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Catastrophes

disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes will happen more often as the Earth continues to warm. Sometimes it may feel like potential catastrophes lurk behind every corner. What Are Catastrophes? We throw around the word catastrophe a lot—in casual conversation, it’s just a quick way to describe a big mess. For example, your parents might describe your bedroom as a “catastrophe” right before they make you clean it. But the word does actually have a concrete definition: a catastrophe is an event that causes major problems and suffering among a group of people. The group could be large or small. For instance, a hurricane is a type of catastrophe that affects an entire region, while your house burning down is a catastrophe that only affects your family. Strictly defined, a catastrophe isn’t something that only happens to you—it happens to a group of which you’re a member. We usually divide catastrophes (also called disasters) into two categories: natural and anthropogenic (human-made). Natural disasters are events caused by weather and other forces of nature. They are sometimes referred to as “acts of God,” which implies that there was nothing anyone could have done to either cause or prevent the disaster. Examples include tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, heat waves, blizzards, earthquakes, wildfires, and droughts .

Educational Video Check out this video about how natural disasters can affect humans.