Global Carnage from Natural Disasters

Abstract

This research paper discusses natural disasters in general and specifically its human effects and economic impacts globally. It analyses the various types of natural disasters and the associated impacts both in human lives and financial costs. Data of nature and impacts of these natural disasters are presented especially on the recent devastating disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The research method adopted is an in depth literature review from credible sources regarding the subject. 

Introduction

A natural disaster can be defined as an event that adversely impacts the inhabitants of the earth, and has occurred purely through the natural processes of the planet (Blaikie et al., 214). Natural disasters are normally beyond the control of mankind and even the best technology can only detect, measure, and anticipate them. There are several major classifications of natural disasters depending on the school of thought studying the topic (Blaikie et al., 214). The first classification, mainly favored by purveys of the climate change theory divides natural disasters into two major categories. These are geophysical disasters and climate-related disasters. Geophysical disasters are disasters whose activities are independent of weather and/or climatic conditions. These include earthquakes, volcanic eruption, falling rocks, landslides and avalanches in frozen areas (Blaikie et al., 214). Climate related disasters on the other hand are weather dependent and include flooding, storms, cyclones, droughts, and wild fires. All countries face natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes. These events cause economic hardships, displacements and also kill many people

A more scientific classification of natural disasters has 6 general classes. The first classification is geological disasters, which involve the movement of solid earth such as earthquakes while the second class is the hydrological disasters, which involve mass movement of water such as floods and Tsunamis (Blaikie et al., 214). Meteorological disasters are those directly relatable to weather such as droughts and famine. Wildfires have their own classification with the fifth classification being health related natural disasters such as epidemics. The final classification, which is quite rare, is the space disasters such as solar flares (Blaikie et al., 214).

Geological disasters are further divided into four major categories. The first is the avalanche and landslides (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2016). An avalanche is said to have taken place when there is a rapid flow of snow down a steep surface such as a mountain or a steep hill. The piling of snow is a mechanical process but in some instances, too much snow will be packed in a place for the structure to hold (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2016). A landslide is quite similar to an avalanche except for the fact that it is solid earth instead of snow that moves. A landslide also called landslip happens when a huge chunk of solid earth material breaks off and falls down a precipice. 

Earthquakes are seismic waves created by a sudden release of energy from the earth’s crust. When this happens, the resultant effects manifest in the surface of the earth through tangible vibrations, shaking and in extreme circumstances the displacement of a part of the earth’s surface (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2016). If the epicenter of a major earthquake is in the sea, it will result in a tsunami, but if it is under the solid earth, it may result to a volcano. Therefore, a major earthquake may result in major damage to infrastructure, collapse of buildings, breakage of gas pipes leading to fires and explosions (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2016). 

Sinkholes are rare but high impact. They happen when soil erosion causes the lower parts of the earth to be too weak to support the surface or artificial structure built therein (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2016). This will cause the surface and whatever is on it to sink leaving a gaping hole. Lastly, volcanic eruptions happen when hot lava from deep within the earth’s crust finds its way to the surface and erupts. If this happens without warning, the pyroclastic flow will cause the death of almost everyone on its path. Forceful eruptions can also throw earth and debris so vast that it can bury an entire town. In 1953, 23,000 people perished when the town of Armero was buried by a volcanic triggered mudslide (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2016). 

Among hydrological disasters, the most common form is flooding. Flooding happens when land that is not usually under water gets covered by water (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2016). Floods happen when rivers overflow their banks or when too much rainfall creates a high and fast runoff mainly the lower lands that are proximate to hilly areas. A rare form of hydrological disaster is the limnic eruption which refers to a sudden release of carbon dioxide, mainly through eruptions under deep water lake. An example happened in 1986 in Cameroon’s lake Nyos killing over 1700 people and thousands of animals (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2016). 

