MODULE-II

TYPES OF DISASTER

Prepared by
Prof. Nagma Alam
 Types of Disaster
Natural Disaster
A natural disaster is a natural
process or phenomenon that may
cause loss of life, injury or other
health impacts, property damage,
loss of livelihoods and services,
social and economic disruption,
or environmental damage.
Man-made Disaster
Man-made disasters have an
element of human intent,
negligence or error involving a
failure of a man-made system.
 Natural Disasters

Geolo Hydrol Meteor

gical ogical ological
Earthquake Cyclone
Flood
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Drought
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Landslides Cloud Burst
Tsunami
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and ●
Storm
Avalanches Storm surge
Mud
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Global Warming
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Volcanic & Ozone
eruption Flood Depletion
 Man-made Disasters

Technological Industrial Warfare

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Transport ●
War
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Chemical
Failure ●
Terrorism
Spills
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Structural ●
Internal
●
Radioactive
Failure Conflict
Spills
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Fire ●
Civil Unrest
Natural Disaster-Earthquake
 Earthquake-Introduction
• An earthquake is trembling of the ground produced
by the sudden release of energy in the rock masses,
accumulated as locked-in stresses along a tectonic
fault plane, within the Earth’s crust or its upper mantle.

•Earthquake constitute one of the worst natural hazards

which often turn into disaster causing widespread
destruction and loss of human life.

•The effects of earthquake vary upon the magnitude

and intensity. Earthquake occurs every now and then
all around the world, except in some places where
earthquakes occur rarely.
 Earthquake-Introduction
If you throw stone in a pond of
still water, series of waves are
produced on the surface of
water, these waves spread out
in all directions from the point
where the stone strikes the
water.

Similarly, any sudden

disturbances in the earth’s
crust may produce vibration in
the crust which travel in all
direction from point of
disturbances.
 Terms Related to Earthquake
Focus or hypocenter
Hypocenter is the point on the
fault plane where slip
leading to occurrence of the
earthquake starts.

Epicentre
Epicentre is the point on the
Earth’s surface which is
vertically above the hypocenter
or focus of an earthquake,

Depth of an Earthquake
By depth of an earthquake we
mean the depth of focus or
hypocenter from the earthquake
epicentre.
 Causes of Earthquake
1. When two plates collide head-on, they push each
other up and form mountains. That’s how the
Himalayas and other great mountain ranges were
created.
 Causes of Earthquake
2. When one plate dives below another plate, it creates
a seduction zone as the diving plate is crushed and
melted. This process often creates volcanoes as the
magma rises up to the surface.
 Causes of Earthquake
3. When two plates slide past each other, they create a
transform fault, like the Sun Andreas fault.
 How to Measure Earthquake
A seismometer is the internal part of the seismograph, which may be a pendulum or a
mass mounted on a spring; however, it is often used synonymously with "seismograph".
Seismographs are instruments used to record the motion of the ground during an
earthquake.
A seismogram is the recording of the ground shaking at the specific location of the
instrument.
Seismic Waves
Body Waves
Surface Waves
Magnitude Group Magnitude
• Magnitude of an Great 8 and Higher
earthquake is the Major 7-7.9
measure of its size. Strong 6-6.9
• Richter Scale Moderate 5-5.9
measures the Light 4-4.9
magnitude of an Minor 3-3.9
earthquake. Very Minor <3.0
Intensity Intensity Damage
• Its intensity is the
measure of its I and II Unnoticeable to scarcely noticeable

observed severity III Partially observed

based on the IV Widely observed
observed effects such V People get scared and buildings
tremble
as damage to human
settlements and the VI Frightening
infrastructure. VII Frightening and damaging
• The Modified
VIII Destructive
Mercalli (MM) scale
is used to read IX Panic and widespread damage
earthquake intensity X General destruction
in terms of damage XI Catastrophe
levels.
XII Landscape change
 Earthquake-DOs
• If you are inside the house during an earthquake, immediately sit on the
floor.
• Try to sit under a strong table or furniture. Cover your head and face to
avoid fatal injury.
• Stay indoors till tremors are felt. Exit immediately after the shock stops.
• At night while you are lying on the bed, lie down, shrink and make a small
bundle of your body and cover the head with a pillow.
• If you get buried under debris during an earthquake, cover the mouth with
a handkerchief or cloth.
• In the above case, keep patting the pipe or wall to make your presence
known, so that the rescue team can find you and save you.
• If you don't have anything to defend, then keep shouting and don't give up.

