Natural Disaster

1) Answer the questions:

A) What is a natural disaster?

B) What are some of its consequences?

A)_A natural disaster is a disaster caused by nature, such as floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, avalanches, lahars (volcanic mudslides), landslides, sinkholes, blizzards, drought, hailstorms, heat waves, hurricanes, tropical storms, typhoons, Ice Ages, tornadoes, and wildfires. Epidemics caused by bacteria or viruses are sometimes considered natural disasters, but sometimes put into a different category. A biological threat such as locusts or toxic fungi could also be considered a natural disaster.

Some disasters are on the edge of natural and non-natural. Famines, the chronic lack of food, may be caused by a combination of natural and human factors. Two space-originating categories of natural disaster, both of which rarely effect humans on the surface, include asteroid impacts and solar flares. Although the risk of asteroid impact in the short term may be low, some scientists argue that in the long term, the likelihood of death by asteroid is similar to that of death by traditional natural disasters such as disease.

B)_ The psychosocial consequences of natural disasters have been studied extensively. When Norris and colleagues (2002) reviewed this literature, they found a wide range of effects. About a third of these studies found effects that were quite severe, meaning that a high percentage of study participants exhibited clinically significant distress or diagnosable disorders. The most frequently reported condition was PTSD, followed by depression, and then other anxiety disorders. Many survivors also reported nonspecific distress, health problems, chronic problems in living, and resource loss. Within the adult samples, risk factors for adverse outcomes included more severe exposure, female gender, middle age, ethnic minority group membership, secondary stress, prior psychiatric problems, and weak or deteriorating psychosocial resources. Consistent support has been found for the importance of coping self-efficacy in predicting psychological outcomes from a variety of disasters, including but not limited to hurricanes (Benight & Bandura, 2004).

In some of these studies, participants were interviewed more than once so that the disaster's effects could be studied over time. Most often, people improved as time passed. However, almost all studies included a minority of participants who did not improve but, for whatever reason, continued to be distressed or impaired long after the event. As the authors of these studies often remarked, these particular people who do not recover on their own are especially important to understand and serve.

2)Find 

a) The opposite of inhabited:  Deserted 

b) The opposite of artificial: Natural

3) Make a list of 5 examples of Natural Disaster :

A) Flood in China in July, November, 1931

B) Tornado in Bangladesh in April 26, 1989

C) Hurricane in Bahamas in August 30, 2005

D) Earthquake in China in July 28, 1976

E) Heat wave in New York City in Juli 1-26, 1972

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