Meteorological disasters are the most common in the USA more so in the recent times and mostly in the Southern parts of the nation but sometimes also in the Eastern coast (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2016). The most common among this belongs to the classification of cyclonic storms. In the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean more so in the Northeast, cyclones are known as hurricanes (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2016). Hurricane Bhola of 1970 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are among the most deadly recorded in recent times. Droughts are another common meteorological disaster and take place when there are no rains leading to the drying of vegetation. This is mainly followed by famines, which lead to deaths especially in developing countries. In some instances, great continuous hot temperature may lead to heat waves. Wild fires may result from heat waves and also droughts. They are very common in the USA more so towards the West Coast. Another area in the world prone to wildfires is Australia (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2016). 

Whereas natural disasters are a common occurrence resulting in losses of millions of dollars annually, perhaps the biggest mark of a natural disaster is the human carnage (Hewitt, 2014). Based on this premise, one disaster in the last decade resulted in approximately 160,000 fatalities. This is the infamous Haiti Earthquake that occurred on the 12th day of January, 2010. Over and above the fatalities, over three million people were displaced and the most of the basic infrastructure in the third world country destroyed (Mijalković & Cvetković, 2013. On a more positive note however, the disaster aforesaid is also famous for resulting in one of the most powerful global charity fundraising events in recent history. 

Effects of natural disasters

Whereas natural disasters can happen anywhere, there are certain areas that are prone to some sorts of disasters more than others (Hewitt, 2014). A good example is the Eastern Seaboard on the United States that stretches up to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi Estuary (Hewitt, 2014). These areas are extremely prone to meteorological disasters such as hurricanes, a good example being the extremely destructive Hurricane Katrina. Areas within the tropics, especially in tropical Africa are also prone to meteorological disasters such as droughts that create famines (Hewitt, 2014). Atlantic Islands on the other hand, especially those close to Central America are prone to Earthquakes with the Pacific Islands such as Vanuatu as well as the Pacific and Indian Ocean coasts in Asia being prone to Tsunamis (Hewitt, 2014). 

There are three primary effects of natural disaster. The first is the immediate and direct effect on the health of the populace (Blaikie et al, 214). The second effect is the immediate but indirect impacts on wellbeing of the populace, and lastly is the indirect and long term effect to the macro and micro economy of the populace (Cavallo et al., 2013). The effect on health varies from one type of disaster to another. A common effect however is fatality, which includes blunt trauma, drowning, being buried alive and asphyxiating, starvation, and illness through epidemics (Blaikie et al., 214). Fatalities affect the living more than the dead with deep psychological scaring on the loved ones (Fergusson, 2014). It is devastating for a hapless mother for instance, to watch a child slowly succumb to hunger due to drought that caused famine. Those who survive the aforesaid consequences may be sick, wounded and/or maimed or psychologically affected. 

A common psychological effect of natural disasters is the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Bromet et al., 2016). This is a condition, classified by the American Psychology Association as a mental health disorder and happens when an individual is exposed to or witnesses a violent or terrifying event. Natural disasters are known to result in extremely terrifying events such as falling buildings, fires, motor vehicle and other transport related accidents among others (Bromet et al., 2016). Many survivors of such events will suffer from PTSD and in some instances become dysfunctional and even disabled. PTSD affects the individual and the loved ones who have to deal with the individual. It also results in the inability to work, which has economic ramification on the nation. Further, treatment and reversal of damage is expensive which creates an economic burden for the nation (Bromet et al., 2016). 

The effect on the wellbeing of the populace includes displacement due to homes being destroyed and residential areas becoming uninhabitable (Blaikie et al., 214). This is also evident in form of destruction of economic amenities such as arable land, death of farm animals, and businesses. From an economic perspective, natural disasters cause destruction of basic infrastructure such as roads, communication installations, schools and hospitals (Mijalković & Cvetković, 2013). These destructions divert government funds meant for development as government spends them in rebuilding infrastructure. In poorer countries, the government cannot handle this burden, and this makes them permanent economic burden to the populace through inter alia crime and drug abuse (Kruk & Aghabakhshi, 2015). 

