INTRODUCTION

The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things

occurring naturallyon Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species.[1] The concept of the natural environment can be distinguished by components:

Complete ecological units that function as natural systems without massive humaninterventio n, including all vegetation, microorganisms, soil, rocks, atmosphere, andnatural

phenomena that occur within their boundaries

Universal natural resources and physical phenomena that lack clear-cut boundaries, such as air, water, and climate, as well as energy, radiation, electric charge, and magnetism, not originating from human activity

The natural environment is contrasted with the built environment, which comprises the areas and components that are strongly influenced by humans. A geographical area is regarded as a natural environment. It is difficult to find absolutely natural environments, and it is common that the naturalness varies in a continuum, from ideally 100% natural in one extreme to 0% natural in the other. More precisely, we can consider the different aspects or components of an environment, and see that their degree of naturalness is not uniform. If, for instance, we take an agricultural field, and consider the mineralogic composition and the structure of its soil, we will find that whereas the first is quite similar to that of an undisturbed forest soil, the structure is quite different. Natural environment is often used as a synonym for habitat. For instance, when we say that the natural environment of giraffes is the savanna.

COMPOSITION The Earth's layered structure. (1) inner core; (2) outer core; (3) lower mantle; (4) upper mantle; (5) lithosphere; (6) crust

A volcanic fissure and lava channel. Main article: Earth science Earth science generally recognizes 4 spheres, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere as correspondent to rocks,water, air, and life. Some scientists include, as part of the spheres of the Earth, the cryosphere(corresponding to ice) as a distinct portion of the hydrosphere, as well as the pedosphere(corresponding to soil) as an active and intermixed sphere. Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. There are four

major disciplines in earth sciences, namely geography, geology, geophysics andgeodesy. These major disciplines use physics, chemistry, biology, chronology andmathematics to build a

qualitative and quantitative understanding of the principal areas orspheres of the Earth. WATER ON EARTH

Coral reefs have significant marinebiodiversity. OCEANS Main article: Ocean An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface (an area of some 362 million square kilometers) is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas. More than half of this area is over 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) deep. Average oceanic salinity is around 35 parts per thousand (ppt) (3.5%), and nearly all seawater has a salinity in the range of 30 to 38 ppt. Though generally recognized as several 'separate' oceans, these waters comprise one global, interconnected body of salt water often referred to as the World Ocean or global ocean. This concept of a global ocean as a continuous body of water with relatively free interchange among its parts is of fundamental importance

to oceanography. The major oceanic divisions are defined in part by the continents, various archipelagos, and other criteria: these divisions are (in descending order of size) the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. RIVERS

The Columbia River, along the border of the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington.

A rocky stream in the U.S. state ofHawaii A river is a natural watercourse, usuallyfreshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a seaor another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be termed by several other names, including stream, creek and brook. In theUnited States a river is generally classified as a watercourse more than 60 feet (18 metres) wide. The water in a river is usually in a channel, made up of a stream bed between banks. In larger rivers there is also a wider floodplain shaped by waters over-topping the channel. Flood plains may be very wide in relation to the size of the river channel. Rivers are a part of the hydrological cycle. Water within a river is generally collected from precipitation through surface runoff, groundwater recharge, springs, and the release of water stored in glaciers and snowpacks. STREAMS Main article: Stream A stream is a flowing body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Streams play an important corridor role in connecting fragmented habitats and thus in conserving biodiversity. The study of streams and waterways in general is known as surfacehydrology. Types of streams include creeks, tributaries, which do not reach an ocean and connect with another stream or river,brooks, which are typically small streams and sometimes sourced from a spring or seep and tidal inlets.

LAKES

The Lcar Lake is a lake of glacial origin in the province of Neuqun, Argentina.

A swamp area in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA. Main article: Lake A lake (from Latin lacus) is a terrain feature, a body of water that is localized to the bottom ofbasin. A body of water is considered a lake when it is inland, is not part of an ocean, is larger and deeper than a pond, and is fed by a river. Natural lakes on Earth are generally found inmountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing or recent glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers. In some parts of the world, there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them.

INTRODUCTION OF NATURAL DISASTER

A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth; examples include floods, volcanic eruptions,earthquakes, tsunamis, and other geologic processes. A natural disaster can cause loss of life or property damage, and typically leaves some economic damage in its wake, the severity of which depends on the affected population's resilience, or ability to recover. An adverse event will not rise to the level of a disaster if it occurs in an area without vulnerable population. In a vulnerable area, however, such as San Francisco, an earthquake can have disastrous consequences and leave lasting damage, requiring years to repair. In 2012, there were 905 natural catastrophes worldwide, 93% of which were weather-related disasters. Overall costs were US$170 billion and insured losses $70 billion. 2012 was a moderate year. 45% were meteorological (storms), 36% were hydrological (floods),12% were climatological (heat waves, cold waves, droughts, wildfires) and 7 % were geophysical events (earthquakes and volcanic eruptions). Between 1980 and 2011 geophysical events accounted for 14% of all natural catastrophes.

