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MEDIA
 NATURAL DISASTERS
ERUPTIONS TSUNAMI
FLOOD TWISTER

EARTHQUAKE COLLAPSE

TROPICAL STORM
Natural disasters and the human factor

Sea level rise and deforestation

According to an editorial in Science magazine, “sea level rose between 10 and 20 centimeters during the last
century, and it doesn't seem like it will stop.” How does global warming influence this phenomenon? The
researchers point to two possible mechanisms. One would be through the melting of polar caps and glaciers,
with the consequent increase in ocean volume. And the other, through the thermal expansion of liquids: when
the oceans warm, their volume increases.

The tiny Tuvalu islands in the Pacific are likely already suffering the consequences of rising sea levels.
Smithsonian magazine states that, according to data obtained from Funafuti Atoll, sea level has risen “an annual
average of 5.6 millimeters [0.22 inches] over the past decade.”

In many places in the world, population growth leads to more urbanization, a greater number of marginal towns
and, therefore, greater environmental degradation. These factors can increase the severity of natural disasters.

SOIL AND WATER POLLUTION. When the ground shakes

The Earth's crust is made up of plates of various sizes that move relative to each other. In fact, there is so much
movement in the crust that there may be several million tremors a year. Many of them, of course, go unnoticed.

It is said that 90% of earthquakes are located on faults near the edges of the plates. Less common, but
sometimes very destructive, are earthquakes that occur inside the plates. According to calculations, the deadliest
on record was the one that shook three provinces of China in 1556. It is believed that 830,000 people died.

Earthquakes can also have lethal side effects. For example, on November 1, 1755, an earthquake devastated the
Portuguese city of Lisbon, which had 275,000 inhabitants. But the misfortune did not end there. The earthquake
caused fires, as well as tsunamis up to 15 meters [50 feet] high, which rushed in from the Atlantic Ocean. In
total, the number of deaths in the city exceeded 60,000.

DEFORESTATION

Deforesting is stripping land of forest plants. Forests perform valuable functions in nature and losing them is
very harmful to the environment and also contributes to climate change, since trees sequester carbon as they
grow. Only in some very specific cases can deforestation be beneficial for the planet.

Deforestation can occur due to natural causes or due to human activities. A fire, without going any further, that
produces deforestation can have its origin in man or, at the very least, be caused by nature, such as, for example,
when lightning strikes a tree. The rate of deforestation is currently too high. Forests are ecosystems that recover
very slowly. Some varieties of flora species and, indirectly, the fauna that live there, are in danger if the forest
disappears. In EcologíaVerde, we show what the causes of deforestation are.

Forest fires, 90% caused by man

The loss of human life during a forest fire event is the most serious of forest fires, but the burning of forests,
jungles or grasslands also has serious and regrettable consequences in ecological, economic, social, political and
operational terms.
A fire of this type destroys large volumes of wood and damages the economy of the owners, annihilates the
habitat of wildlife, promotes soil erosion and consequently its loss, pollutes the air and contributes to climate
change by eliminating the plants that generate oxygen, affect the landscape and alter the hydrological regime, in
addition to increasing the greenhouse effect due to the emission of carbon and other harmful elements.

The dry materials that lie in the forest floors, added to heat and oxygen, produce the perfect formula to create the first
spark of what may be just a flare or become a devastating fire.

People doing actions

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