 
 Earthquake-DONTs
• When outdoors, keep away from electric poles and tall buildings.
• While driving, stop immediately but do not get out of the car. Ensure your
car is not a bridge or flyover.
• If you get buried in debris during an earthquake, do not light a matchbox
for illumination. If gas is leaking somewhere, it can cause a fire and may
threaten your life.
• When at home, do not walk or run, find the right place and sit down.
• If you are in the house, go to a corner. This time stay away from glass,
windows, doors and walls as much as possible.
• Avoid using elevators and stairs during and in the immediate aftermath of
an earthquake.
• In an earthquake, if you get buried in the debris, do not move too much and
do not blow dust.

 
Natural Disaster-Landslides
Landslide-Introduction
Types of Landslide
Types of Landslide
Types of Landslide
Causes of Landslide
Causes of Landslide
Causes of Landslide
Indicators of Landslide
Natural Disaster-Avalanches
 Avalanches-Introduction
• Technically, an avalanche is any
amount of snow sliding down a
mountainside. It can be compared to a
landslide, only with snow instead of
earth. Another common term form
avalanche is “snow slide”. As an
avalanche becomes nearer to the
bottom of the slope, it gains speed and
power, this can cause even the smallest
of snow slides to be a major disaster.
• They form gravity current.
• They are mainly triggered by noise,
shouting, seismic activity, snow
mobiler.
 Avalanches-Occurrence
• Due to snow has different
layers having dissimilar
physical properties.
• Due to loose snow.
• Cohesive snow separates
from the surrounding snow
and slides out.
• Decrease in temperature
of top layer.
• Due to temperature
difference between upper
and lower layer.
• Due to the lose of grip.
Anatomy of Avalanches
 Causes of Avalanche

• Snowstorm and Wind Direction

• Heavy snowfall
• Human activity
• Vibration of movement
• Layers of snow
• Steep slopes
• Warm temperature
 Types of Avalanche