TYPES OF DISASTERS
Avalanches

A powder snow avalanche During World War I, an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 soldiers died as a result of avalanches during the mountain campaign in the Alps at the Austrian-Italian front, many of which were caused by artillery fire. Earthquakes

The 1693 Sicily earthquake An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that createsseismic waves. At the Earth's surface, earthquakes manifest themselves by vibration, shaking and sometimes displacement of the ground. The vibrations may vary in magnitude. Earthquakes are caused mostly by slippage within geological faults, but also by other events such as volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear tests. The underground point of origin of the earthquake is called the focus. The point directly above the focus on the surface is called

the epicenter. Earthquakes by themselves rarely kill people or wildlife. It is usually the secondary events that they trigger, such as building collapse, fires, tsunamis (seismic sea waves) and volcanoes, that are actually the human disaster. Many of these could possibly be avoided by better construction, safety systems, early warning and planning. Some of the most significant earthquakes in recent times include: Volcanic eruptions Main articles: List of largest volcanic eruptions and Types of volcanic eruptions

Artist's impression of the volcanic eruptions that formed the Deccan Traps in India. Volcanoes can cause widespread destruction and consequent disaster in several ways. The effects include the volcanic eruption itself that may cause harm following the explosion of the volcano or the fall of rock. Second, lava may be produced during the eruption of a volcano. As it leaves the volcano, the lava 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. Since the ash has the consistency of ground glass it causes abrasion damage to moving parts such as engines. The main killer of humans in the immediate surroundings of a volcanic eruption is the pyroclastic flows, which consist of a cloud of hot volcanic ash which builds up in the air above the volcano and rushes down the slopes when the eruption no longer supports the lifting of the gases. It is believed that Pompeii was destroyed by a pyroclastic flow. A lahar is a volcanic mudflow or landslide. The 1953Tangiwai disaster was caused by a lahar, as was the 1985 Armero tragedy in which the town of Armero was buried and an estimated 23,000 people were killed .

Hydrological disasters Main article: Hydrological disasters It is a violent, sudden and destructive change either in quality of earth's water or in distribution or movement of water on land below the surface or in atmosphere. Floods Main article: flood See also: List of Floods A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Flooding may result from the volume of water within a body of water, such as a river or lake, which overflows or breaks levees, with the result that some of the water escapes its usual boundaries. While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt, it is not a sinificant flood unless the water covers land used by man like a village, city or other inhabited area, roads, expanses of farmland, etc.

The Limpopo River, in southernMozambique, during the 2000 Mozambique flood Some of the most notable floods include:

The Johnstown Flood of 1889 where over 2200 people lost their lives when the South Fork Dam holding back Lake Conemaugh broke.

The Huang He (Yellow River) in China floods particularly often. The Great Flood of 1931caused between 800,000 and 4,000,000 deaths.

The Great Flood of 1993 was one of the most costly floods in United States history. The North Sea flood of 1953 which killed 2251 people in the Netherlands and easternEngland

The 1998 Yangtze River Floods, in China, left 14 million people homeless. The 2000 Mozambique flood covered much of the country for three weeks, resulting in thousands of deaths, and leaving the country devastated for years afterward.

The 2005 Mumbai floods which killed 1094 people. The 2010 Pakistan floods directly affected about 20 million people, mostly by dispolacement, destruction of crops, infrastructure, property and livelihood, with a death toll of close to 2,000.

Limnic eruptions Main article: Limnic eruption

A cow suffocated by gases from Lake Nyos after alimnic eruption A limnic eruption occurs when a gas, usually CO2, suddenly erupts from deep lake water, posing the threat of suffocating wildlife, livestock and humans. Such an eruption may also cause tsunamis in the lake as the rising gas displaces water. Scientists

believe landslides, volcanic activity, or explosions can trigger such an eruption. To date, only two limnic eruptions have been observed and recorded:

In 1984, in Cameroon, a limnic eruption in Lake Monoun caused the deaths of 37 nearby residents.

Tsunami Main article: Tsunami Tsunamis can be caused by undersea earthquakes as the one caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake, or by landslides such as the one which occurred at Lituya Bay, Alaska.

The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake created the Boxing Day Tsunami. On March 11, 2011, a tsunami occurred near Fukushima, Japan and spread through the Pacific.

Meteorological disasters Main article: Meteorological disasters

Young steer after a blizzard, March 1966 Blizzards Main article: Blizzard Blizzards are severe winter storms characterized by heavy snow and strong winds. When high winds stir up snow that has already fallen, it is known as a ground blizzard. Blizzards can impact local economic activities, especially in regions where snowfall is rare. Significant blizzards include:

The Great Blizzard of 1888 in the United States in which many tons of wheat crops were destroyed.

The 2008 Afghanistan blizzard The North American blizzard of 1947

Cyclonic storms Tropical Cyclones

Hurricane Katrina Main articles: Tropical Cyclone and Cyclone See also: List of tropical cyclones Cyclone, tropical cyclone, hurricane, and typhoon are different names for the same phenomenon a cyclonic storm system that forms over the oceans. The deadliest hurricane ever was the 1970 Bhola cyclone; the deadliest Atlantic hurricane was the Great Hurricane of 1780 which devastated Martinique, St. Eustatius and Barbados. Another notable hurricane isHurricane Katrina which devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005.