Encyclopedia of Earth: Hazards & Disasters

Hazards and disasters describe a range of phenomena from those ascribed to nature, including hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes and volcanoes, to those in which both humans and nature share a role. This includes some episodes of natural flooding and wildfires to those purely of human origin like the chemical leak in Bhopal and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

No matter the cause, human lives and well-being are often at risk in addition to large swaths of the natural environment. Hazards and disasters affect populations worldwide, regardless of politics, wealth, location or other factors which tend to differentiate populations 

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