How Natural Disasters Impact the Environment

Can you name some natural disasters?

•Earthquakes•Hurricanes•Lightning•Fire•Tsunami •Tornados•Volcanoes•Blizzards•Floods•Heat•Drought

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/environment-natural-disasters/earthquakes/earthquake-101.html

Richter Earthquake Magnitudes Effects

Less than 3.5

Generally not felt, but recorded.

3.5-5.4 Often felt, but rarely causes damage.

Under 6.0 At most slight damage to well-designed buildings. Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions.

6.1-6.9 Can be destructive in areas up to about 100 kilometers across where people live.

7.0-7.9 Major earthquake. Can cause serious damage over larger areas.

8 or greater

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 (estimated)

3 - 3.9 130,000 (estimated)

2 - 2.9 1,300,000  (estimated)

Number of Earthquakes in the United States for 2000 - 2009Magnitude 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

  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

 

EstimatedDeaths

231 21357 1685 33819 228802 82364 6605 712 88011 369

Hurricane

If winds reach 74 mph, then they are called: "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 2009No. Date Day State City Age Sex Location Activity Victim

1 3/15 Sun TX Port Aransas 63 M On beach Walking to vehicle Stan Grassel

2 4/25 Sat KS Perry 45 M Highway Riding motorcycle Troy Gentzler

3 5/6 Wed MN St. Cloud 42 M Back yard Yard work Chad Giroux

4 5/16 Sat MS Yazoo County 16 M Corn field   Andrew Williams

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 Trevizo-Molina

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

18 7/3 Fri NY Llyod 35 M Outside home Building treehouse Dan Schlosser

19 7/4 Sat FL North Lakeland 30 M Open field Soccer Benjamin Gonzalez

20 7/4 Sat NM Rio Rancho 26 M Parking lot Seeking shelter Jarrod Truesdale

21 7/4 Sat MT Billings 26 M Park Seeking shelter Blake Harmon

22 7/6 Mon AL Atmore 51 F Yard Taking out trash Dawn Yoder

23 7/8 Wed FL Melbourne Beach 54 M Beach Seeking shelter Frank Paxton

24 7/21 Tue MN Stillwater 14 F Outside home Playing in rain Taylor Zimmerman

25 7/26 Sun NJ Newark 22 M Under Tree Sheltering from rain Isaac Coello-Pineda

26 7/27 Mon NC Southern Shores 49 M Beach Jogging Matthew Glomb

Fire

a burning mass of material

Fire Statistics http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/

The Overall Fire Picture - 2007 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 Tsunamisvs 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 EruptionsLocation 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, Iceland

June 8, 1783 - February 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 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 Date2,500,000–3,700,000 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

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 1994 13,755,200,000

Australia 1981 6,000,000,000

Spain 1990 4,500,000,000

United States 2002 3,300,000,000

Iran Islam Rep 1999 3,300,000,000

Spain 1999 3,200,000,000

China P Rep 2006 2,910,000,000

Zimbabwe 1981 2,500,000,000

Australia 2002 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 Date Killed

Italy 2003 20,089

France 2003 19,490

Spain 2003 15,090

Germany 2003 9,355

Portugal 2003 2,696

India 1998 2,541

France 2006 1,388

United States 1980 1,260

India 2003 1,210

Belgium 2003 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 Cretaceous-

Tertiary Stratigraphic Boundary, 65 million years ago

U.S. Weather Fatalities

Top 10 Deadliest Natural DisastersSource 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

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

How Tsunamis Impact the Environment

houses, buildings, and other structures destroyed

loss of power erosion fresh water contaminated

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

How Drought Impacts the Environment 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