CLASS: VIII

SUBJECT: Geography
CHAPTER: Natural and man-made disasters
CHAPTER 5 : NATURAL AND MAN-MADE DISASTERS

EXPLANATION:

A disaster is a serious disruption occurring over a short or long

period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic
or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected
community or society to cope using its own resources.

Disasters are routinely divided into natural or human-made.

Types of disasters:
(i)Natural disasters:
A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting
from natural processes of the Earth. ( beyond the control of
human beings)
Examples: floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic
eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, and
other geologic processes.
 (ii)Man-made disasters:
Man-made disasters are those for which human beings
themselves are responsible.

Examples: wars, riots, nuclear explosions, industrial accidents,

etc.

Disaster Management:
Disaster management is a planned steps taken to
minimize the effects of a disaster.
In general, it is a continuous process by which all individuals,
groups and communities manage hazards in an effort to
avoid pr minimize the impact of disasters resulting from
hazards.
Need for disaster management:
Disaster management aims to reduce, or avoid, the
potential losses from hazards, assure prompt and
appropriate assistance to victims of disaster, and achieve
rapid and effective recovery.
Disaster management is an important component of all the
communities. History has shown us that where communities
have been prepared to face disasters, lesser lives have been
lost, less significant damage to the environment has
occurred, and property has been better conserved.

Phases of disaster management:

Migration: Its aim is to minimise the effects of disaster
through building codes and zoning; vulnerability analyses;
public education.
Preparedness: It focuses on understanding how a
disaster might impact the community and how education,
outreach and training can build capacity to respond to and
recover from a disaster.
Response: The aim of emergency response is to provide
immediate assistance to maintain life, improve health and
support the morale of the affected population. Search and
rescue; emergency relief are important components of
response.
 Recovery: It is fourth phase of disaster management. It
includes actions taken to return to a normal or an even safer
situation following an emergency. Getting financial
assistance, temporary housing, medical care are important
components of recovery phase.

Flood
A flood is an abnormal rise of river or any water body due to
heavy rainfall, tsunami, cyclone etc.
Floods are the most common and wide spread of all natural
disasters. India is one of the highly flood prone countries in
the world. Though it is not possible to control the flood
disaster totally, by adopting suitable structural and non -
structural measures the flood damages can be minimised.
Before a Flood
 Avoid building in a floodplain.
 Construct barriers to stop floodwater from entering
your home.
  If a flood is likely in your area, listen to the radio or
television for information.
 Know the difference between a flood watch and flood
warning. A watch means flooding is possible. A warning
means flooding is occurring or will occur soon.
When a flood is imminent
 Be prepared! Pack a bag with important items in case
you need to evacuate. Don’t forget to include needed
medications.
 If advised to evacuate your home, do so immediately.
 If there is any possibility of a flash flood, move
immediately to higher ground.
 If possible, bring in outdoor furniture and move
essential items to an upper floor.
 Turn off utilities at the main switches.
 Disconnect electrical appliances.
During a flood
 Do not walk through moving water.
 Use a stick to check the firmness of the ground in front
of you.
 Do not drive into flooded areas. If floodwaters rise
around your car, abandon the car and move to higher
ground if you can do so safely.
 Do not touch electrical equipment if you are wet or
standing in water.
After a flood
 Listen for news reports to learn whether the community
and water supply is safe to drink.
 Avoid floodwaters; water may be contaminated by oil,
gasoline, or raw sewage.
 Be aware of areas where floodwaters have receded.
 Return home only when the authorities indicate it is
safe.
 Stay out of any building if it is surrounded by
floodwaters.
Earthquake
It is the trembling or sudden shaking of ground that happens
when rock masses on the earth’s surface are abruptly
displaced.
Indoors
 Do not rush outside, get your family into doorways,
under the tables, or, if they are bedridden, under their
beds; keep away from windows and chimneys.
Outdoors
 Stay away from buildings, high walls or dangling electric
wires.
 Do not re-enter damaged buildings.
Driving
 If you feel the earthquake when riding in a car or bus,
ask the driver to pullover and stop. Stay inside the
vehicle.
As soon as you can
 Put out all the domestic fires and turn off heaters.
 Turn off electricity, gas and water, if the house is
damaged.
 Leave the house if a fire starts that cannot be put out at
once.
 Move to the nearest shelter or evacuate the area if this
is ordered by the appropriate government agency.
Fire
As long as fire is under our control, it serves a lot of useful
purposes for us, but, once it goes out of our control, it can
create a lot of destruction.
What to do in case of a fire
 Immediately pull the nearest fire alarm pull station as
you exit the building.
 When evacuating the building, be sure to feel doors for
heat before opening them to be sure there is no fire
danger on the other side.
 If there is smoke in the air, stay low to the ground,
especially your head, to reduce inhalation exposure.
Do’s
 Use I.S.I. Certified appliances.
 Use good quality fuses of correct rating, miniature
circuit breakers and earth leakage circuit breakers.
 Switch off the electric supply of the fire affected areas.
 Replace broken plugs and switches.
 Switch off the ‘Main’ switch when leaving home for a
long duration.
  Elder’s supervision is a must when children play with
firecrackers.
 It is safe to play firecrackers in open grounds and open
places.
Don’ts
 Don’t use substandard fixtures, appliances.
 Never have temporary or naked joints on wiring.
 Don’t lay wires under carpet, mats or doorways. They
get crushed, resulting in short circuiting.
Role of government in disaster management
The Central Government supplements the efforts of the State
Government by providing financial and logistic support.
The Ministry of Home Affairs is the Nodal Ministry at the
Centre for coordinating disaster management activities for all
natural hazards. National Disaster Management Authority is
the apex body which lays down the policies, plans and
guidelines for Disaster Management to ensure timely and
effective response to disaster.
The district administration is the focal point for
implementation of all governmental plans and activities. The
actual day-to-day function of administering relief is the
responsibility of the District Magistrate/ District Collector/
Deputy Commissioner who exercises coordinating and
supervising powers over all the departments at the district
level. District Disaster Management Committee involves
people from various blocks and villages.