Although natural disasters are generally beyond the control of mankind, they have developed ways and means of seeking to mitigate the damage the immediate and subsequent disasters occasion. The first approach towards this is creating a capacity to anticipate the disasters so as to place people in relative safety thus reducing human carnage. Further, this anticipation can also enable the reinforcement of basic infrastructure to mitigate damage when the natural disasters eventually strike (Mijalković & Cvetković, 2013. The second measure is to mitigate damage after the natural disaster has happened through rescue efforts, relief efforts and reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure (Mijalković & Cvetković, 2013. 

Research Questions

What is the total number of lives lost to natural disaster in the 12 months?

What is the total number of lives, lost to natural disaster in the 5 Years?

What is the total number of lives, lost to natural disaster in the decade? 

What are the economic effects of global natural disasters in the past 5 years?

What are the economic effects of global natural disasters in the past decade?

What are the main mitigating activities conducted by governments regarding natural disaster? 

Literature Review

Relevant contemporary bibliography is unanimous that albeit geophysical disasters have a higher impact, meteorological and climatological disasters are more frequent and cumulatively more disastrous. The most common forms of natural disasters currently are flooding, storms, and volcanic activity. Debate on whether human activity may be shaping the future of natural disasters in the world has created the philosophy behind the concept of climate change, formally referred to as global warming. 

The highest form of susceptibility to natural disasters emanates from the continued change in weather. Unfortunately, many of the nations that are experiencing climate change impacts make the least contribution towards air pollution; one of the major causes for climate change. This has moved international formal and informal regulators to convince the industrialized world to reduce production and emission of greenhouse gases, which is a major cause of climate change. The move has however, encountered two major barriers. First, there is as much data showing that greenhouse data emanates from industries and fossil fuels, and natural processes, such as degradation of manure produce more greenhouse gases than machines. Secondly, industrialized countries feel that the cost of reducing industrial greenhouse emissions is untenable. In the interim, floods continue wrecking havoc in third world countries and droughts continue ravaging tropical areas leading to continuous famine.

According to Burke, Hsiang and Miguel, (2015), climate change is no longer a simple humanitarian concern, but will become an actual economic concern in the near future. A research conducted by economic experts from the Stanford University shows indication that unless the current levels of fossil fuel use, greenhouse emissions, and climate change are mitigated, the entire world will suffer economically (Burke, Hsiang, & Miguel, 2015). Gross domestic products will begin to show significant adverse effects globally by 2030 and continue getting worse through to 2100. Economic opportunities will be the worst hit as they will begin to stunt, then plummet after 2050 (Burke, Hsiang, & Miguel, 2015). Whereas the economic effects may not be felt now, it is critical that immediate steps be taken to extenuate the negative effects of climate change. 

Geophysical natural disasters such as earthquakes affect areas like the isles around Indonesia, which lie along the meeting point of continental tectonic plates. These areas are always susceptible to sporadic earthquakes. In continental USA, the problem of tropical storms and hurricanes has been perennial in the East Coast and is set to continue for some time (Hewitt, 2014). However, the second major natural disaster, to wit wild fires, has continued to reduce in stature and damage and may be nearing control. With climate change however, the problem of avalanches and snow storms may get worse in the areas close to the north and south poles. This is a problem in the more populated areas around the North Pole including the Nordic region, Canada, Alaska, Iceland and Green land (Hewitt, 2014). As long as general temperatures continue to rise, this problem will continue exacerbating. 

In the 2015 alone, there were 346 reported natural disasters resulting in 22,773 fatalities and affecting 98 million people (UNDSR, 2015). Economic damage amounted to US$66.5 Billion (UNDSR, 2015). Within the last 5 years, the number of fatalities stands as 112,388 people while within the last ten years, the number stands at 848,863 fatalities (IFRC, 2014). The Haiti earthquake that occurred in 2010 had the highest fatalities at 304472 (IFRC, 2014). This is more than double the statistics of the last 5 years. A significant lesson derived from these statistics is that natural disasters do not have patterns. It is, therefore, critical to be prepared all the time as a massive disaster such as the 2004 tsunami, the worst disaster in recent history can recur. 

