4,000
Iran Blizzard
Iran
1972
1,337
2008 Afghanistan blizzard
Afghanistan
2008
400
Great Blizzard of 1888
United States
1888
318
1993 North American Storm Complex
United States
1993
235
Schoolhouse Blizzard
United States
1888
199
Hakkōda Mountains incident
Japan
1902
144
Armistice Day Blizzard
United States
1940
133
2008 Chinese winter storms
China
2008
112
1995 Kazakh Blizzard
Kazakhstan
1995
54
Blizzard of 1978
United States
1978
Flood
A temporary rise of the water level, as in a river
or lake or along a seacoast, resulting in its
spilling over and out of its natural or artificial
confines onto land that is normally dry.
Floods are usually caused by excessive
runoff from precipitation or snowmelt, or by
coastal storm surges or other tidal
phenomena.
Flood Statistics http://www.floodsafety.com/national/life/statistics.htm
Top 10 deadliest floods
and landslides
Death Toll
Event
Location
Date
2,500,000–3,700,000
1931 China floods
China
1931
900,000–2,000,000
1887 Yellow River (Huang He) flood
China
1887
500,000–700,000
1938 Yellow River (Huang He) flood
China
1938
231,000
Banqiao Dam failure, result of Typhoon Nina.
Approximately 86,000 people died from flooding
and another 145,000 died during subsequent
disease.
China
1975
145,000
1935 Yangtze river flood
China
1935
more than 100,000
St. Felix's Flood, storm surge
Netherlands
1530
100,000
Hanoi and Red River Delta flood
North Vietnam
1971
100,000
1911 Yangtze river flood
China
1911
50,000–80,000
St. Lucia's flood, storm surge
Netherlands
1287
60,000
North Sea flood, storm surge
Netherlands
1212
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air extending
from a cumulonimbus cloud to the Earth,
ranging in width from a few meters to more
than a kilometer and whirling at speeds
between 40 and 316 mi per hour.
Tornado Statistics http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/online/monthly/newm.html
Latest U.S. Tornado
Statistics
2006
2007
2008
2009
Three Year
Average
Number of
Tornados
1103
1098
1691
1053
1297
Number of
Tornado Related
Deaths
67
81
126
21
91
Number of Killer
Tornados
25
26
37
9
29
Drought
A long period of abnormally low rainfall,
especially one that adversely affects growing
or living conditions.
Statistical Information http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/drought/drght_alleve.html
Drought Facts
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The cost of losses due to drought in the United
States averages $6-8 billion every year, but range
as high as $39 billion for the three year drought of
1987-1989, which was the most costly natural
disaster documented in U.S. history.
The two major droughts of the 20th century, the
1930s Dust Bowl drought and the 1950s drought,
lasted five to seven years and covered large areas
of the continental U.S.
Top 10 Droughts Reported Economic Damages
Disaster
Date
Cost
China P Rep
Australia
Spain
1994
1981
1990
13,755,200,000
6,000,000,000
4,500,000,000
United States
Iran Islam Rep
Spain
China P Rep
2002
1999
1999
2006
3,300,000,000
3,300,000,000
3,200,000,000
2,910,000,000
Zimbabwe
Australia
1981
2002
2,500,000,000
2,000,000,000
Brazil
2004
1,650,000,000
Heat Wave
an air mass of high temperature covering an
extended area and moving relatively slowly
 a period of abnormally hot and usually humid

Statistical Information http://www.preventionweb.net/english/hazards/statistics/?hid=63
Top 10 Heat Waves reported based
on Number of People Killed
Disaster
Italy
France
Spain
Germany
Portugal
India
France
United States
India
Belgium
Date
2003
2003
2003
2003
2003
1998
2006
1980
2003
2003
Killed
20,089
19,490
15,090
9,355
2,696
2,541
1,388
1,260
1,210
1,175
Top 10 Heat Waves reported based
on Economic Damages
Disaster
Date
Cost
France
2003
4,400,000,000
Italy
2003
4,400,000,000
United States
1998
4,275,000,000
United States
1980
2,000,000,000
United States
1986
1,750,000,000
Germany
2003
1,650,000,000
United States
1999
1,000,000,000
Spain
2003
880,000,000
India
2003
400,000,000
Switzerland
2003
280,000,000
Austria
2003
280,000,000
Which disasters are the worst?
In the next two sides you will see the 10 'Worst'
Natural Disasters as decided by expert David
Crossley, Professor of Geophysics.
10 'Worst' Natural Disasters
The October 8, 2005 magnitude 7.6
earthquake in Pakistan
 Hurricane Katrina
 Volcanic Eruption - Nevado del Ruiz
(Columbia) in 1985
 1976 earthquake magnitude 8 Tangshan
event in China
 Indonesia Volcanic Eruptions – Tambora
volcano of 1815 & Krakatoa explosion in
1883