CASE STUDY -1
Floods in Assam and Bihar
As like as the other calamities, flood is the most devastating
natural calamity that effects Assam and Bihar every year.
Barak and Brahmaputra are important rivers of Assam. Kosi
one of the largest tributary of the river Ganga is known as
‘Sorrow of Bihar’ as it has caused widespread human
suffering in the past due to flooding and very frequent
changes in course.
 The river of Bihar and Assam carry high discharge and
very high sediment load and drops it in the plains. The
silt deposits raises the river beds causing widespread
floods.
 A majority of the rainfall in this region is concentrated in
the 3 months of monsoon during which the flow of
rivers increases.
  Over the years destruction of wetlands and filling up of
the natural catchment areas, rapidly increasing
population, rising urbanization and faulty planning
without taking into consideration the natural contours
of water flow are the major factors responsible for
floods.
Effects of flood
The effects of flood are diverse and manifold which effects
the land, roads, and other means of communication, water,
forests, wildlife, beels, agriculture livestock and all these
leading to diverse effects on biodiversity, ecology and
environment.
 Soil erosion and degradation of land and water leads to
damage of the production base, thus adversely affecting
the sustainable agriculture as well as development.
 Floods also leads to the damage of irrigation channels.
The irrigation channels in the flood prone areas either
damaged or covered with soil.
 Large scale damages are seen on the live-stock and
population. Heavy floods wash away and kill the live-
stocks such as domestic and wild animals. People are
also affected by floods in various ways such as washed
way or attacked by diseases after flood.
 Every year, Brahmaputra floods the national park, thus
forcing animals to encroach into human settlements.
 This leads to man-animal conflict, making animals
vulnerable to poaching and road accidents.
CASE STUDY-2
Earthquake in Nepal (2015)
Earthquakes constitute one of the most terrible natural
hazards which often turn into disaster causing extensive
devastation and loss of human lives and their properties.
Earthquake of Nepal and India along the Himalayan belt
were caused mainly due to collision of Indian plate and
Eurasian plate.
 The earthquake resulted in a significant loss of standing
crops : wheat, barley and potato (close to harvest in
higher altitude areas) and maize (newly planted in lower
altitude areas).
 Earthquake also damaged additional food storage
facilities reducing already limited stocks. Malnutrition
rates in certain areas of Nepal are among the highest in
the world.
 Water supplies were severely affected increasing public
health risks including the spread of WASH related
disease.
 Key infrastructure – including schools, health facilities,
access roads, temples and heritage sites – were
damaged or destroyed.
  Over 1,000 health facilities were destroyed or severely
damaged including primary health care centres, village
health posts and birthing centres.
CASE STUDY-3
Oil Spill in USA
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum
hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas,
due to human activity.
Oil spill occurs when liquid petroleum is released into
water by vehicles, pipelines or oil tankers. Among these the
accidents and grounding of oil tankers are the chief reasons
for oil spill.
When oil spills and mixes with water it can contaminate
drinking water, kill fish and poison wildlife. Just one quart of
oil may pollute up to 150,000 gallons of water. Oil is harmful
to shellfish, finfish, marine mammals and waterfowl who live
near the spill.
Oil floating on the water contaminate plankton (very
small, swimming or floating plants and animals). When small
fish eat these plankton, they also consume the oil.
When oil gets on a bird’s feathers, the feathers lose
their insulation capability and the bird can’t adjust its body
temperature and dies. Oil may obstruct the germination and
growth of marine plants.
 Oil spills are ugly and are expensive to clean up. In
addition, damage to fisheries places a hardship on those who
make their living by fishing.
Less oil is used when people conserve energy by driving
smaller cars, using public transportation or alternatively-
fuelled vehicles or other ways of travel, like walking and
bicycling.
If everyone used less oil, fewer tankers would sail the
seas. This could reduce the risk of oil spills.