How natural disasters affect the economy of the affected nations

Natural disasters can create a mild, major or total economic impact for a nation. From a macroeconomic perspective, natural economics are maintained through a careful balancing act. There are critical expenditures by government whose absence will have a major ripple effect upon an economy in the present and future (Cavallo et al., 2013). In every annual budget, these expenditures are factored, but when a natural disaster occurs, the nation is forced to prioritize on reconstruction, relief, and medical attention for the affected people. This takes away monies from the economy with adverse effects. The second direct effect relates to damage to infrastructure (Mijalković & Cvetković, 2013. A fortnight disruption of electricity in an industrial town can negatively impact the economy of the town for years. A ruined road, destroyed communication cables are among other basic infrastructure that can negatively impact an economy (Mijalković & Cvetković, 2013. Infrastructure including roads, communication networks and other amnities have become a basic and paramount need to all world economies (Pescaroli & Alexander, 2016). A good network of infrastructure can mean the difference between life and death especially in the developing world. When infrastructure is destroyed by natural disaster, getting it back in working condition can be a major challenge (Pescaroli & Alexander, 2016). It would however, be much cheaper to make the infrastructure already available capable of withstanding the natural disasters in areas with high propensity (Pescaroli & Alexander, 2016). This would not only save on costs, but also avoid the economic disruptions occasioned when infrastructure completely fails. 

Economic and other effects of disasters can be prevented through preparedness. Education and communication have been found to be the most key preparatory measures in the mitigation of potential disasters (Kruk & Aghabakhshi, 2015). Education entails informing the populace in areas prone to disaster on what to do whenever there is a looming natural disaster and after it happens. Countries which lack resources to build dykes along large rivers can have its populace moved to higher grounds when rainfall is expected to cause flash floods. One the other hand, in places like the Florida in the US where hurricane paths can be forecasted with great accuracy, education regards safe and unsafe structures to move to during disasters. With regard to communication, the most important form of communication is advising the populace on what to do and advising first responders on where assistance is most urgently needed (Kruk & Aghabakhshi, 2015). 

Social media has been found to be an especially useful means of communication when mainstream media fails (Kruk & Aghabakhshi, 2015). According to Velve and Zlateva (2012), social media is a powerful tool which if properly harnessed and used can save many lives and exponentially extenuate damage during an event that a natural disaster occurs. In many cases, mainstream forms of communication including televisions and phone networks fail. However, as long as one is connected to the internet, they have access to social media. This enables continuous communication and also a flow of information to guide the affected people until rescuers arrive. Velve and Zlateva (2012) also propose social media for use in education in preparation for natural disasters in disaster prone areas. With a majority of the world’s population having access to social media through smart phones, tools such as Wikipedia and Facebook can be used to sensitize and educate the populace on what to do in the case of a crisis (Velve & Zlateva, 2012). From the Perspective of communication, social media has been used in the USA with great success during natural disaster such as Hurricane Mathew in 2016. 

One of the key developments currently in the world regards the issue of disaster preparedness. The Tsunami of 2004 that occasioned about a quarter billion fatalities marked the advent of preparedness. The over 30 feet high swept over people in their homes and wiped out entire villages awakening the world to the fact that measures had to be put in place. Soon after in 2005, Hurricane Katrina developed and moved along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico with the worst hit area being New Orleans in Louisiana. These two instances created the political will to invest in disaster preparedness, with the current leading country being the USA. USA has the technological capacity to accurately forecast the development of almost all meteorological disasters globally. This enables local authorities to give the necessary warning and evacuate people where necessary to avoid fatalities. Further, geophysical disasters such as undersea earthquakes that result in Tsunamis can be accurately focuses and the effect mitigated in time. 

