Natural Hazards and Solutions to Them - Essay Example

?Natural Hazards It is a fact all over the world that natural hazards have proven to be very destructive. This is because no one is ready to face these challenges and is taken by surprise every time a natural hazard comes about. These are hard to predict and once these natural hazards occur, it is difficult to think of anything else than to bring in rescue and relief efforts. It is the manner in which these natural hazards happen that man thinks of the nature and its different consequences which take place every now and then. One must understand that natural hazards are usually based on no logic at all; they happen at any time and can create as much destruction as one cannot even think of. The natural hazards highlight how man has been able to study the different technological inventions which have been done and how it has fallen short of the remaining expectations which are needed to correct things within the discussion of natural hazards. This means that natural hazards are something that has to be properly forecasted before they could be studied and hence research basis is being drafted all over the world. The role of the meteorological department is of importance here because it points out how these natural hazards are going to be tackled and what efforts need to be made in order to make sure that the people living in close proximity of a natural hazard are dealt with, the sooner the better. This paper discusses natural hazards and the solutions to these problems. It is important to define what a natural hazard is. This is one event or activity which has a very negative effect on the people or the environment under which these people live. Research has proven that many natural hazards are related with one another, and occur on a frequent basis, one after the other. Earthquakes can lead to tsunamis and drought can produce famines. The difference between a natural hazard and a disaster is that a natural hazard is a calamity that is caused due to nature while a disaster is because of the changes that man has brought about on the face of the earth upon which natural hazard has been struck, and which has led to a lot of destruction. What is most important to know is the fact that natural hazards usually produce deaths, loss of property, migration of the people from the place where the natural hazard has struck, and a number of other consequences. Before moving ahead further, it is significant to understand what natural hazards really are (Wisner 2003). The avalanches are natural hazards which come under the geophysical hazards. These avalanches consist of a slide of a large snow rock down from a mountainside which is caused due to a buildup of snow when it released from a slope. This usually happens within winters when mountains become very dangerous for the inhabitants living on them as well as the climbers who are trekking on them. On the other hand, an earthquake is a natural hazard which is a phenomenon that comes about due to quick release of stored energy and which radiates seismic waves. Earthquakes shake and thus displace grounds which lead into tsunamis. Most of these earthquakes happen every day, where only few of them are big enough to cause serious damage. Lahars are natural hazards which are very closely tied in with volcanic eruptions and result in the emission of mud, rock, ash and other materials to slide down the volcano at a swift speed. These lahars can destroy entire cities and kill thousands of people within a matter of seconds. The sinkholes are localized depressions within the surface topography which happen due to the collapse of a subterranean structure which might include a cave (Smith 2004). Sinkholes are rare though the large sinkholes can develop at a fast pace in areas where there is a lot of population and can result in the collapse of buildings as well as structures which are strongly built. Volcanic eruptions do arise when a volcano is active and is able to release its power. This is apparent through the different forms of eruptions which can come about in the form of lava that is released when the eruptions take place. Small eruptions in Hawaii are more common to megacolossal eruptions and supervolcanoes happen within Japan and the nearby countries. These eruptions displace people for a long period of time until the lava cools down and sweeps away with the freezing temperatures. There are the high temperature clouds which contain ash and steam that travel down the mountainsides which is faster than the speed of an aircraft. Similarly natural hazards also comprise of floods which come about due to the result of prolonged rainfall which essentially arise from storms, and thunderstorms, quick melting of snow, etc. It is a fact that tropical cyclones are also responsible for causing floods whereby these are extensive and storm surge is created due to the same. A tsunami is basically a wave of water which is caused by the displacement of a body of water. These are caused by earthquakes under water and the most famous tsunami to date has been the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Similarly, meteotsunamis come about when there are meteorological phenomena happening on the face of the earth. A tornado is a form of natural hazard which results from a thunderstorm. It has been seen that these tornadoes are very severe and rotate in columns of air which blow at quick speeds. There are also a number of other natural hazards which happen from time to time, including drought, geomagnetic storms, wildfires, ice storms, heat waves, hailstorms, blizzards, seiche, maelstrom, whirlpools, limnic eruptions, hurricanes and others. All of these natural hazards bring about a great deal of destruction and the shift of populations from one region to another. What is most important is to know that these natural hazards are less predictable otherwise it would be able to displace people quickly and without much destruction coming to the fore. International campaigns and bodies have been set up which take charge of these natural hazards once they have been set in and proved to be destructive in their might and entirety. Hence all-out efforts and endeavors are undertaken by these bodies and organizations, which are spread all over the globe to make sure that the proposition of failure to meet these problems is minimal and that there are a number of issues which can be taken care of, the sooner the better. The problems with these natural hazards are that they happen irregularly and without any notice. The solutions to these natural hazards are that there should be proper budgets on the research studies that must be done so that remedies could be found. The mankind and the property would be saved if proper solutions are found out (Nash 1999). This will help save a lot of lives as well as the properties of these people in different parts of the world because natural hazards are happening at different times and in varied global locations. The problems can also be solved by studying the movement of birds which signify that an earthquake of a natural calamity is about to struck in a region, as has been evidence to date. The natural hazards shall never cease to exist but what can happen is an effort to set things right so that minimum losses take place and lives are saved at the end of the day. Works Cited Nash, James L. Be Prepared when Disaster Strikes. Occupational Hazards, Vol. 61, December 1999 Smith, Keith. Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risk and Reducing Disaster. Routledge, 2004 Wisner, Ben. At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability, and Disasters. Routledge, 2003 Read More