What is Disaster Management ?

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Every year over 25.8 million people are affected by a natural disaster across the world.

Avalanches travel at speeds of over 200 miles per hour. In 1962 in Peru, several tons of ice and snow slid down Huascaran Peak in the Andes Mountains and killed over 4000 people.

The state that has the largest risk for tsunamis is Hawaii with over one a year.

On December 26, 2004 a tsunami triggered by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake caused the most devastating tsunami in history killing over 226,000 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and the Maldives. In addition, millions of others were displaced.

The “Dust Bowl” of 1934 created a period of famine and drought in the United States in the 1934 Great Plains as land that had once been fertile was covered with huge clouds of dust lifted by heavy winds.

1959 to 1961 was a period of famine for China. This was brought about by crop failure and lead to starvation, disease and cannibalism. However these disaster facts were not revealed to the world until 1981 by the Chinese government.

In 1099 a flood caused by a combination of storm waves and high tides washed across the coastal areas of the Netherlands and England killing over 100,000 people.

Floods are the number one deadly disaster in the United States accounting for over 46 percent of disaster related deaths according to disaster facts.

In 1815 in Tambora, Indonesia the Mount Tambora volcano exploded resulting in the deaths of 92,000 people, mostly due to starvation.

Cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons are the same thing. Different names are used in different parts of the world. In the Atlantic Ocean they are known as hurricanes, in the tropics they are known as tropical cyclones, in the Indian Ocean they are known as cyclones and in the Pacific Ocean they are known as typhoons

On June 30, 1908, a giant explosion with the magnitude of a 5.0 earthquake shook Siberia. Witnesses described seeing a bright fireball in the sky, and it caused trees to fall, buildings to shake, and people to be knocked off their feet as far as 40 miles away. While many animals were killed in the blast, no humans lost their lives. The explosion is generally attributed to the air burst of a meteorite. It is classified as an impact event, even though no impact crater has been found. The object is thought to have disintegrated at an altitude of 3 to 6 miles rather than hit the surface of the Earth.

The deadliest Western Hemisphere hurricane on record was in Barbados, West Indies in 1780. It killed nearly 22,000 people and completely devastated Barbados, Martinique and St. Eustatius.

Weather is the main cause of natural disasters, but human activity can play a role in how frequently they occur and in their severity. As we speed the rate of global warming hurricanes have become more common and more severe on average.

Earthquakes are not generally killers according to disaster facts. The events afterwards are the cause of death including buildings collapsing, tsunamis and volcanoes.

The Valdivia Earthquake (also known as the Great Chilean Earthquake) in 1960 is to date the most powerful earthquake ever recorded on Earth. It was rated 9.5 on the Moment Magnitude scale, and generated a tsunami that caused damage over 9,000 miles away.

Up to 10,000 people die a year as a result of an earthquake.

It only takes about 5 seconds for avalanches to reach speeds of 80mph.

Nearly 90 percent of all volcanoes are in the “Ring of Fire,” a group of volcanoes that circle the Pacific Ocean.

The survival rate for victims rescued within the first 18 minutes of an avalanche is greater than 91%. In Rescues between 19-35 minutes, survival rates drop to 35%. Dogs play a large role in locating people who are buried under the snow.

Hurricanes have winds of at least 74 miles per hour.

The string of volcanoes, sites of seismic activity or earthquakes around the Pacific Ocean is known as the Ring of Fire. Approximately 90% of all earthquakes occur along the ring, and it contains 75% of all active volcanoes on Earth.

In 1931, China was besieged by devastating floods that caused the death of as many as 3.7 million people.  The event, known as the Central China Floods, affected more than 51 million people, and remains the worst natural disaster in history.

Get informed. Know the natural hazards that could affect your area and stay on top of the advisories, says disaster management expert C. Balaji Singh. Turn to the Indian Meteorological Department for information on cyclones. The ministry of agriculture has information on droughts and the Central Water Commission on floods.

“Earthquakes” are disasters that cause associated destruction of man-made structures and instigate other natural disasters such as tsunamis, avalanches, and landslides.