Discussion

The articles by IFRC (2014) and UNDSR (2015) provide a good opportunity to juxtapose data for several years and compare the trends with regard to natural disaster and the associated impacts. Among the major trends available is that there are no patterns of fatalities occasioned by natural disaster more (IFRC, 2014). Indeed, the number of fatalities in 2008 and 2010 are both over ten times that of 2009 (UNDSR, 2015). This depicts an acute randomness. There is also a trend where disasters in developed countries cause a higher loss of money with a lower fatality while disasters in poorer nations cause a higher fatality case as opposed to an economic loss (IFRC, 2014). This can be attributed to high level of preparedness in developed countries.

Perhaps Haiti is the most susceptible country to natural disasters. The 2010 earthquake is perhaps one of the deadliest disasters in recent history and wiped out a substantial percentage of the population. In 2016, Hurricane Mathew again ravages the poor island nation around Les Anglais leading to about 3000 casualties and great damage to a budding infrastructure and economy. Continental USA is also extremely prone to hurricanes in the Eastern Seaboard and wildfires in the Western side. The Home Islands in Japan are also extremely prone to earthquakes and the resultant tsunamis. On the other hand, is almost continually ravaged by famine causing droughts with heart rending pictures of starving Ethiopian children being a common site on mainstream and social media. Finally, there is the Indonesian Island of Sumatra and the waters around it that is extremely prone to Tsunami causing earthquakes.

It can however, not be ignored that the line between natural disasters and manmade disasters is blurring (Seinfeld & Pandis, 2016). Many have argued that the world is much greater than the human population in it. This has, therefore, been used as an excuse to cover up human economic activities that increase greenhouse gases thus leading to global warming and climate change (Seinfeld & Pandis, 2016). This is an act of short sightedness. The use of fossil fuels instead of investing in cleaner sources of energy may seem to be economically viable for now but the end result in the long term will reverse any economic gains than the economic benefits of fossil fuels create (Seinfeld & Pandis, 2016). Indeed, the USA has already started feeling the blunt of adverse effects of climate change. The summer of 2016 had one of the strongest forest fires in recent history with tropical storm in the Southern parts of the nation causing many fatal incidents. Whereas natural disasters cannot be helped as clearly shown by the literature review above, it is important for humans to take steps to avoid exacerbating the situation through environmental degradation. 

Human carnage from natural disasters both recent and in the last decade is extremely disturbing. The 11th day of September, 2001 terrorist attack in the US changed the world, yet its human carnage shrinks when compared to the over a million people who have perished in natural disasters since that date (IFRC, 2014). Further a majority of these fatalities come from poor countries such as Haiti, African Nations and poor Indian Ocean Islands. Natural disasters affect the economies of large nations but destroy that of poorer nations. Perhaps it is time for wealthier nations to lend a hand to poorer nations when disaster strikes. 

This was a research regarding the issue of natural disasters and how it affects the nations of the world. The scope of the research was therefore global. Among the issues targeted were human carnage and economic effects of natural disasters. The main course of research was an in depth literature review on the subject and an analysis of the information so collected. Among the secondary issues researched on was the impact of human input on natural disasters as encompassed in the concept of climate change, occasioned by global warming, which is a consequence of release of greenhouse gases. 

Most of the existing information about natural disasters is specific to either a particular nation or a particular nature of disaster. Powerful nations like the USA have conducted a lot of research about natural disasters affecting the US and nations within her proximity. Further, the powerful climate change movement has also generated massive research on Meteorological and Climatological disasters. With this being an all-inclusive research, it has provided ground for assessing correlations between data collected by the powerful forces alongside the rest of the non-factored natural disasters such as non-weather related disasters in third world countries. However, overreliance of secondary sources is a major impediment to the veracity of this research. All data relied upon was however from credible sources. 

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