Hazards, Disasters and Catastrophes:


A Natural Hazard is a natural process and event that has the potential to threaten human life and property.  The process and the events by themselves are not a hazard, but they become a hazard due to human presence on the land.  These events include earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, fires, hurricanes, and tornado.

A Disaster is a hazardous event that occurs over a limited time span, within a defined area.  There are 4 criteria for a Natural Disaster: 1) 10 or more people are killed, 2) 100 or more people are impacted by the process, 3) a state of emergency is declared, or 4) international assistance is required.  If any one of these applies to the process, the event is considered to be a "Natural Disaster."

A Catastrophe is a massive disaster, that requires a considerable amount of time and money to recover from.  For example, the damage from Hurricane Katrina is still evident and the recovery continues almost 10 years after the process.