WORKSHEET-1

Q.1 Match the following:

Column A Column B
1.NDMA (a) Bihar
2. Deputy Commissioner (b) Brahmaputra
3. Kosi (c) Oil spill
4. Assam (d) Implementation of
government plans
5. Alaska (e) Apex body for
Disaster Manage-
ment in India
Q.2 Fill in the blanks
1. ________ is the apex body which lays down the policies,
plans and guidelines for Disaster Management in India.
2. ______ and _______ are man-made disasters.
3. If you feel the earthquake while driving you should ______
4. ___________ and __________ play a major role during any
kind of disaster.
5. An __________ is the release of a liquid petroleum
hydrocarbon into the environment.

ANWERS OF WORKSHEET-1

Q.1 Match the following

1. e
2. d
3. a
4. b
5. c
Q.2 Fill in the blanks
1. NDMA
2. Wars, riots
3. pullover and stop and stay inside the vehicle
4. Paramilitary force, civil
5. oil spill

SHORT AND LONG QUESTION ANSWERS

A. Answer the following questions briefly:

Q.1. Define disaster.

Ans: A disaster is a sudden, calamitous event that seriously
disrupts the functioning of a community or society and
causes human, material and economic or environmental
losses.
Q.2. What are two major types of disasters?
Ans: Natural and man-made disasters.
Q.3. What are natural disasters?
Ans: Natural disasters are the disasters which are caused by
the forces of nature and are beyond the control of human
beings.
Q.4. What are man-made disasters?
Ans: Man-made disasters are those for which human beings
themselves are responsible.
Q.5. Define disaster management
Ans: Disaster management is a planned steps taken to
minimize the effects of a disaster.
Q.6. What is flood?
Ans: A flood is an abnormal rise of river or any water body
due to heavy rainfall, tsunami, cyclone etc.
Q.7. Define earthquake
Ans: It is the trembling or sudden shaking of ground that
happens when rock masses on the earth’s surface are
abruptly displaced.
Q.8. Name the ministry which coordinates disaster
management activities in India.
Ans: Ministry of Home Affairs.
Q.9. Name the important rivers of Assam.
Ans: (i) Brahmaputra (ii) Barak
Q.10. Which river is known as ‘Sorrow of Bihar’?
Ans: Kosi
Q.11. What was the cause of Nepal’s earthquake of 2015?
Ans: Earthquake of Nepal and India along the Himalayan belt
were caused mainly due to collision of Indian plate and
Eurasian plate.
Q.12. What is an oil spill?
Ans: An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum
hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas,
due to human activity.
Q.13. Define planktons
Ans: Planktons are very small, swimming or floating plants
and animals in water.
Q.14. Analyse the impact of oil spill on birds.
Ans: When oil gets on a bird’s feathers, the feathers lose
their insulation capability and the bird can’t adjust its body
temperature and dies.
Q.15. State any two ways through which you can help to
stop oil spill.
Ans: (i) Less oil is used when people conserve energy by
driving smaller cars, using public transportation or
alternatively-fuelled vehicles or other ways of travel, like
walking and bicycling.
(ii) If everyone used less oil, fewer tankers would sail the
seas. This could reduce the risk of oil spills.

B. Answer the following questions in detail:

Q.1. Distinguish between man-made and nature disaster.
Ans:
NATURAL DISASTERS
(i) Natural disasters are
the disasters which are
caused by the forces of
nature and are beyond
the control of human
beings.
(ii) Earthquakes, floods,
landslides, volcanic
eruptions, etc. are
natural disasters.
MANMADE DISASTERS
(i) Man-made disasters
are those for which hum-
an beings themselves
are responsible.
(ii) Wars, riots, nuclear
explosions, industrial
accidents, etc. are some
the man-made disasters.

Q.2. Analyse the need for disaster management.