• Loose Snow Avalanches

• Slab Avalanches
• Powder Avalanches
• Wet Snow Avalanches
 Loose Snow Avalanche
• Loose-snow avalanches, also called
sluffs, are made up of surface and/or
near-surface snow that is not well-
bonded.
• They begin at a single point,
gathering more loosely-bonded snow
crystals from the surface, gradually
fanning out.
• After the fact, you can recognize
them by their "V" pattern, starting
from a point and spreading out
downhill.
• This type of avalanche does not
usually do any major structural
damage, or bury people.
• This can be deadly if it carries them
into trees, over a cliff, or into
a terrain trap.
 Slab Avalanche
• A slab avalanche occurs when a
layer somewhere beneath the
surface layer fails, and the
cohesive layer(s) above it fracture
into a block (or blocks) and slide
downhill.
• A slab can propagate for 10 or
sometimes even 1000 of metres.
• Since slab avalanches are
typically larger than sluff
avalanches, they tend to be more
destructive and more likely to
bury a person.
• Slabs that form due to high wind
speeds in new snow are referred
to as wind slabs.
 Slab Avalanche
• Slabs generally fall into
two categories. 
• Hard slabs are a result
of high density, well-
bonded snow (sometimes
formed by high winds).
They remain hard and
cohesive blocks as they
slide. 
• Soft slabs are comprised
of lower-density snow
that has more bonding
than newly-fallen, non-
wind affected snow.
 Powder Avalanche
• Powder avalanches arise
mostly from slab
avalanches.
• A powder cloud forms in
the presence of a large
altitude difference when a
sufficient quantity of
snow becomes suspended
in the air.
• Powder avalanches can
reach a speed of 300 km/h
and cause tremendous
damage.
 Wet Avalanche
• Wet snow avalanches can consist of
a slab or loose snow.
• They frequently release naturally,
especially in the event of rain or after
daytime warming, and occur in
springtime in particular.
• The main cause of wet snow
avalanches is the presence of liquid
water in the snowpack, which
significantly weakens bonding at layer
boundaries.
• Water accumulates and gives rise to
instability in particular where large
differences in grain size exist between
layers.
• Regions where the bonding of the
snowpack is poor are especially prone
to wet snow avalanches.
Natural Disaster- Volcanic Eruption
 Introduction
• A volcano is a mountain where lava (hot, liquid rock) comes
from a magma chamber under the ground.
• Most volcanoes have a volcanic crater at the top. When a
volcano is active, materials come out of it.
• The materials include lava, steam, gaseous sulphur compounds,
ash and broken rock pieces.
• Eruptions occur when underground pressure is released when
blocks of the earth’s crust shift.
• Worldwide, 50 to 60 volcanoes erupt each year.
 Introduction
• First, Volcanic eruption itself
may cause harm following the
explosion of the volcano or the
fall of rock.
• Second, lava may be produced
which destroys many buildings
and plants it encounters.
• Third, volcanic ash generally
meaning the cooled ash - may
form a cloud, and settle thickly
in nearby locations. When
mixed with water this forms a
concrete-like material. In
sufficient quantity ash may
cause roofs to collapse under its
weight but even small quantities
will harm humans if inhaled.
 Reasons of Volcanic Eruption
Due To Density-difference In Magma
 Reasons of Volcanic Eruption
Pressure of Released Gases
 Reasons of Volcanic Eruption

Injection Of New Magma

 Types of Volcanic Eruption

1. Icelandic
2. Hawaiian
3. Strombolian
4. Vulcanian
5. Pelean
6. Plinian
 Types of Volcanic Eruption

The Icelandic type is characterized by effusions of molten

basaltic lava that flow from long, parallel fissures. Such
outpourings often build lava plateaus.
 Types of Volcanic Eruption

The Hawaiian type is similar to the Icelandic variety. In this case,

however, fluid lava flows from a volcano’s summit and
radial fissures to form volcanoes, which are quite large and have
gentle slopes.
 Types of Volcanic Eruption

Strombolian eruptions involve moderate bursts of expanding

gases that eject clots of incandescent lava in cyclical or nearly
continuous small eruptions. Because of such small frequent
outbursts, Stromboli volcano, located on Stromboli Island off the
northeast coast of Italy, has been called the “lighthouse of the
Mediterranean.”
 Types of Volcanic Eruption

The Vulcanian type, named for Vulcano Island near Stromboli,

generally involves moderate explosions of gas with volcanic ash.
This mixture forms dark, turbulent eruption clouds that rapidly
expand in convoluted shapes.
 Types of Volcanic Eruption

Pelean eruption is associated with explosive outbursts that generate

pyroclastic flows, dense mixtures of hot volcanic fragments and gas.
Pelean eruptions are named for the destructive eruption of Mount
Pelée on the Caribbean island in 1902. The fluidized slurries
produced by these eruptions are heavier than air but are of low
viscosity and pour down valleys and slopes at great velocities. As a
result, they are extremely destructive.
 Types of Volcanic Eruption

Plinian eruption. The largest and most violent of all explosive

eruptions, Plinian eruptions send columns of pulverized rock, ash,
and gases that rise miles into the atmosphere in a matter of
minutes. The eruption columns are usually shaped like a
mushroom (similar to a nuclear explosion) or an Italian pine tree;
Pliny the Younger, a Roman historian, made the comparison while
viewing the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and Plinian
eruptions are named for him.