Opinion Article - Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health (2022)
Natural Disasters Caused by Water Hazards
Peng Chen*Peng Chen, Department of Healthcare Management, Sanda University, Shanghai, China, Email: cheuke@foxmail.com
Received: 24-Oct-2022, Manuscript No. JENVOH-22-83030; Editor assigned: 28-Oct-2022, Pre QC No. JENVOH-22-83030 (PQ); Reviewed: 13-Nov-2022, QC No. JENVOH-22-83030; Revised: 21-Nov-2022, Manuscript No. JENVOH-22-83030 (R); Published: 28-Nov-2022
Description
A “natural catastrophe” is defined as the adverse consequence of the actual occurrence of a natural hazard that significantly harms a community and typically leaves behind some economic impact in addition to the possibility for loss of life or property damage. The extent of the destruction depends on the population’s fortitude and the infrastructure’s condition. A few examples of natural hazards include avalanches, coastal flooding, cold waves, droughts, earthquakes, hailstorms, heat waves, hurricanes (tropical cyclones), ice storms, landslides, lightning, riverine flooding, strong winds, tornadoes, and winter weather. It can be challenging to distinguish between man-made, natural, and man-accelerated disasters in the modern period. Architecture, fire, resource management, and even climate change are examples of human decisions and actions that may contribute to “natural disasters.” In reality, it was declared in 1976 that the phrase “natural disaster” is a misnomer. When a community that is already at risk is affected by a risk, whether natural or manufactured, a disaster happens. A disaster is the outcome of a hazard combined with the vulnerability of a civilization that is weak [1].
Inadequate building codes, social exclusion, unfairness, resource overuse, severe urban development, and climate change can all exacerbate natural disasters. Both the frequency and severity of catastrophes have increased due to the world’s population’s fast growth and growing concentration in dangerous locations. The susceptibility of disaster-prone places is increased by the tropical climate, unstable landforms, deforestation, unplanned population growth, and non-engineered structures. Due to poor communication and insufficient funding for disaster prevention and management, developing countries experience natural disasters on a more or less recurring basis. If a negative incident takes place away from a vulnerable population, it will not qualify as a disaster. A negative occurrence, however, might have severe effects and leave long-lasting damage in a susceptible area, like Nepal following the 2015 earthquake, which can take years to heal. The negative effects have an impact on impacted communities’ mental health as well, frequently resulting in post-traumatic symptoms. Through group processing, these elevated emotional experiences can be supported, fostering resilience and raising community involvement [2].
Disasters caused by water hazards
A hydrological disaster is a violent, abrupt, and devastating shift in the distribution or movement of water on land beneath the surface or in the atmosphere, as well as in the quality of Earth’s water [3,4].
Floods: EU Floods Directive defines a flood as a temporary covering of land that is typically dry with water [5,6]. In the sense of “flowing water,” the phrase may also be used to refer to the inflow of the tides. A flood is an excess of water that “submerges” land. Flooding can occur when a body of water likes a river or lake, has a higher volume than usual and some of the water escapes the area normally contained by the body of water. Even while the size of a lake or other body of water will change with yearly variations in precipitation and snow melt, a flood is not significant unless it floods human- used land, such as a village, city, or other inhabited region, roadways, or sizable amounts of farmland [5,6].
Tsunami: A tsunami is a sequence of waves in a body of water brought on by the displacement of a significant volume of water, typically in an ocean or a big lake. It is also known as a seismic sea wave or tidal wave. [7,8].
Limnic eruptions: A limnic eruption, commonly referred to as a lake overturn, arises when a gas, mainly CO2, unexpectedly erupts from deep lake water, increasing the risk of drowning humans, animals, and other organisms. As the rising gas displaces the water, such an eruption may potentially result in tsunamis in the lake.
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