Ans: (i) Disaster management aims to reduce, or avoid the
potential losses from hazards, assure prompt and
appropriate assistance to victims of disaster, and achieve
rapid and effective recovery.
(ii) Disaster management is an important component of all
the communities. History has shown us that where
communities have been prepared to face disasters, lesser
lives have been lost, less significant damage to the
environment has occurred, and property has been better
conserved.
Q.3. Explain the four phases of disaster management.
Ans: Four phases of disaster management are:
(i) Migration: Its aim is to minimise the effects of disaster
through building codes and zoning; vulnerability analyses;
public education.
(ii) Preparedness: It focuses on understanding how a disaster
might impact the community and how education, outreach
and training can build capacity to respond to and recover
from a disaster.
(iii) Response: The aim of emergency response is to provide
immediate assistance to maintain life, improve health and
support the morale of the affected population. Search and
rescue; emergency relief are important components of
response.
(iv) Recovery: It is fourth phase of disaster management. It
includes actions taken to return to a normal or an even safer
situation following an emergency. Getting financial
assistance, temporary housing, medical care are important
components of recovery phase.
Q.4. Suggest any four ways to minimize the loss occurring
due to floods.
Ans: (i) Avoid building in a floodplain.
(ii) Construct barriers to stop floodwater from entering
your home.
(iii) If a flood is likely in your area, listen to the radio or
television for information.
(iv) Know the difference between a flood watch and
flood warning. A watch means flooding is possible. A
warning means flooding is occurring or will occur soon.
Q.5. State any four action which you will take immediately
after an earthquake.
Ans: (i) Put out all the domestic fires and turn off heaters.
(ii) Turn off electricity, gas and water, if the house is
damaged.
(iii) Leave the house if a fire starts that cannot be put
out at once.
(iv) Move to the nearest shelter or evacuate the area if
this is ordered by the appropriate government agency.
Q.6. Mention some do’s and don’ts to avoid fire accidents.
Ans: Do’s
 Use I.S.I. Certified appliances.
 Switch off the electric supply of the fire affected areas.
 It is safe to play firecrackers in open grounds and open
places.
Don’ts
 Don’t use substandard fixtures, appliances.
 Never have temporary or naked joints on wiring.
 Don’t lay wires under carpet, mats or doorways.

Q.7. Analyse the role of government in Disaster

Management.
Ans: (i) The Central Government supplements the efforts of
the State Government by providing financial and logistic
support.
(ii) The Ministry of Home Affairs is the Nodal Ministry at the
Centre for coordinating disaster management activities for all
natural hazards. National Disaster Management Authority is
the apex body which lays down the policies, plans and
guidelines for Disaster Management to ensure timely and
effective response to disaster.
(iii) The actual day-to-day function of administering relief is
the responsibility of the District Magistrate/ District
Collector/ Deputy Commissioner who exercises coordinating
and supervising powers over all the departments at the
district level.
Q.8. “The effects of floods are diverse and manifolds”.
Explain the statement by taking examples from Assam and
Bihar.
Ans:
(i) Soil erosion and degradation of land and water leads
to damage of the production base, thus adversely
affecting the sustainable agriculture as well as
development.
(ii) Floods also leads to the damage of irrigation
channels. The irrigation channels in the flood prone
areas either damaged or covered with soil.
(iii) Large scale damages are seen on the live-stock and
population. Heavy floods wash away and kill the live-
stocks such as domestic and wild animals
(iv) Every year, Brahmaputra floods the national park,
thus forcing animals to encroach into human
settlements. This leads to man-animal conflict, making
animals vulnerable to poaching and road accidents.
Q.9. “Earthquakes constitute one of the most terrible
natural hazards which often turn into disaster causing
extensive devastation and loss of human lives and their
properties.” Explain the statement by taking examples from
Nepal.
Ans:
 The earthquake resulted in a significant loss of standing
crops : wheat, barley and potato (close to harvest in
higher altitude areas) and maize (newly planted in lower
altitude areas).
 Earthquake also damaged additional food storage
facilities reducing already limited stocks. Malnutrition
rates in certain areas of Nepal are among the highest in
the world.
 Water supplies were severely affected increasing public
health risks including the spread of WASH related
disease.
 Key infrastructure – including schools, health facilities,
access roads, temples and heritage sites – were
damaged or destroyed.
 Over 1,000 health facilities were destroyed or severely
damaged including primary health care centres, village
health posts and birthing centres.
Q.10. Analyse the impacts of oil spills.
Ans:
(i) When oil spills and mixes with water it can
contaminate drinking water, kill fish and poison
wildlife
(ii) Oil is harmful to shellfish, finfish, marine mammals
and waterfowl who live near the spill.
(iii) Oil floating on the water contaminate plankton
(very small, swimming or floating plants and
animals). When small fish eat these plankton, they
also consume the oil.
(iv) When oil gets on a bird’s feathers, the feathers lose
their insulation capability and the bird can’t adjust
its body temperature and dies