10 'Worst' Natural Disasters
New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-12 in
southern Missouri
 1737 Calcutta, India typhoon
 Santorini volcanic explosion around 1500
B.C.
 major global paleoclimate event that
happened around 3000B.C.
 mass extinction during the CretaceousTertiary Stratigraphic Boundary, 65 million
years ago

U.S. Weather Fatalities
Top 10 Deadliest Natural Disasters
Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_disasters_by_death_toll
Rank
Event
Location
Date
Death Toll
(Estimate)
1.
1931 China floods
China
July-Nov, 1931
1,000,000–
4,000,000
2.
1887 Yellow River
flood
China
Sept-Oct 1887
900,000–
2,000,000
3.
1556 Shaanxi
earthquake
Shaanxi Province, China
Jan 23, 1556
830,000
4.
1970 Bhola cyclone
Bangladesh
Nov 13, 1970
500,000
5.
1839 India Cyclone
India
Nov 25, 1839
300,000
6.
526 Antioch
earthquake
Antioch, Byzantine Empire
May 20, 526
250,000
7.
1976 Tangshan
earthquake
Tangshan, Hebei, China
July 28, 1976
242,000
8.
1920 Haiyuan
earthquake
Haiyuan, Ningxia-Gansu,
China
Dec 26, 1920
240,000
9.
1975 Banqiao Dam
flood
Zhumadian, Henan
Province, China
Aug 7, 1975
90,000–
230,000
10.
2004 Indian Ocean
earthquake/tsunami
Indian Ocean
Dec 26, 2004
229,866
Your Findings
How Earthquakes Impact the
Environment
collapsing buildings
 property damage
 mud slides
 fires
 floods
 tsunamis
 loss of power

How Hurricanes Impact the
Environment
erosion
 houses, buildings, and other structures
destroyed
 heavy flooding of inland areas
 tornadoes
 loss of power
 contaminated water supply

How Lightning Impacts the
Environment
fire
 loss of power

How Fire Impacts the
Environment
houses, buildings, and other structures
destroyed
 loss of habitat
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How Tsunamis Impact
the Environment
houses, buildings, and other structures
destroyed
 loss of power
 erosion
 fresh water contaminated
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How Volcanic Eruptions Impact the
Environment
houses, buildings, and other structures
destroyed
 fires
 toxic gases released into the atmosphere
 Carbon dioxide emitted from volcanoes adds
to the natural greenhouse effect.
 loss of habitat

How Blizzards Impact the
Environment
flooding when snows melt
 trees fall
 power outages
 hypothermia

How Flooding Impacts the
Environment
disease
 loss of habitat
 houses, buildings, and other structures
destroyed
 household wastes get into the water system
 power outages

How Tornadoes Impacts the
Environment
Tornadoes could hit hazardous or toxic
materials which could carried by a
thunderstorm and then transported along
ways down stream.
 could transport certain types of small animals
and plants across the land
 destroys topsoil and crops
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How Drought Impacts the
Environment
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young trees die
dried up lakes and other water sources
loss of livestock and crops
People use more fuel during droughts.
losses or destruction of fish and wildlife habitat
lack of food and drinking water for wild animals
increase in disease in wild animals, because of reduced food and
water supplies
migration of wild animals, leading to a loss of wildlife in some
(drought-stricken) areas and too many wildlife in areas not
affected by drought
increased stress on endangered species
lower water levels in reservoirs, lakes, and ponds
loss of wetlands
more fires
wind and water erosion of soils, reduced soil quality
Information from http://drought.unl.edu/kids/impacts/affects.htm